Bitcoin mining’s annualized electricity demand rose to about 190 terawatt-hours in December 2025, up 38% from 138 the in June 2024, according to preliminary research reported by theEnergyMag.

Alexander Neumueller of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance presented the figures at the Energy Investors Forum in Dallas. Cambridge expects to publish the second edition of its Digital Mining Industry Report later in 2026.

The research also found that hydropower had overtaken natural gas as Bitcoin mining’s largest single energy source. Low-carbon power supplied 59.4% of the reported mining mix, up from 52.4% in the previous study. However, total estimated greenhouse-gas emissions still increased by 20%, from about 40 million to 48 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent.

Hydropower takes the largest share of mining power

The 2025 Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report found that natural gas supplied 38.2% of surveyed miners’ electricity, making it the largest single source at the time. Renewables provided 42.6% in total, while nuclear power added 9.8%. Coal’s share had fallen to 8.9%, down from 36.6% in the earlier 2022 estimate.

The preliminary update changes that order. Hydropower now ranks ahead of natural gas, although Cambridge has not released the full breakdown for each source. Neumueller linked part of the change to stronger survey coverage in hydro-rich markets such as Ethiopia.Ethiopia expanded Bitcoin mining around low-cost electricity from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Electricity demand rises faster than emissions

The network’s annualized power use increased by about 52 TWh between the two reference points. Annualized demand measures the electricity Bitcoin mining would use over a year if the December 2025 rate continued. It does not mean miners consumed exactly 190 TWh during the 2025 calendar year.

Emissions rose more slowly than electricity demand because miners reported using a lower-carbon power mix. Even so, Cambridge’s estimate still increased from roughly 40 million to 48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. The cleaner mix slowed the rate of emissions growth, but it did not offset higher overall electricity consumption.

More mining machines joined the network during the measured period, raising total computing power. Newer hardware can perform more calculations for each unit of electricity, but efficiency gains did not fully counter the increase in hashrate. Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index tracks how prices, transaction fees, mining equipment and network difficulty can change estimated electricity demand over time.

Preliminary figures carry survey limits

Cambridge based the new estimates mainly on responses from mining companies representing slightly more than half of global Bitcoin hashrate. The wider coverage gives researchers a larger sample than the first report. However, the final publication may revise some figures after Cambridge completes further checks.

The 2025 report also warned that survey participation can distort geographic estimates. U.S. companies supplied a large share of responses, which likely overstated the country’s portion of global mining activity. The latest rise in reported hydropower may partly reflect better coverage of miners in Ethiopia and other markets that rely more heavily on hydroelectric generation.

Cambridge’s earlier study estimated 39.8 million tonnes of emissions using its survey-based method. A separate location-based model produced a much higher estimate of 69.6 million tonnes. The gap shows that results depend on assumptions about mining locations, electricity contracts, grid mixes and the use of stranded or flared energy.

Miners explore AI, but deployments remain limited

The new survey also examined whether Bitcoin miners are shifting power capacity into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. About 10% of respondents said they had already allocated some power to AI or accelerated computing. More than 40% of the remaining miners said they were actively exploring the option.

Neumueller cautioned that “intent to look into it is not commitment to deploy.” AI data centers need costly networking, cooling and reliability systems that basic Bitcoin mining sites may not have. Miners can quickly reduce Bitcoin loads when electricity prices rise, while AI customers usually require steady power and stronger service guarantees.

Still, almost nine in ten respondents expected AI and HPC diversification to gain ground over the next several years. As crypto.news reported, listed miners have already announced more than $70 billion in AI and HPC contracts as they seek steadier revenue outside Bitcoin production.

The change is already visible in some company results. TeraWulf generated more revenue from HPC hosting than Bitcoin mining during the first quarter of 2026. It reported $21 million from HPC services, compared with less than $13 million from digital asset mining.

The Cambridge findings show two changes taking place together. Bitcoin mining uses more electricity, while hydropower and other low-carbon sources account for a larger share. At the same time, mining companies are assessing whether their power connections and sites can support AI services. Cambridge’s full report will provide a detailed energy breakdown and final methodology later in 2026.

The XRP Ledger added about $2.6 billion in tokenized real-world asset value during the past six months, excluding stablecoins, according to data from RWA.xyz. 

That placed XRPL second among tracked blockchain networks for net RWA inflows during the period. BNB Chain ranked first with about $3 billion, while Stellar followed XRPL with roughly $2.1 billion.

The increase lifted XRPL’s combined distributed and represented RWA value to about $4.38 billion on July 26. The RWA.xyz dashboard listed $323.21 million in distributed assets and $4.06 billion in represented assets. The network also held $995.12 million in stablecoins, taking its broader total above $5.37 billion when those tokens are included.

XRP Ledger moves higher in RWA rankings

The six-month figures placed XRPL ahead of several larger smart-contract networks for new tokenized asset value. Solana added about $1.6 billion, while Avalanche attracted roughly $972 million. Ethereum remained the largest home for distributed tokenized assets, but its net addition during the measured period was lower at about $424 million.

The latest rise continues a trend visible earlier in 2026.XRPL moved into sixth place in the tokenized RWA rankings in February after adding $354 million in one month. A crypto.news report in July found that tokenized assets on the ledger had passed $3 billion as developers added compliance tools, permissioned trading and proposed lending features.

Tokenized energy drives most of XRPL’s total

Justoken’s JMWH product accounts for the largest share of XRPL’s RWA value. RWA.xyz valued the represented commodity asset at $2.229 billion on July 26. Each JMWH token represents one megawatt-hour of contracted energy output. The issuer mints tokens against energy agreements and burns them after the electricity is delivered and consumed.

The asset also shows why represented value and active onchain liquidity are not the same measure. RWA.xyz recorded only 19 JMWH holders, one active address over 30 days, no monthly transfers and no monthly transfer volume. The token therefore works mainly as a blockchain record for energy contracts rather than a widely traded asset. JMWH alone accounts for about 51% of XRPL’s total RWA value.

Justoken said it had tokenized more than $2.84 billion in total value across its products. In March, the company announced an energy tokenization project with Argentina-based power producer YPF Luz using the XRP Ledger. The wider product links blockchain records with contracts for electricity generation and consumption.

Distributed assets and stablecoins expand

XRPL’s distributed asset segment remains much smaller than its represented segment, but several financial products now operate on the network. RWA.xyz listed about $323 million in distributed assets. Ondo Finance, Braza Crypto, OpenEden Digital, Société Générale-FORGE and other issuers contribute to this category through tokenized Treasuries, credit products and regulated digital money.

Ripple’s RLUSD remains the largest stablecoin platform on XRPL. RWA.xyz showed about $894.7 million in RLUSD on the network, while all XRPL stablecoins totalled about $995.12 million. Braza Crypto ranked behind RLUSD with products worth about $83.4 million. Stablecoin transfer volume reached $4 billion over 30 days.

A May pilot also tested how tokenized funds can connect XRPL with bank payment rails. As crypto.news reported, Ripple redeemed part of its holdings in Ondo Finance’s OUSG Treasury product on XRPL. Mastercard sent settlement instructions to Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, which moved U.S. dollars to Ripple’s Singapore bank account.

Ondo said the asset leg settled in under five seconds. Ondo Finance President Ian De Bode called it the “first time tokenized U.S. Treasuries have settled across borders and banks in near real time.” The transaction combined a public blockchain asset transfer with traditional bank settlement.

RWA growth does not equal direct XRP demand

RWA growth measures asset value recorded or issued on the ledger. It does not show how much XRP investors purchased or how often they used the native token. Most institutional products can use XRPL for issuance and settlement while paying only small network fees in XRP. Stablecoins such as RLUSD can also handle the cash side of transactions without using XRP as a bridge asset.

The asset mix also matters when comparing networks. Represented assets refer to offchain holdings or contracts recorded on a blockchain, while distributed assets are issued and held more directly onchain. XRPL’s represented value accounts for more than 92% of its non-stablecoin RWA total. JMWH alone drives more than half of that figure.

Even so, XRPL has added more issuers and asset types during 2026. Its RWA count reached 373, while the number of tracked holders rose 14.29% over 30 days to 176. The ledger’s stablecoin holders reached about 60,080. These figures show a broader tokenization base, although ownership remains concentrated in several products.

Ripple and XRPL developers are also building infrastructure for regulated markets. Crypto.news reported that permissioned domains, credentials and a permissioned exchange layer now support identity-based access rules on the public ledger. Proposed lending standards could add fixed-term credit products if validators approve them. The next stage will depend on whether issuers turn the growing asset base into regular transfers, trading and settlement activity.

Shiba Inu rose 36% to about $0.0000057 on Sunday, adding roughly a billion dollars to its market value in a day, with no announcement or development to account for it.

The token now carries a market cap near $3.4 billion on almost $380 million of daily volume, its highest turnover ranking in months.

Nothing has emerged from Shibarium, the network’s layer-2, and the wider dog-token complex has lagged. Dogecoin gained 6% over the same stretch, and smaller-cap tokens moved as much as 10%, which pointed to something specific to SHIB rather than a rotation into memecoins.

South Korean buying stands out. Upbit’s SHIB/KRW pair is the single largest market at about $62 million, over a tenth of global volume, and it prints a slight premium to Binance and the other dollar venues.

The country’s traders are known to drive exuberant rallies in high-volatility tokens, and the token’s climb fits that pattern, with a first push late Saturday, nine flat hours, then a second move through the Asian morning.

BitMart will wind down its cryptocurrency exchange, ending all trading services on Aug. 26 before ceasing operations entirely on Jan. 31, 2027.

“After a careful evaluation of the Company’s operating conditions, market environment, and future strategic direction, BitMart has made the difficult decision to commence an orderly wind-down of its trading platform operations,” it said in a Sunday notice.

Under the shutdown plan, BitMart has stopped accepting new user registrations and deposits, while futures trading has entered reduce-only mode and spot markets no longer accept new orders. 

BitMart joins a growing list of crypto trading platforms that have announced plans to close shop in recent months. Among them are BitMEX and Dango, which both said this week they would shut down their respective trading platforms.

Related: As BitMEX exits, analysts warn crypto consolidation is accelerating

BMX sinks amid withdrawal complaints

BitMart’s native token, BMX, lost nearly 70% of its value while users reported delayed withdrawals from the exchange.

BMX traded at about $0.09464 at the time of writing, down nearly 70% from about $0.31 late Friday. The token fell as low as $0.1058 early Saturday before extending its losses.

BMX resumes losses after Saturday’s brief recovery, falling below $0.10. Source: CoinGecko

Several users on X reported that withdrawals were taking longer than usual, with some claiming that Tether USDt (USDT) withdrawal requests remained pending for hours.

Arkham data showed wallets attributed to BitMart held about $71 million in crypto assets on Sunday, down from roughly $102 million on July 6. About $41.5 million was in stablecoin banking platform WeFi’s WFI tokens, while the tracked wallets held about $91,000 in USDT.

BitMart’s USDT balance over the past month. Source: Arkham

In its wind-down announcement, BitMart said some withdrawal requests could be subject to additional compliance and security reviews, potentially extending processing times.

BitMart did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment before publication.

Related: BitMEX hit with 623 BTC lawsuit on day it announces shutdown

BMX? BMEX? BitMEX?

Some users on X also appeared to confuse BitMart and its BMX token with BitMEX.

On Saturday, an X user in the Mandarin-speaking crypto community who goes by “Brother Lu” drew attention to BMX’s price drop while speculating about its cause.

“The whole internet was posting yesterday that it was shutting down on Sept. 30. Did you just wake up?” another X user replied, according to a machine translation.

The reference to Sept. 30 did not match BitMEX’s Sept. 23 shutdown date announced Thursday. BitMEX’s own token, BMEX, fell 90% shortly after the notice.

Several other users in the Mandarin-speaking community also mixed up BMX with BitMEX.

It was not immediately clear whether the confusion had any impact on BMX trading.

Magazine: Here’s why the CLARITY Act’s ethics deal may be so hard to reach

The Bitcoin Policy Institute has joined the U.S. State Department’s Freedom Tech Excellence Program as a founding partner.

The programme will place private-sector specialists inside the department for limited assignments tied to digital freedom and freedom of expression. Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation are the other founding partners.

BPI announced its role in a July 24 post on X. It said participating employees would work with State Department experts on online speech, privacy tools, digital surveillance and responsible artificial intelligence governance. The announcement did not state how many BPI employees will take part, when placements will begin or which offices will receive them.

State Department opens roles to outside specialists

The State Department describes FTEP as a talent partnership that brings private-sector workers into government for fixed periods. Participants remain linked to their organisations while supporting diplomatic projects in areas where the department wants more technical knowledge. They will also gain direct experience in foreign policy and international development.

The department lists several possible work areas. They include protecting online freedom of expression, countering unlawful surveillance and scams, expanding access to encryption and virtual private networks, supporting responsible AI governance and improving online safety for children. The programme is not a Bitcoin reserve, payment system or crypto licensing project.

BPI said the programme would allow its employees to “work alongside State Department experts and defend digital freedoms around the world.” However, neither party has released individual assignments. The scope may vary according to each participant’s skills and the needs of diplomatic teams.

BPI brings Bitcoin and privacy research into diplomacy

Founded in 2021, the Bitcoin Policy Institute describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit research organisation. Its work covers Bitcoin policy, national security, financial inclusion, energy and human rights. The group has argued that encryption and open monetary networks can help journalists, dissidents and users in countries where governments restrict speech or financial access.

BPI’s inclusion does not mean the State Department will promote Bitcoin in every FTEP project. The official description focuses on broad digital-policy questions. BPI staff may advise on privacy technology, censorship-resistant systems or financial access, but the government has not named a Bitcoin deployment linked to the programme.

The group will continue its wider policy work outside FTEP. Its Freedom Tech DC summit is scheduled for September 22 and 23 in Washington. The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, investors and technology builders to discuss money, speech and computing systems. The summit is separate from the State Department partnership.

Palantir, Anduril and rights group join as partners

Palantir and Anduril bring experience in data software, defence technology and government contracts. The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation works on human rights, political repression and authoritarian governments. Together, the four organisations provide policy, engineering, national-security and civil-society backgrounds.

The department has not explained how it will divide projects among the partners. It has also not listed the countries, embassies or bureaus involved. Those details will determine whether placements focus on policy research, technical tools, staff training or overseas programmes.

FTEP uses limited-term assignments rather than permanent appointments. That structure can bring specialised staff into government without creating full-time roles. Partner employees may later return to their organisations with direct knowledge of diplomatic processes and government needs.

Bitcoin reserve advocacy remains a separate policy track

BPI has supported efforts to turn President Donald Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve order into federal law. Trump signed the executive order establishing the reserve on March 6, 2025. It created a reserve based on Bitcoin forfeited through criminal or civil proceedings and directed officials to study budget-neutral ways to acquire more BTC.

Senator Cynthia Lummis reintroduced the Bitcoin Act in March 2025 at a BPI-organised event. The bill proposed that the U.S. government acquire one million BTC, but it had not completed passage when FTEP was announced. The State Department programme does not advance that bill or give BPI authority over federal Bitcoin.

The reserve also remains under development. As crypto.news reported in July 2026, federal officials were still reviewing which agency could legally control the assets and how custody should work. The White House order named the Treasury, while later discussions also involved the Commerce and Justice departments.

FTEP therefore gives BPI a role in a foreign-policy talent programme, not control over U.S. crypto policy. Its work will centre on assigned digital-freedom projects. Further updates should show how many experts take part, where they serve and which technologies the programme uses.

BMX, the platform’s token, fell to about 8 cents, down 58% over 24 hours, cutting its market value to roughly $27 million. The token was already down about 70% over the past year, so Sunday’s drop extended a long decline rather than starting one.

The exchange’s trading figures are significant, despite the closure. BitMart reported about $1.6 billion in 24-hour volume, up 51% from the previous period, with bitcoin accounting for nearly half of it. That jump more plausibly reflects users unwinding positions and moving funds out than any fresh demand, but it leaves open why a platform still clearing that kind of flow is closing.

Meanwhile, the withdrawal terms carry more friction than a routine exit. BitMart said requests may face additional review covering identity verification, device and IP checks, withdrawal-address screening, source-of-funds questions and sanctions checks, and warned that processing could stretch if request volumes spike.

BitMart lost about $196 million to a hot-wallet breach in December 2021, one of the larger exchange hacks of that cycle, and covered customer losses at the time.

Robinhood is reportedly holding talks with Crypto.com about adding the exchange’s event contracts to its prediction markets hub.

The proposed arrangement would let Robinhood users trade yes-or-no contracts supplied by Crypto.com, according to people familiar with the discussions cited by The Wall Street Journal. Neither company has announced an agreement, and the report said the talks may not result in a completed deal.

The discussions come as Robinhood builds a wider network of exchanges rather than relying on one source of event contracts. A company spokesperson said Robinhood “will continue to partner with multiple exchanges” to give customers a broad and reliable market. The strategy could add Crypto.com alongside Kalshi, ForecastEx and Rothera, the exchange created through Robinhood’s venture with Susquehanna International Group.

Robinhood seeks more prediction market suppliers

Robinhood launched its prediction markets hub in March 2025 with contracts routed through Kalshi, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated exchange. Its products cover outcomes tied to sports, politics, economics and other public events. Robinhood later added ForecastEx and began routing contracts through Rothera in June 2026.

Rothera gives Robinhood a closer link to the exchange layer because Robinhood owns the venture with Susquehanna. The company said in June that the new route lowered customer trading costs. Adding Crypto.com would create another source of contracts and could help Robinhood maintain product availability when one exchange lacks a market or faces a service issue.

Crypto.com expands event contract distribution

Crypto.com already offers prediction trading through Crypto.com Derivatives North America, a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse. Its contracts use a simple yes-or-no format based on future events. The company also launched OG Prediction Markets as a separate platform in February 2026 and has expanded distribution through partners.

In June, FanDuel Predicts expanded its offering with sports, entertainment and combination contracts supplied through Crypto.com and OG Prediction Markets. Crypto.com has also announced a planned prediction-market integration with Truth Social, although The Wall Street Journal reported that the product had not launched by July 24. A Robinhood deal would place its contracts before another large retail trading audience.

Kalshi rivalry grows as revenue forecasts rise

Robinhood and Kalshi started as distribution partners, but their businesses now overlap more directly. Kalshi has expanded beyond standard event contracts, while Robinhood has built Rothera and added more exchange partners. Kalshi chief executive Tarek Mansour described Robinhood as both a partner and a competitor, adding, “We’ll see who ends up with a better product.”

The reported Crypto.com talks arrived after Bernstein raised its Robinhood share-price target to $160 from $130. The firm estimated that Robinhood’s prediction-market revenue could reach about $1.7 billion by 2028. As crypto.news previously reported, Bernstein also forecast $586 million in Robinhood prediction-market revenue for 2026, supported by higher World Cup activity and Rothera volumes.

Bernstein expects total prediction-market trading volume to grow from about $51 billion in 2025 to $1 trillion by 2030. The projection assumes wider distribution, more institutional use and clearer rules. Sports contracts currently generate much of the activity, but analysts expect economic, political and business contracts to form a larger share over time.

State and federal regulators remain divided

Robinhood’s possible expansion comes during a legal fight over who can regulate event contracts. The CFTC says federal law gives it exclusive authority over commodity derivatives traded on registered exchanges. In 2026, the agency sued several states after officials moved against prediction-market operators.

States argue that some sports-related contracts function like gambling and should follow local licensing, age and consumer-protection rules. Wisconsin’s actions included complaints against Crypto.com and Robinhood, along with Kalshi, Polymarket and Coinbase.the CFTC responded by seeking to block the state’s enforcement and preserve federal oversight.

The conflict has produced different rulings and restrictions across the country. New York sued Coinbase and Gemini over claims that their event-contract products violated state gambling rules. The CFTC later filed its own case against New York and maintained that federal law takes priority.

Any Robinhood-Crypto.com arrangement would still depend on contract availability, regulatory status and the final terms between the companies. Robinhood has not confirmed that Crypto.com contracts will appear in its app. For now, the talks show that the company is considering another supplier as competition grows among exchanges, brokers and crypto platforms seeking a larger share of event trading.

Binance runs simulated phishing attacks against its employees every month to reduce social engineering risks. 

Chief security officer Jimmy Su said the exchange’s red team creates fake attacks to test whether staff recognise suspicious messages, links and requests. Employees who fail must complete follow-up training. Repeated failures can also affect performance ratings and may lead to dismissal.

The programme targets human errors that attackers use to enter crypto companies. Binance has operated the drills for three to four years, according to Su. He said the company’s security habits had improved during that period. Binance reports 323 million registered users, while DefiLlama tracks about $137.5 billion in assets linked to the exchange.