Bitcoin’s ledger is a chain of blocks, each one a batch of transactions added by miners, firms running warehouses of specialised computers that compete to produce the next one. They are paid in newly issued bitcoin plus the fees attached to those transactions, and a block arrives roughly every ten minutes.

That ten-minute pace is not automatic. The network sets a difficulty level, which is how much computing work a miner must do to produce a valid block, and recalculates it every 2,016 blocks. If blocks have been arriving too fast, the work gets harder. Too slow, and it gets easier.

At normal speed, 2,016 blocks takes about two weeks.

Two blocks were produced on that chain. Then it stopped, because mining it costs exactly what mining bitcoin costs — as both chains having inherited the same difficulty when they parted, while paying in a coin that has no market, no exchange listing and no buyers.

It also cannot make mining easier on itself without first completing 2,016 blocks at its current pace. A live monitor now estimates that adjustment at 6.3 years away, up from 350 days on Sunday.

The number is calculated from recent block times, so every idle hour pushes it further out. Bitcoin’s next adjustment is due in 12 days.

TRON processed $2.1 trillion in USDT transfers during the second quarter of 2026 as its stablecoin market reached a record $89.2 billion, according to Messari’s Aug. 10 report. 

USDT accounted for $87.9 billion, or 98.5% of stablecoins on the network, putting TRON ahead of Ethereum’s $78.7 billion USDT balance at quarter end.

The quarter also brought a broader U.S. route into TRX. Binance.US restored spot trading, Bitnomial added TRX to its regulated U.S. markets and Canary Capital continued work on a proposed staked TRX exchange traded product. After the quarter, Bitnomial added TRX futures and Anchorage Digital opened institutional staking access.

TRON USDT supply moved above $90 billion after Q2

Average daily USDT transfer volume rose 4.3% from the previous quarter to $22.8 billion, reversing the decline recorded in Q1. Total stablecoin capitalization increased 4.1%, while TRON accounted for 47.6% of tracked USDT supply at the end of June, Messari found.

Growth continued after the quarter closed. TRON’s official milestone page records USDT circulation on the network surpassing $90 billion on July 9. That extends the trend discussed inearlier stablecoin coverage, when TRON was already widening its USDT lead over Ethereum.

Network usage has also remained elevated. TRONSCAN currently reports an average of about 12.07 million daily transactions over the latest 30 days. As crypto.news reported in arecent network milestone, lifetime transactions crossed 15 billion in early August while circulating USDT remained above $90 billion.

Higher activity lifted fees while TRX supply kept growing

TRON generated $699.4 million in network fees during Q2, up 15.9% in dollar terms. Fees measured in TRX increased 2.1% to 2.10 billion TRX. Messari said it was the first quarterly fee increase since an August 2025 governance change cut the network’s energy unit price. Average transaction cost increased 5.4% to $0.65.

Higher fees did not return TRX to net deflation during the quarter. Circulating supply increased by about 87 million TRX to 94.85 billion as token creation continued to exceed burns. Total staked TRX also fell 0.9% to 45.7 billion, while the staking rate declined to 48.2%.

The inflationary pattern has continued into August. TRONSCAN data shows total supply at roughly 94.898 billion TRX on Aug. 10. About 3.92 million TRX were generated that day against 3.32 million burned, producing a net increase of roughly 598,000 TRX. Daily figures can vary, but supply remains above its Q2 closing level.

U.S. access widens for TRX through exchanges and staking

Binance.US restored TRX on April 16 with TRX/USD and TRX/USDT trading pairs and native deposits and withdrawals, according to its notice. The listing reversed the exchange’s 2023 removal of the asset, covered in past Binance.US coverage.

Bitnomial then added spot TRX during Q2 before launching exchange traded TRX futures on July 27. Its release says eligible U.S. traders and institutions can use the CFTC regulated contracts to hedge or take exposure to TRX. Bitnomial president Michael Dunn said six months of regulated futures history “meets a key milestone” for potential spot ETF eligibility, although that statement does not amount to SEC approval of any TRX product.

Institutional custody access expanded as well. Anchorage Digital said in a July 14 announcement that clients can now stake TRX while keeping assets within its regulated custody framework.

Canary ETF filing and U.S. compliance remain next tests

Canary Capital’s proposed staked TRX product provides another U.S. development to watch. A July 24 amended SEC filing identifies Cboe BZX as the planned exchange and TRXS as the ticker. Canary anticipates staking at least 90% of the trust’s TRX under normal circumstances. However, the prospectus remains preliminary and says the shares are “expected to be listed” subject to the required conditions. The registration statement must become effective before securities can be sold under the offering.

The network’s growing stablecoin footprint also keeps U.S. compliance scrutiny in view. On July 1, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added 131 TRON addresses to its ISIS K designation in an official update.

Chainalysis separately said in its analysis that Tether froze balances across all 131 addresses. The wallets had received more than $1.4 million since 2023, according to the blockchain analytics firm. The episode was detailed in earlier sanctions coverage.

TRON has also continued upgrading its infrastructure. The mandatory GreatVoyage v4.8.2 Pyrrho release arrived July 15, followed by the nonmandatory v4.8.2.1 Heraclitus update on July 31. For the second half of 2026, the main measurable developments are whether USDT circulation and transaction activity hold their recent levels, whether TRX supply returns to net deflation, and how the proposed U.S. ETF process develops.

Trump Media & Technology Group reported a $238.1 million net loss for the second quarter on Aug. 10 as falling digital asset and securities valuations continued to weigh on its balance sheet. 

The Truth Social operator simultaneously announced plans for a “more disciplined digital asset treasury management framework” aimed at retaining long term crypto exposure while reducing volatility and making its assets more productive.

The U.S. listed company remains closely linked to Donald Trump through its ownership structure. Its latest annual report said the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, of which Trump is sole beneficiary, held about 41.1% of TMTG’s voting power as of Feb. 25. Donald Trump Jr. serves as sole trustee.

Trump Media Q2 loss reflects crypto markdowns

Trump Media’s Aug. 10 filing put quarterly revenue at $1.67 million, up 89% from $883,300 a year earlier. The increase came from advertising services under a barter agreement, subscriptions to the Truth+ Patriot Package and management fees from Truth.Fi funds. Lower advertising revenue at Truth Social partly offset those gains.

The much larger change came from the investment portfolio. Trump Media recorded $116.7 million in realized and unrealized losses on digital assets and pledged digital assets during Q2, alongside investment losses tied to securities. Its release placed combined unrealized losses across digital assets, pledged assets and equity securities at $190.4 million. It also reported $25.6 million in legal expenses and $13.7 million of cash used by operating activities.

Management said legacy legal matters have been substantially resolved and “expects” those costs to decline materially. The expected reduction remains a forward looking company assessment rather than a reported saving. General and administrative expenses actually rose to $35.9 million during Q2 from $28.6 million one year earlier.

The result follows the $405.9 million first quarter loss covered in earlier earnings coverage, when falling Bitcoin and Cronos valuations produced another large noncash hit to Trump Media’s accounts.

Bitcoin holdings jumped to 14,139 BTC in July

Trump Media held 9,477.16 BTC at June 30, carrying a fair value of about $557.1 million against a cost basis of roughly $1.01 billion. It also held about 756.1 million CRO valued at $40.6 million. The Bitcoin balance was slightly below the 9,542.16 BTC reported at the end of 2025.

The picture changed sharply after quarter end. Trump Media sold $159.6 million of equity securities invested in Bitcoin related products during July and used the proceeds to purchase Bitcoin directly. By July 31, the company reported approximately 14,139 BTC, including pledged coins, worth about $890.5 million at the $62,982 reference price used in its accounts.

That official figure provides a firmer baseline than wallet movements alone. In earlier Bitcoin transfer coverage, onchain analysts flagged large transfers to Crypto.com but the report cautioned that exchange deposits did not prove completed sales. The new filing confirms the July 31 balance, although it does not determine whether a separate Aug. 2 transfer of 2,628 BTC was later sold, pledged or moved for another purpose.

Trump Media is using Bitcoin for options and yield

The treasury is also more complex than a passive Bitcoin holding. Trump Media reported that 4,260.73 BTC, worth about $250.5 million at June 30, backed convertible notes. Those coins face withdrawal restrictions tied to the debt agreement through no later than May 29, 2028. Another 2,077.34 BTC was pledged to support the company’s Bitcoin options strategy.

The company also disclosed for the first time that it has placed some Bitcoin with third parties through lending, placement and other yield arrangements. Its SEC filing warns that these activities create counterparty credit, insolvency, liquidation and custody risks. Some counterparties may rehypothecate the Bitcoin, while deployed assets do not receive government insurance protections similar to qualifying bank deposits.

Trump Media has not disclosed new numerical limits for those strategies in its Q2 announcement. Its promised “more disciplined” framework therefore remains a broad policy direction for now. Future filings will show whether the company reduces pledged Bitcoin, changes its use of options, lowers third party exposure or simply adjusts how those positions are managed.

CRO exit window and TAE merger are next

The strategy change arrives days after Trump Media abandoned another major crypto expansion. On Aug. 7, the company terminated the proposed Trump Media Group CRO Strategy business combination and associated agreements. The development followed plans for a multibillion dollar Cronos treasury vehicle involving Crypto.com and Yorkville, as detailed in recent CRO treasury coverage.

Trump Media’s existing CRO balance remains separate from the canceled venture. Under the purchase terms disclosed in its filing, the company becomes eligible on Aug. 26 to sell up to 68,442,704 CRO during the following six months. That creates the next concrete date to watch as management reshapes its crypto exposure.

Attention is also shifting toward the proposed merger with fusion company TAE Technologies. Trump Media says it is targeting the fourth quarter of 2026 for completion, but the timetable is “subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions.” An Aug. 7 SEC report continued to state that the company intends to file a Form S-4 covering the transaction. Shareholder approvals and other closing conditions also remain outstanding steps.

Meanwhile, Trump Media is seeking more revenue outside its investment portfolio. Truth API launched Aug. 1 and the company says it has signed more than 10 customer agreements and is “already generating revenue.” Since the service launched after June 30, none of that revenue formed part of the Q2 figure. The product and related U.S. regulatory questions were examined in previous Truth API coverage.

That makes $70,000 the next area to watch, another round number with the 200-day moving average sitting nearby. Clearing it would put bitcoin above the range where buyers and sellers fought through March and April, a move Kuptsikevich said would shift sentiment meaningfully.

Traders are not there yet. The crypto sentiment index sits at 30, in what is known as the fear zone, and has stayed there since mid-July with occasional dips toward extreme fear.

Bonds and oil set the tone in broader markets. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose six basis points on Monday to 4.71%, dragging Australian and New Zealand government bonds down with them, with no cash Treasury trading during Asian hours because of a public holiday in Japan.

Brent crude held at $87.73 a barrel after jumping 5% on Monday, when President Donald Trump made fresh demands on Iran and dimmed hopes of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Gold rose for a third session above $4,400 an ounce.

Higher oil feeds into the inflation figures due Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is why the rally is weighing on assets that do better when rate rises look less likely.

Fund flows had been running the other way until this week. U.S. spot bitcoin funds took in $865 million across five sessions through Aug. 7, before a provisional outflow of $91 million on Monday.

Keel Infrastructure has shut down all of its U.S. Bitcoin mining operations as the former Bitfarms business redirects its American power portfolio toward artificial intelligence and high performance computing data centers. 

The company disclosed the transition on Aug. 10 alongside second quarter results showing revenue fell 50% from a year earlier to $30.4 million. Net loss reached about $65 million.

The move brings an end to Bitcoin mining at Keel’s sites in Washington and Pennsylvania, but it does not represent a complete exit from mining worldwide. The Delaware based company continues to operate legacy Bitcoin mining assets in Canada while pursuing approvals to convert more Canadian capacity toward HPC and AI workloads.

Keel Infrastructure ends U.S. Bitcoin mining

Keel’s SEC filing shows that the U.S. withdrawal happened in stages. Bitcoin mining at its Washington State site ended on April 28 as the company began converting the location into an 18 MW HPC data center. Mining then ceased at Panther Creek, Scrubgrass and Sharon in Pennsylvania on June 29.

The change is particularly relevant to Keel’s U.S. operations because the company is now trying to reuse power infrastructure originally built around cryptocurrency mining. Panther Creek and Scrubgrass continued selling electricity after their miners were switched off. They had about 60 MW and 63 MW of energized capacity, respectively, that had not been contracted under an electric supply agreement as of Aug. 7. Sharon is being prepared for a planned 110 MW HPC data center.

Keel has also changed its corporate center of gravity. The former Bitfarms completed its redomiciliation from Canada to the United States on April 1. Keel became a Delaware corporation, a U.S. domestic issuer and the ultimate parent of the Bitfarms business. Its common stock trades on Nasdaq under the KEEL ticker.

Bitcoin sales give Keel more cash for the AI shift

Keel’s latest release also shows its Bitcoin treasury continuing to shrink. Between April 1 and Aug. 7, the company sold 1,085 BTC for roughly $75 million. Its remaining balance stood at 1,861 BTC, valued by the company at approximately $121 million for liquidity purposes.

Management made clear that further disposals are planned. During its earnings presentation, Keel said its “intent is to liquidate our Bitcoin position in 2026.” That remains a management plan rather than a completed transaction, meaning the timing and proceeds from the remaining BTC are still dependent on future sales.

Total liquidity reached approximately $819 million as of Aug. 7, comprising $698 million of unrestricted cash and $121 million of unencumbered Bitcoin. That compares with about $533 million of liquidity reported in May, as previously reported in earlier earnings coverage.

Keel also raised $458 million through 1.25% convertible senior notes due in 2032 during the second quarter. Management said the capital is intended in part to support additional power capacity at its Pennsylvania properties, including Panther Creek and Scrubgrass.

Q2 losses show the cost of leaving Bitcoin mining

The transition is already visible in Keel’s financial results. Revenue from continuing operations fell to $30.4 million from $60.9 million a year earlier. Bitcoin mining revenue alone declined by $29.6 million as the company dealt with lower average Bitcoin prices, higher network difficulty and reduced U.S. mining activity.

The U.S. portion of the decline was substantial. U.S. operations generated 37% of second quarter revenue, down from 51% a year earlier. Revenue from U.S. operations fell by $19.9 million compared with Q2 2025, with Keel citing the Bitcoin market, higher network difficulty and the April shutdown in Washington.

Keel recorded a $141 million operating loss, compared with operating income of about $11 million one year earlier. Net loss was $65 million, while the loss from continuing operations was $64 million. The quarter also included large noncash depreciation charges tied partly to the retirement of mining infrastructure at Panther Creek and Scrubgrass.

General and administrative expenses increased to $31.3 million from $19.4 million. Keel attributed the rise partly to stock compensation, professional costs connected with its U.S. redomiciliation and hiring staff for its expansion into data center development.

The strategy follows a broader move by listed miners to reuse power intensive Bitcoin infrastructure for AI computing. In related broader industry coverage, several miners have redirected capital and electrical capacity toward AI hosting as mining economics weakened during 2026.

What happens next for Keel’s U.S. data centers

The next test is whether Keel can convert retired mining sites into contracted AI infrastructure. As of Aug. 7, the company had not begun HPC operations or recognized HPC data center revenue at the Washington site or its Pennsylvania properties. That makes the current transition primarily a development story rather than an established new revenue stream.

Keel says commercial talks are advancing. Chief executive Ben Gagnon said there were “multiple prospective tenants negotiating for each one” of the company’s three priority sites. However, Keel has not publicly named those prospective tenants or announced a signed customer lease for the sites in its latest results. The customer negotiations therefore remain a company reported commercial process rather than booked revenue.

Permitting is also unfinished. Panther Creek and Sharon have received zoning and land development approvals, while environmental permits remain in progress. Panther Creek has 350 MW of secured utility capacity, and management said its earliest expected ready for service date remains in 2027.

Keel has not abandoned Bitcoin mining everywhere. Its Canadian mining assets remain operational while it pursues further HPC conversions, including a proposed 96 MW data center campus in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Local approval has been obtained for the power transfer, although the change to HPC and AI use remains subject to provincial review.

For Keel, the U.S. pivot has therefore moved beyond planning: the miners are now off, mining equipment has been designated for sale and capital has been raised. The remaining milestones are more difficult to measure in advance. Permits must be completed, tenants must sign contracts, construction must proceed and the former mining sites must begin producing HPC revenue before the new model can be judged on operating performance.

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