At least 15 different attackers have exploited the Coldcard vulnerability, according to Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, citing new victim reports received since the incident.

Thorn said Tuesday that the victim reports helped the company label new attackers that would have gone undiscovered, as the nature of the exploit was different from a hack on a centralized exchange. 

“Due to one single victim’s report of less than 1 BTC stolen, we identified a new attack with 12 BTC siphoned from 126 addresses,” Thorn wrote in a Tuesday X post.

The estimated losses from the Coldcard exploit have grown to $100 million across three confirmed attack waves, according to Galaxy Research. The company also identified a suspected fourth wave that could bring total losses to about $130 million in Bitcoin (BTC).

The ongoing attack reignited debate about the security of cold storage wallets and whether users are safer by holding their own Bitcoin. 

$2 worth of AI hardening could have prevented the exploit: Dragonfly partner

Roughly “$2 of AI hardening” could have prevented the Coldcard exploit, wrote Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi, citing social media reports that some AI models rediscovered the vulnerability that led to the attack in less than 20 minutes.

Qureshi’s remarks came in response to multiple social media users claiming that Claude was able to regenerate the vulnerability in just eight minutes. He argued that these results may have been contaminated by web search and added that open-source AI model GLM 5.2 was able to rediscover the attack in 20 minutes with web access turned off.

However, it is unlikely that AI models would have independently discovered this vulnerability before it was made public, crypto analytics platform Tokenomist’s data lead, Tatsapat Saerejittima, told Cointelegraph. He said:

“The claim that AI found it in 2 mins came from a pseudonymous Reddit user who scanned the code after the vulnerability had already become public. There was no blind test, no documented methodology, and no assessment of the model’s false-positive rate.” 

Related: AI has not triggered DeFi ‘hackpocalypse,’ Dragonfly partner says

Vulnerability seen in private key setup

Crypto research company Castle Labs’ co-founder, Francesco, said that the growing capabilities of AI models are drastically reducing the cost and time it takes to discover new cryptocurrency vulnerabilities, but added that Coldcard’s private key may have played a role in the vulnerability.

Coldcard used a “level of private key entropy (40 bits) much lower than the standard adopted by other wallets (a 12-word seed is 128 bits), a result of a firmware bug, making the job easier,” he told Cointelegraph.

Francesco, who asked that Cointelegraph not use his last name, said he expects the cost of bug discovery to continue decreasing as AI models gain more capabilities and become more prominent in both cybersecurity and exploits.

Magazine: Does Botanix’s failure prove Bitcoiners don’t care about DeFi? 

Bitcoin saw new August highs into Tuesday’s Wall Street open as markets bet on US-Iran tensions again easing.

Key points:

• Bitcoin (BTC) edges higher as optimism over the Strait of Hormuz reopening pushes stocks to new all-time highs.
• Oil prices drop to their lowest levels since July 13 with oil traffic potentially returning on Wednesday.
• BTC acts between two daily moving averages as analysis sees “strong accumulation.”

S&P 500 tops $70 trillion market cap to new high

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD climbing to $64,176 on Bitstamp, marking maximum daily gains of around 1%.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Oil prices reacted immediately after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could restart as soon as Wednesday.

Bessent told CNBC that there was “a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position” in the US-Iran war amid ongoing talks between the two sides.

The comments came a day after US President Donald Trump confirmed the waterway reopening dialogue, saying that this could happen “as soon as tomorrow.”

WTI and Brent crude traded 4.8% and 4.6% lower, respectively, at the time of writing, hitting their lowest levels since July 13.

CFDs on US WTI crude oil four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stocks futures gained prior to the open, which in turn saw the S&P 500 index hit a new record high of 7,713, with its market cap reaching $70 trillion for the first time.

S&P 500 index one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Analysts noted resolution of the Hormuz closure as one factor apt to influence market sentiment when it came to future Federal Reserve policy decisions. Amid an emerging hawkish split between Fed officials on interest rates, markets see 56.7% odds of central bank policymakers approving a 0.25% rate hike at its September meeting, per data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

“Chairman Kevin Warsh’s limited guidance on the Fed’s reaction function means upcoming data, oil prices and the bond market will have a greater influence on the market’s expectations for the policy path,” Bloomberg macro strategist Michael Ball said.

Fed target-rate probabilities for September FOMC meeting.
Source: CME Group

BTC accumulation “strong” in stubborn local range

Bitcoin price action remained comparatively subdued compared to stocks as BTC/USD passed $64,000.

Related: US yen intervention puts Bitcoin, risk assets on notice for liquidity flux

The pair remained held in check by its 21-day simple moving average (SMA) at $64,388, while its 50-day SMA functioned as support on hourly time frames.

BTC/USD one-hour chart with 21-day, 50-day SMA.
Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

With price rangebound, analysis from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant reported “strong accumulation” among investors. 0.7% of the BTC supply, equivalent to around 155,000 coins, now belongs to investors with a cost basis between $62,000 and $65,000.

“This points to absorption rather than capitulation, as buyers accumulated into weakness,” it reported on Monday.

Magazine: How Fake World Assets and onchain gacha became crypto’s latest craze

Kalshi has partnered with compliance technology provider Comply to help financial firms monitor employee activity on prediction markets as the platform expands its institutional business while fighting a multibillion-dollar lawsuit in New York.

Kalshi adds employee trade surveillance

The partnership will integrate Kalshi trading data into Comply’s regulatory software, according to CNBC. Financial firms using the compliance platform will be able to track whether employees are trading event contracts and determine if those positions comply with internal policies.

The monitoring tools are designed to help employers identify suspicious activity, including trades that may involve material non-public information. Companies can also use the system to enforce restrictions on contracts linked to events that employees could influence or know about before the public.

Kalshi already operates an internal market surveillance program. However, conversations with institutional clients showed that firms wanted direct access to employee trading data through the compliance systems they already use.

The planned integration would place prediction market contracts alongside assets such as stocks, bonds and cryptocurrencies that are routinely covered by workplace trading controls. Kalshi also expects the system to monitor its planned perpetual futures products once those contracts become available.

Why compliance matters for prediction markets

Employee monitoring could address a major concern for banks, asset managers and other regulated financial firms considering prediction market exposure. Event contracts can cover elections, economic data, corporate developments and other outcomes that may involve sensitive information.

Traditional financial firms generally require employees to disclose brokerage accounts and receive approval for certain trades. Applying similar controls to prediction markets could make it easier for those companies to permit limited participation without creating an unmonitored source of regulatory risk.

The partnership also gives Kalshi a way to present its contracts as regulated financial products rather than conventional bets. Chief Executive Tarek Mansour recently compared the company’s structure to Nasdaq while defending its business during an Aug. 3 CNBC interview.

However, stronger private surveillance does not settle the wider legal debate over whether certain event contracts fall under federal derivatives rules or state gambling laws. That dispute has become central to Kalshi’s expansion in the United States.

Kalshi faces $36B New York lawsuit

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Kalshi on July 31, seeking at least $36 billion in damages, penalties and other relief. Mansour said the state’s allegations could threaten the broader event contract industry.

Kalshi removed the proceeding from state court to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York shortly after the complaint was filed.

New York Supreme Court Justice Melissa A. Crane then treated the state’s request for a preliminary injunction as moot because the case was no longer before her court, according to records shared by gaming law attorney Daniel Wallach. The procedural decision did not dismiss or reject the state’s allegations.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also sought federal court intervention to prevent state enforcement against federally registered prediction market operators. Meanwhile, court disputes involving sports event contracts continue to test where federal oversight ends and state gaming authority begins.

Santos case shows surveillance stakes

Kalshi’s monitoring push follows a CFTC settlement involving former U.S. Representative George Santos. Regulators found that Santos made misleading public statements while holding contracts tied to whether he would attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Under a July 31 order, Santos agreed to return $17,569.98 in trading gains, pay a $17,500 civil penalty and accept a three-year ban from trading through CFTC-registered entities. He neither admitted nor denied the agency’s findings or legal conclusions.

Kalshi referred Santos’ activity to regulators, showing how platform surveillance can lead to federal enforcement. The Comply partnership would extend part of that oversight to employers, giving institutional clients another way to detect conflicts before they develop into regulatory cases.

The rollout comes as Kalshi seeks approval for additional derivatives products. Its ability to attract financial firms will likely depend on both the effectiveness of its compliance tools and the outcome of legal challenges over prediction markets in the U.S.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.

All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

“By doing so, Samsung Wallet becomes the foundation for an interconnected financial ecosystem across Galaxy devices and services — where it combines payments, rewards, and digital assets into a single unified experience,” he said.

If it follows through, over 800 million would potentially have access to Galaxy’s stablecoin features and other crypto without requiring a separate crypto app or exchange account. Already, there are over one billion active Samsung smartphones worldwide.

Stablecoins and infrastructure

During its Q2 earnings call last week, Samsung SDS CEO Lee Jun-hee said that the company’s stake in crypto exchange Upbit operator Dunamu is a strategic investment to enter the digital asset infrastructure business, including stablecoins and AI-powered payments.

Three Samsung affiliates agreed in May to acquire a 4% stake in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, for $408 million. Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card are the affiliates involved in the deal.

“This is the other half of the same strategy, and from a deal perspective, it is the more telling half,” said Goh. “The wallet announcement secured distribution; SDS and Dunamu will secure the infrastructure beneath it.”

Goh said he believes Samsung is aiming to build the infrastructure itself, rather than rely on a third-party provider. “Their goal is to be positioned in both dollar and won stablecoins while Korea’s framework is still being discussed. The timing is deliberate.”

XRP ETF inflows surpass $1.5 billion as investors increasingly explore alternative strategies, including EX DeFi cloud mining, for long-term crypto exposure.

According to previous forecasts from JPMorgan and Standard Chartered, spot XRP ETFs are expected to attract $4 billion to $8 billion in inflows in the long term.

While current inflows into XRP ETFs have not yet reached the high levels previously predicted by Wall Street, the cumulative net inflows have already reached approximately $1.51 billion, successfully surpassing a significant milestone and further strengthening market confidence in XRP’s long-term prospects.

With ETFs continuing to receive funding support, and XRP prices not yet showing a significant increase, many investors are beginning to consider a practical question: besides waiting for price appreciation, are there more efficient and sustainable ways to participate in XRP’s long-term value growth?

Against this backdrop, a growing number of investors are turning their attention to EX DeFi cloud mining platforms, hoping to explore more diverse long-term returns on digital assets amidst market volatility, rather than solely relying on XRP’s price appreciation.

XRP ETF inflows surpass $1.5 billion, market attention continues to rise

According to market data cited by TradingView, driven by continuous net inflows, XRP-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen cumulative inflows exceeding $1.5 billion, marking a significant milestone for XRP.

Meanwhile, overall market liquidity continues to improve. Although XRP trading activity has slowed somewhat, and many retail investors remain relatively cautious, institutional investor demand has maintained a slight increase, contributing to continued net inflows for most trading days.

ETF inflows continue, XRP investors focus on more diverse participation methods

With the continued inflow of ETF funds, more and more XRP investors are focusing on EX DeFi, exploring more robust and sustainable ways to grow the value of digital assets through its automated cloud mining system and yield aggregation mechanism.

Compared to highly volatile leveraged trading or ETF investments, EX DeFi offers a more convenient way to participate in digital assets, helping users engage with the XRP ecosystem even in volatile markets and further improve the efficiency of digital asset utilization to generate returns. For users with a certain amount of capital, different asset management solutions can be chosen according to their needs to explore long-term value growth opportunities.

About EX DeFi

Headquartered in the UK, EX DeFi strictly adheres to local laws and regulations and operates under European regulatory frameworks such as MiCA and MiFID II. It continuously strengthens platform governance, security measures, and operational transparency to create a safe, reliable, and sustainable cloud mining service for users.

The platform employs a multi-layered security architecture, including:

• PwC annual financial and security compliance audit
• Lloyd’s of London digital asset custody insurance
• Cloudflare enterprise-grade cybersecurity protection and McAfee® security system
• Cold and hot wallets, multi-layered encryption architecture, and two-factor authentication (2FA).

Currently, EX DeFi supports multiple mainstream digital assets such as XRP, BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, DOGE, LTC, and SOL, providing users with more flexible and convenient choices.

How to earn daily yields with EX DeFi

EX DeFi is easy to use; even beginners can get started in minutes with just four steps:

1: Register an Account

Register a free account on the EX DeFi official website using an email address to receive a $17 trial bonus.

2: Deposit Cryptocurrency

On the Deposit Center page, select XRP (or other cryptocurrencies), copy the corresponding deposit address on the platform, and then transfer the XRP through a wallet or exchange. (No tags required)

3: Choose a Mining Contract

Choose a mining plan that suits a particular budget; mining will start automatically after system activation.

4: Automatically Receive Daily Rewards

The platform provides 24/7 intelligent mining services, with rewards automatically settled to an account 24 hours a day. Users can easily earn passive income without any user intervention.

Popular profit contracts

BTC (Beginner Trial Contract): Investment of $100, Term: 2 days, Daily Yield: $4, Total Profit: $100 + $8

DOGE (Golden Shell Mini Dogecoin Pro): Investment of $500, Term: 6 days, Daily Yield: $6.5, Total Profit: $500 + $39

BTC (Canaan-Avalon-A1466): Investment of $1,000, Term: 10 days, Daily Yield: $13.4, Total Profit: $1,000 + $134

LTC (Bitmain Antminer L7): Investment of $5,000, Term: 20 days, Daily Yield: $73.5, Total Profit: $5,000 + $1,470

BTC (Bitmain S19K-Pro): Investment of $10,000, Term: 30 days, Daily Yield: $161, Total Profit: $10,000 + $4,830

Click here for more details on popular EX DeFi mining contracts.

Summary

While the inflow of funds into the XRP ETF still falls short of Wall Street’s previous expectations, continued institutional inflows, an improving regulatory environment, and the development of the XRP ecosystem continue to provide strong support for its long-term value. In the future, XRP’s market performance will still depend on fund flows, application implementation, and changes in the overall market environment.

Against this backdrop, more and more investors are focusing on long-term allocation and return management of digital assets, rather than just price fluctuations. EX DeFi aims to provide users with more diverse participation methods through smarter and more efficient cloud mining services, meeting the needs of different investors for long-term digital asset value growth.

Instead of chasing price increases, visit the official EX DeFi platform as soon as possible to start mining with one click and easily earn XRP.

The crypto industry’s central policy drive is to get U.S. laws that elevate it to a fully regulated and government-approved corner of the financial system. While the legislation to do that is struggling with its final Senate test, a mystery organization is flooding Washington, DC, with ads linking crypto to terrorists and drug cartels.

Across television and social media, the localized campaign warns in one example: “The worst people operating in the darkest places use crypto because there are no guardrails,” citing connections to drug cartels, terrorists and people praying against seniors.

“Let’s bring crypto out of the shadows now,” the ads say.

The recently emerging group behind the campaign is Crypto Watchdog, run by Executive Director Chapin Fay, a media strategist who had been involved in past Republican political campaigns but hadn’t been previously associated with crypto matters.

“Our mission is fairly simple and direct,” he told CoinDesk in an interview. “It’s to bring sunlight and transparency to an over-$2 trillion industry that has historically not been very transparent.”