Privacy has emerged as a key barrier to bringing more financial activity onchain. Public blockchains expose transaction histories, balances and counterparties by default, a level of transparency that is difficult to reconcile with how businesses and financial institutions operate.

Trading firms don’t want to reveal positions, companies can’t publish payroll and treasury activity and individuals may not want their financial lives visible on a block explorer. Privacy infrastructure aims to bring the confidentiality of traditional finance onchain while preserving crypto’s programmability and verifiability.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a steady value, typically by tracking the U.S. dollar. They have become a key piece of crypto infrastructure, providing a bridge between traditional money and blockchains while enabling faster payments, trading and settlement without the volatility of assets like bitcoin BTC$63,726.88 or ether ETH$1,889.28.

Miden sees USDCx as the foundation for a broader category it calls “PriFi,” spanning private institutional trading, B2B payments, payroll, cross-border payments and corporate treasury management.

The company spun out of Polygon as an independent project in April 2025 and is backed by a16z crypto, 1kx, Hack VC and others.

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Prediction market infrastructure is getting a more institutional-style upgrade. Kalshi says its live order book for event contracts is now available through data provider DoubleZero Edge’s dedicated fiber network, allowing subscribers to consume real-time market depth in a machine-readable form.

The companies announced on Wednesday that the arrangement will be the first of its kind for a prediction market supplying its real-time order book data on sports and crypto perpetuals event contracts through that dedicated distribution channel. Instead of assembling market data from order books and API responses, users can subscribe to a purpose-built feed designed to reduce the engineering effort required to integrate prediction-market liquidity.

Key takeaways

• Kalshi’s real-time order book for sports and crypto perpetuals event contracts is now distributed via DoubleZero Edge’s dedicated fiber network.
• DoubleZero Edge positions the feed as a turnkey, machine-readable alternative to building infrastructure using raw order books and API responses.
• Sports is Kalshi’s second-largest category by weekly notional volume, with crypto in third place, according to Dune data.
• The move comes as Kalshi remains embroiled in ongoing US jurisdiction disputes over whether its sports event contracts are regulated as derivatives or treated as wagers.

Dedicated fiber distribution for prediction-market order books

At the center of the announcement is how market data is delivered. DoubleZero Edge provides a dedicated fiber network and a corresponding data feed, which the companies say will stream Kalshi’s live order book information for relevant contracts.

From a user perspective, that matters because prediction markets often require low-latency, structured data pipelines to support faster market analysis, algorithmic trading strategies, and more reliable execution. The companies’ messaging emphasizes that data access is a “critical part” of market structure, and they argue that the broader ecosystem has lacked similar distribution-grade infrastructure as crypto, perpetuals, and prediction markets have expanded.

DoubleZero co-founder Austin Federa framed the initiative as bringing “institutional-grade infrastructure” to industry participants. In practical terms, the pitch is less about changing the underlying contracts and more about improving how market participants can ingest and process market depth at scale.

Where Kalshi’s volume sits across sports, crypto, and exotics

The announcement also highlights Kalshi’s product mix. According to Dune data shared in the original coverage, exotics lead Kalshi’s weekly notional trading volume at 39.4%, followed by sports at 37.8%. Crypto ranks third at 20.3% in the same weekly notional-volume breakdown.

Sports being the second-largest category helps explain why the order book distribution focus includes sports event contracts. It also signals that demand for structured, low-latency access isn’t limited to crypto-linked products; it spans the broader set of markets Kalshi operates.

These percentages are based on weekly notional volume and are attributed to Dune via a referenced query on its platform. (See: Dune data.)

Regulatory pressure remains: sports contracts and competing jurisdiction claims

The new data distribution capability lands in the middle of a regulatory fight that has been escalating for months. Kalshi’s sports event contracts have become the subject of a jurisdictional dispute involving state regulators and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

State authorities have argued that Kalshi’s sports contracts amount to wagers and should therefore fall under state gambling laws. Kalshi and the CFTC counter that the contracts are derivatives, placing them under the CFTC’s exclusive authority.

Legal actions cited in the reporting illustrate how unsettled the status remains. In late June, a Michigan judge temporarily blocked Kalshi from allowing residents to place bets on sporting events. Around the same time, Kentucky filed suit against multiple prediction market platforms—including Kalshi and Polymarket—alleging they operate unlicensed sports betting services.

Nevada also issued a temporary ban on Kalshi earlier in March, according to the same reporting. Meanwhile, the CFTC has taken the opposite tack by suing several states. The agency’s argument, as described in earlier coverage, is that federally regulated event contracts fall under its exclusive jurisdiction.

For market participants, these disputes are more than legal background—they can affect where contracts are accessible and under what compliance frameworks traders can operate. Even as the infrastructure for order book delivery improves, the ability to participate may still depend on jurisdiction-specific rulings and enforcement outcomes.

Broader visibility for Kalshi markets

The story also connects Kalshi’s markets to broader consumer-facing visibility. Earlier in July, OpenAI began displaying Kalshi’s prediction market odds for FIFA World Cup matches in ChatGPT search results, according to prior coverage.

This kind of display can increase public awareness of event markets and may expand the audience beyond traditional traders and developers. However, it also underlines that prediction markets are increasingly part of mainstream information flows—an environment where legal clarity becomes even more important.

What to watch next

Kalshi and DoubleZero Edge’s dedicated fiber feed could make it easier for institutions and serious builders to integrate prediction-market order books without custom plumbing, but the larger question for users is whether contract access will remain stable as courts and regulators continue to argue over jurisdiction. Watch upcoming rulings and any further adjustments to where and how sports event contracts can be offered.

Bitcoin’s mining economics are looking increasingly subsidy-driven as transaction fees sink to levels last seen in the late stages of the decade. At the same time, multiple analysts point to a shift in miner strategy toward AI and high-performance computing (AI/HPC), coinciding with a noticeable decline in network hash rate.

Onchain analytics and mining cost estimates show fees make up just 0.69% of miner revenue, while the broader pressure on margins continues as Bitcoin’s price weakens and electricity costs remain a critical factor for operators. The resulting question for investors is whether miners’ AI pivot will stabilize long-term operations—or introduce new volatility to the network’s security parameters.

Key takeaways

• Glassnode data indicates Bitcoin fees are contributing only 0.69% of miner revenue, returning close to decade-low territory.
• Fees were reported as low as 0.52% in April, leaving miners more dependent on the fixed block subsidy.
• Checkonchain estimates show hash rate fell about 33% from an October 2025 peak of 1.3 ZH/s to 861 EH/s.
• Analysts argue the industry’s shift toward AI/HPC has contributed to reduced mining activity as difficulty adjustments evolve.
• Estimated mining production costs remain above current spot price, intensifying profitability pressure for marginal operators.

Fees fade as miner reliance on subsidies grows

According to Glassnode, transaction fees now represent just 0.69% of miner revenue—near the lowest levels seen in years. Glassnode co-founder Rafael Schultze-Kraft previously highlighted that fees had stayed below 1% of miner revenue for almost a year, with the share falling to 0.52% in April.

In a post on X, Schultze-Kraft said that “Bitcoin was below $400 the last time fee share was this low.” While that comparison is meant to contextualize the current environment, the practical impact is straightforward: when fee revenue collapses, miners lean more heavily on the block subsidy to cover operating expenses.

That matters because the subsidy is fixed in BTC terms—currently 3.125 BTC per block—but its value in US dollars depends on Bitcoin’s price. The article notes Bitcoin has fallen nearly 50% since its October 2025 all-time high, which would reduce the USD value of each subsidy payment and squeeze margins unless operational costs fall or fee rates rebound.

Cost pressure stays high: production estimates outpace spot

The mining picture is also constrained by profitability math. Checkonchain’s mining analytics put the estimated average cost to produce one Bitcoin at $78,254 as of Tuesday—about 23% above the current spot price referenced in the source.

Even if these are “estimated” costs rather than audited figures for every operator, the direction is what counts for the market: when production costs exceed spot value, miners are incentivized to either optimize aggressively, consolidate, or exit. That dynamic tends to hit smaller players first, potentially concentrating hash rate among operators with more capital flexibility and better power procurement.

Investors should also consider that production costs are influenced by variables outside the chain itself, especially electricity prices and hardware efficiency. In periods where fees remain weak, any non-chain cost increase can accelerate the churn in mining capacity.

Hash rate drops 33% since October 2025 peak

Network security metrics reflect the mining sector’s changing behavior. Checkonchain estimates hash rate declined from a peak of about 1.3 ZH/s in October 2025 to roughly 861 EH/s, a drop of 33%.

Hash rate is an important indicator not because it alone determines security, but because sustained decreases can signal reduced competitive participation. If the network’s mining base becomes less active, difficulty and mining economics may adjust over time—but the transition itself can be disruptive for operators and for the incentives that sustain long-run security.

Analysts warn AI/HPC pivot could be a concerning shift

Beyond the numbers, several analysts argue the decline in hash rate is linked to a strategic redeployment of compute resources. Independent analyst William Clemente, in an analysis published at the weekend and shared on X, acknowledged the downturn while arguing that automated difficulty readjustments would have offered a window for miners to increase activity. With difficulty reported as rising again, he suggested that miners’ move toward “more lucrative AI computing” has become more visible.

“There is no other way to slice it, hash rate has been in a decline,” Clemente wrote, pointing to margin compression after 2022 and higher energy prices, but also emphasizing a pivot by “many into AI/HPC.” He characterized these AI-related moves as “prudent business decisions” for publicly traded companies that pursued them.

The broader claim is not simply that miners are diversifying; it’s that the timing and direction of the shift could reduce mining participation during a period when fees are already contributing less than 1% of revenue. In an environment where the subsidy is already under pressure from Bitcoin’s price drawdown, a reduction in mining activity could widen the gap between operational realities and long-term security assumptions.

Cointelegraph previously reported that CleanSpark refocused on AI, shifting toward operating data centers after missing profit targets. Another example cited in the source is Keel Infrastructure, which shut down all US mining operations after revenue fell 50% in the second quarter. These cases support Clemente’s argument that operators facing weaker mining profitability may look to alternative compute markets.

Charles Edwards of Capriole Investments also linked hash rate declines to miners’ AI pivot, describing it as a “concerning Bitcoin development in 2026” and noting acceleration since April.

What to watch next as incentives keep shifting

With fee revenue near decade-low levels and estimated mining costs exceeding spot value, the next signal will be whether hash rate stabilizes as difficulty adjusts—or whether additional miners continue reallocating capital toward AI/HPC. Investors may also want to monitor how quickly fee share recovers, since sustained low fees increase the network’s dependence on the subsidy at exactly the moment when operators appear to be changing how they deploy compute.

Prediction market Kalshi’s live order book is now available through data provider DoubleZero Edge’s dedicated fiber network, the two companies said in a Wednesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

Kalshi said this makes it the first prediction market to distribute its real-time order book data on sports and crypto perpetuals event contracts, which will be available to new DoubleZero Edge subscribers.

Users looking for a machine-readable view of prediction market data can access these capabilities via the dedicated feed, instead of building this infrastructure from order books and application programming interface (API) responses themselves.

Data access is a “critical part” of market structure, but related infrastructure has been missing from new financial paradigms such as crypto, perpetuals and prediction markets, said Austin Federa, co-founder of DoubleZero, adding that this initiative will bring institutional-grade infrastructure to industry participants. 

Sports ranks as the second-largest category on Kalshi with 37.8% of weekly notional volume, followed by crypto in third place, at 20.3%. Exotics ranked first, accounting for 39.4% of Kalshi’s weekly notional trading volume, according to Dune data.

In early July, OpenAI started displaying Kalshi’s prediction market odds for FIFA World Cup matches in ChatGPT search results. 

Kalshi’s sports event contracts are at the center of a jurisdictional dispute between state regulators and the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  State authorities argue that the contracts are wagers subject to state gambling laws, while the CFTC and Kalshi contend that they are derivatives subject to the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction. 

On June 29, a Michigan judge temporarily blocked Kalshi from allowing residents to place bets on sporting events. Days earlier, Kentucky sued five prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, accusing them of operating unlicensed sports betting platforms. Nevada also issued a temporary ban on Kalshi earlier in March. 

The CFTC also sued several states, arguing that federally regulated event contracts fall under its exclusive authority. 

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U.S. inflation in July was in line with expectations, leaving expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike broadly unchanged.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% in July from the previous month, compared with economists’ forecast for a 0.1% increase and June’s 0.4% decline.

On a year-over-year basis, CPI rose 3.4%, in line with forecasts and slightly lower than June’s 3.5% reading.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% month over month in July, compared with forecasts for a 0.2% increase and an unchanged reading in June. On a year-over-year basis, core CPI rose 2.5% as expected by analysts and edging lower from June’s 2.6%.

Bitcoin BTC$63,520.23 fell from $64,400 to $64,080 in a knee-jerk reaction before stabilizing, still largely flat over 24 hours. Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.7% higher.

Treasury yields remained under pressure, maintaining pre-CPI weakness. The two-year hovered at 4.19%, down 3.6 basis points on the day, and the 10-year yield stood at 4.66%, also down three basis points.

Already a key data point for markets, July’s CPI report took on added importance after a weaker-than-expected U.S. employment report showed that the economy unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July.

Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint Financial has started a limited rollout of HKDAP, its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin, four months after securing one of the city’s first two issuer licences.

The initial rollout will focus on institutional payments and settlement before adding more access channels and cross-border applications.

HashKey Exchange and OSL Group joined as authorized distributors, allowing eligible institutions and professional investors to obtain HKDAP through their apps and other supported channels, according to separate announcements.

HashKey said it had completed its first minting and redemption transaction for the token, including conversions between HKDAP and fiat currency.

Anchorpoint, a joint venture between Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and HKT, plans to use distributors and commercial partners to bring the token into payments, settlement and other financial applications. HKDAP stands for “Hong Kong dollar at par.”

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies with values pegged to an external reference such as fiat currencies. Stablecoins are widely used to finance crypto trading, serve as a means of payment and facilitate cross‑border capital flows. The combined market cap of all stablecoins was nearly $287 billion as of this writing.

Pi Network price rose more than 5% toward $0.090 on Aug. 12 as the Protocol 26 deadline passed and softer U.S. inflation data supported speculative assets.

Pi Network price action today

According to data from crypto.news, Pi Network (PI) price climbed more than 5% to approach $0.090 on Aug. 12, while trading activity reportedly increased by about 35%. PI traded near $0.0883 at the time of writing after giving back part of its intraday advance.

The move followed the Aug. 11 deadline for Mainnet node operators to complete the Protocol 26 upgrade. The Pi Core Team previously said nodes that missed the cutoff would lose Mainnet connectivity until they installed the required update.

No widespread network disruption had been reported by the time of writing. However, the team had not published figures showing how many operators completed the upgrade, making it difficult to confirm the participation rate across Pi Network’s node infrastructure.

Protocol 26 improves smart contract safety, state management, interoperability, and cryptographic functions. The upgrade is also intended to prepare the network for Protocol 27, the final planned step in the current protocol update sequence.

Cooling US inflation supports PI recovery

U.S. macroeconomic conditions provided a second tailwind for PI and the broader crypto market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in July and 3.4% from a year earlier.

Annual inflation slowed from 3.5% in June, while core CPI increased 0.2% month over month and 2.5% annually. Both annual readings eased from the previous month.

Slower inflation can reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further. Lower rate expectations generally support risk assets by improving liquidity conditions, although PI’s immediate move remained closely tied to the network upgrade and retail trading activity.

PI’s price is still more than 95% below its February 2025 peak, leaving the token exposed to sharp swings as short-term traders respond to technical breakouts and project updates.

Supply also remains an important risk. Data attributed to PiScan indicates that approximately 775.8 million PI could be unlocked by the end of 2026. Unlocks do not guarantee immediate selling, but they may increase the amount of PI available in the market if recipients choose to sell.

PI price holds above short-term support

The daily chart shows PI trading above its 20-day simple moving average at $0.0853. Reclaiming the average marks an improvement from the sustained downtrend that pushed the token from above $0.20 in March to a July low near $0.071.

Bull-bear power has also turned slightly positive at 0.00166, indicating that buyers have gained limited control around the current range. Price has nevertheless failed to produce a decisive trend reversal.

PI remains below the 50-day moving average at $0.0961, which forms the first major resistance zone. The 100-day and 200-day averages sit much higher at $0.1215 and $0.1489, respectively, showing that the broader daily trend remains bearish.

A daily close above $0.096 would strengthen the recovery case and place the psychological $0.10 level in focus. Clearing both barriers could allow buyers to target the 100-day average near $0.12.

Failure to hold $0.0853 would weaken the current setup. Sellers could then test $0.080, followed by the July support area between $0.071 and $0.075.

4-hour indicators show weak but improving momentum

PI’s 4-hour chart shows price consolidating between approximately $0.085 and $0.092 after recovering from the late-July low. Buyers have repeatedly defended the lower end of the range, but rallies have lost momentum around $0.090–$0.093.

The 4-hour Relative Strength Index stood at 49.79, just below the neutral 50 level. The reading shows that selling pressure has eased without confirming strong bullish momentum.

MACD offered a slightly more constructive signal. Its histogram turned positive at 0.00006 as the MACD line moved above the signal line, although both remained below zero. The setup points to an early recovery attempt rather than a confirmed breakout.

A 4-hour close above $0.093 would improve the short-term structure and expose the $0.096–$0.10 resistance zone. Losing $0.085, however, would invalidate the immediate bullish setup and raise the risk of another move toward $0.080.

Analyst sees $0.15 target after triangle breakout

Crypto analyst Crypto With Gopal said PI was compressing between descending resistance and rising support, creating a large triangle pattern.

According to the analyst’s chart, a clean break above approximately $0.10 could trigger a larger move toward $0.15. Such a move would require PI to reclaim its 50-day and 100-day moving averages before challenging the 200-day average near the analyst’s target.

Until PI closes above $0.10, the pattern remains unconfirmed. The token’s position below its major long-term averages and the pending supply unlocks continue to limit the strength of the bullish case.

Trump isn’t the only President to execute a decoy mission

A coalition of crypto companies and industry groups has asked frontier artificial intelligence (AI) labs to provide Bitcoin developers and other open-source “defenders” early access to their most capable models. The request comes in a letter published Monday by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), arguing that current access arrangements can leave critical infrastructure teams operating behind the pace of rapidly advancing AI-assisted cyber capabilities.

In the letter, signatories say many defenders—including Bitcoin Core developers—can be limited by the absence of dedicated “trusted-access programs” and by guardrails applied to publicly available frontier systems. As a result, they contend that qualified teams may be forced to rely on less capable open-weight models, even as attackers may use more powerful AI tooling to probe for weaknesses.

Key takeaways

• The Bitcoin Policy Institute letter calls for “standing trusted-access programs” so open-source financial infrastructure defenders can use top-tier frontier AI before widespread public release.
• Signatories argue that guardrails and limited access to advanced models can hinder security research and response for Bitcoin and broader crypto systems.
• The letter links the push to the rising scale of AI-enabled vulnerability discovery and threats, citing multiple reports from open-source maintainers.
• Industry data referenced in the letter points to a sharp jump in monthly crypto hacks, with April 2026 losses exceeding $634 million.
• The coalition includes major ecosystem participants such as Anchorage Digital, BitGo, Bitwise, Blockstream, Kraken, Ledger, and Trezor, among others.

Why the letter centers on “trusted access”

The BPI says the economics of security research and cyber operations are shifting as frontier AI models become more capable. According to the letter, advanced systems can search large codebases, surface potential weaknesses, and compress timelines for complex technical work—benefits that apply not only to attackers, but also to defenders responsible for maintaining open-source financial infrastructure.

Without early, dedicated access programs, the letter warns that defenders may struggle to keep pace with evolving threats. It also argues that cyber incidents exploiting open-source vulnerabilities can translate directly into real-world harm, including the risk of losing “life savings,” given how widely open-source software underpins digital finance.

To address this asymmetry, the letter asks frontier AI labs to “establish or expand standing trusted-access programs” for qualified open-source defenders. The focus is less on broad public access and more on structured access channels for teams charged with safeguarding infrastructure.

What data and security commentary are used to support the case

The letter points to recent increases in hack activity across the sector. It cites DefiLlama data showing that total monthly crypto hacks surged in April 2026, with malicious actors stealing more than $634 million from cryptocurrency platforms—described as the highest monthly total since the Bybit hack. That earlier incident, the letter notes, contributed to losses of roughly $1.4 billion in February 2025, again according to DefiLlama.

In addition to incident volume, the letter frames AI as a force multiplier for vulnerability discovery. It references concerns raised across the crypto security industry as newer AI systems make it easier to automate parts of the probing and exploit development cycle.

Earlier coverage cited within the letter highlights comments from Mitchell Amador, CEO of bug bounty platform Immunefi, who characterized the moment as a “vulnerability apocalypse” in relation to developments in AI-assisted research. The letter also mentions the emergence of newer frontier models—described in the article as Claude Opus 4.8 and ChatGPT 5.5—as part of the broader shift raising security stakes.

Who signed the request

The open letter is co-signed by a broad cross-section of the crypto industry, signaling that the concern is not confined to one segment of infrastructure. Alongside the Bitcoin Policy Institute, the signatories include organizations such as the African Bitcoin Institute, Anchorage Digital, BitGo, Bitwise, Blockstream, Bull Bitcoin, MARA, Kraken, Ledger, and Trezor, among others.

By bringing together companies spanning custody, exchanges, analytics, wallet infrastructure, and Bitcoin-focused organizations, the letter underscores the “system-wide” nature of the risk it describes: open-source code and shared software dependencies can affect multiple products, operators, and user bases at once.

Implications for Bitcoin developers and the broader security community

If frontier AI labs establish or expand trusted-access programs as requested, the most immediate practical impact would be on the speed and effectiveness of defensive work around open-source financial infrastructure. In the letter’s framing, having early access to capable models could improve how maintainers audit code, identify potential weaknesses, and respond to new exploit techniques.

The request also highlights a tension that many in security research recognize: attackers may benefit from advanced tools faster than defenders can. By arguing that public guardrails and limited availability of powerful models can block legitimate defense work, the letter effectively calls for a policy-like solution—one that treats certain defenders as authorized users of frontier capabilities.

At the same time, it remains unclear what “standing trusted-access programs” would look like in practice, including how labs would vet applicants, what models would be shared, and how output would be handled. The letter is a policy request rather than a technical specification, so builders and investors should watch for follow-up actions that clarify implementation details.

For now, the key signal is the coalition’s insistence that time-to-defense matters as AI capabilities scale—especially as hack activity remains elevated and AI-assisted vulnerability discovery accelerates. The next phase will likely involve whether frontier AI labs respond, and whether any program structures emerge that could help Bitcoin and other open-source maintainers close the gap between defensive capacity and adversarial capability.