Aug 5, 2026
SBI Shinsei Bank will begin a pilot program on June 10 allowing its 4.33 million depositors to receive vouchers worth 20% of their interest payments, redeemable for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The three-month program represents a novel integration of traditional banking with cryptocurrency rewards.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified that the department is proceeding with "deliberate speed" on establishing a Bitcoin reserve, while Representative Nick Begich introduced legislation to formally create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve within the Treasury Department.
The defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox transferred 10,422 BTC ($739 million) from cold storage to a new wallet on June 2, marking its first on-chain movement in over two months. The transfer occurred as Bitcoin traded below $70,000, with approximately 35,000 BTC still remaining for distribution to creditors.
Prediction market platform Kalshi launched the first CFTC-regulated Bitcoin perpetual futures in the U.S. and applied for altcoin derivatives, while former congressman George Santos faces federal investigation for allegedly betting against his own attendance at a State of the Union address on the platform.
Investment firm Bernstein has initiated coverage on Bitcoin miners TeraWulf and Cipher Digital with 'Outperform' ratings and price targets of $36 and $32 respectively, positioning them as 'power landlords' for AI infrastructure. The coverage comes as Bitcoin mining stocks have significantly outperformed BTC in 2026, with miners securing over $110 billion in AI-related deals over the past two years.
New reports warn the cryptocurrency industry faces an accelerating quantum computing threat that could compromise Bitcoin's security sooner than expected, with over $2 trillion in digital assets potentially at risk. Early Bitcoin investor Andrew Gault suggests the industry may be focusing on the wrong vulnerabilities.
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), a major Canadian pension fund, disclosed a $219 million position in Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), marking its return to Bitcoin exposure via public markets after previously exiting. The fund is now sitting on a $69 million unrealized gain.
Block Inc. revealed it holds 28,355 BTC ($2.2 billion) including $1.5 billion in customer Bitcoin and $692 million in corporate treasury, adding 114 BTC in Q1 and committing to regular third-party audited reports.
The CEO of troubled Polish exchange Zonda revealed a Bitcoin wallet holding approximately 4,500 BTC (worth over $330 million) is inaccessible because private keys were never transferred during a company handover.
Morgan Stanley's MSBT Bitcoin fund has overtaken WisdomTree's spot Bitcoin ETF in assets after only six trading days, with inflows topping $100 million. The fund is now within striking distance of overtaking three other January 2024 Bitcoin ETF launches.
Michael Saylor's Strategy purchased 13,927 BTC for approximately $1 billion entirely through STRC perpetual preferred stock sales, bringing total holdings to 780,897 BTC worth around $55 billion—over 3.7% of total Bitcoin supply.
The Kingdom of Bhutan transferred another 319 BTC to new wallets, continuing a selling streak that has reduced its sovereign Bitcoin holdings from 13,000 BTC to 3,774 BTC. Funds were routed through wallets previously used for sales via Galaxy Digital and OKX.
Wall Street broker Bernstein published research arguing that while quantum computing poses a real threat to Bitcoin, it represents a multi-year upgrade cycle rather than an existential crisis, with risks concentrated in older wallets and exposed keys.
Financial services giant Charles Schwab, with nearly $12 trillion in client assets, announced plans to launch spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading through a new 'Schwab Crypto' account by the end of Q2 2026, with early access subscriptions now available.
Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms sold 3,778 BTC worth approximately $250-290 million during Q1 2026, more than 2.5 times its production, as part of a strategic pivot toward AI infrastructure. The sales add to a broader trend of public Bitcoin treasury companies liquidating holdings.
A New Hampshire state authority received a provisional Ba2 (speculative-grade) rating from Moody's for a first-of-its-kind bitcoin-backed municipal bond. BitGo will serve as custodian and liquidation agent, marking an early test of crypto as collateral in traditional public finance markets.
Google researchers published findings showing quantum computers may require 20x fewer qubits than previously estimated to break elliptic curve cryptography used by Bitcoin and Ethereum. The research suggests fault-tolerant quantum machines capable of threatening crypto security could arrive by 2029-2032, accelerating industry urgency around post-quantum upgrades.
The Department of Labor proposed a rule following Trump's executive order that would enable Americans to invest in crypto and other alternative assets through 401(k) plans, potentially opening trillions in retirement funds to digital assets.
Morgan Stanley priced its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) at 14 basis points, undercutting all existing competitors and potentially launching in early April. Bloomberg analysts called it a 'big move' that could drive significant inflows given the bank's 16,000 financial advisors managing $6.2 trillion in client assets.
Draft legislation circulating among stakeholders would create a de minimis tax exemption for dollar-pegged stablecoin transactions, but explicitly excludes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, drawing criticism from Bitcoin advocates who argue the bill 'picks winners and losers.'
NYSE parent company ICE has completed a $600 million direct cash investment in prediction market platform Polymarket, bringing its total commitment to nearly $2 billion. The investment comes as prediction markets have surged past $20 billion in monthly volume, driven by geopolitics and macroeconomic event trading.
Government-sponsored mortgage giant Fannie Mae will allow borrowers to pledge Bitcoin and USDC as collateral for conforming mortgages through a new program with Better Home & Finance and Coinbase, marking the first time digital assets can be used to back mortgages in the US housing finance system.
Senators and the White House have reached a tentative agreement to resolve the contentious stablecoin yield restrictions in the CLARITY Act, though the compromise has drawn mixed reactions from the crypto industry. Coinbase reportedly continues to oppose the updated draft language despite the agreement.
A group of Bitcoin developers propose BIP-360, introducing a new quantum-resistant transaction type called pay-to-Merkle-root (P2MR). The proposal creates a migration path for new coins but leaves billions in legacy addresses unprotected.