*** Analysis: Finance & Crypto – 31 July 2026 ***
Bitcoin Flat Near $64,000 as Equities Surge and BOJ Holds
Topic: Crypto / Economy,
Sources: CoinDesk.
Bitcoin traded largely unchanged near $64,000–$64,300 over the past 24 hours, with majors like Ether near $1,890 and Solana around $74 also flat to slightly lower on the week. This occurred even as South Korea’s Kospi index surged as much as 17%—its sharpest rebound—driven by Samsung and SK Hynix gains exceeding 23%, while U.S. chip stocks and the Nasdaq also recovered strongly on AI-related optimism and Amazon’s cloud results. The Bank of Japan left its benchmark rate at 1%, with markets largely shrugging off hawkish comments from Governor Ueda as an October hike was already priced in; the yen weakened modestly, supporting carry trades into risk assets.
Bitcoin had tracked semiconductor moves closely through much of July, holding firm during prior tech selloffs and Korea’s midweek crash. Background includes the Fed’s July 29 decision to hold U.S. rates steady at 3.50%–3.75% (with three dissents favoring a hike) amid persistent inflation concerns, leaving policy uncertainty elevated. Crypto volumes remained moderate, with bitcoin seeing roughly $27 billion in 24-hour turnover.
Key tensions include the clear short-term decoupling: crypto sat out both the equity crash and the powerful rebound, raising questions about whether institutional flows or risk appetite have shifted. Uncertainties center on whether AI capital spending and yen dynamics will reassert correlation, or if muted crypto sentiment persists amid broader market skepticism.
Coldcard Hardware Wallet Flaw Drains 594 BTC
Topic: Crypto,
Sources: CoinDesk.
An attacker exploited a randomness flaw in certain Coldcard hardware wallets to sweep roughly 594 bitcoin—worth about $38 million—from around 500 single-signature wallets in under 30 minutes between 01:31 and 01:56 UTC. The coins, many dormant for years and spanning 2021–2026 creation dates, were moved in 1,324 chunks across 500 transactions before consolidation. The vulnerability, introduced in firmware 4.0.0 in March 2021, caused devices to skip hardware randomness and fall back to predictable software generation seeded by non-secret chip data like serial numbers.
Coinkite, the Canadian maker, warned users who generated seeds on Mk3 devices running firmware 4.0.1 or later; early analysis indicates Mk4, Q, and Mk5 models are unaffected. Block’s engineering team disclosed the issue after detecting active exploitation, noting the same flawed generator impacted paper wallets and other features. The theft registered no meaningful impact on bitcoin’s price, which held steady above $64,000.
Tensions arise from the age of the flaw versus the sudden, efficient drain of long-dormant funds, highlighting risks in older hardware even for offline storage. Uncertainties remain around the full scope of exposed wallets, potential further losses, and whether similar issues exist in other devices, though the market’s non-reaction underscores bitcoin’s resilience to isolated security events.
Strategy Books $8.2 Billion Q2 Loss on Bitcoin Decline
Topic: Crypto / Finance,
Sources: CoinDesk.
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, reported an $8.2 billion second-quarter net loss, driven almost entirely by an $8.32 billion unrealized fair-value markdown on its holdings. The firm held 843,775 BTC as of late July (up 25% year-to-date), valued at roughly $54.8 billion against a $63.7 billion acquisition cost. It raised $17.06 billion via stock offerings this year, built a $3.75 billion USD cash reserve covering over two years of preferred dividends and interest, and sold about $218 million in bitcoin under a new monetization program.
The results follow investor scrutiny of its complex capital structure involving preferreds, convertibles, and equity. Coinbase separately missed Q2 revenue estimates at $1.22 billion (vs. $1.29 billion expected), with shares dropping 5% after-hours as lower crypto prices cut trading volumes; it added 819 BTC to its treasury.
Contradictions include Strategy’s continued accumulation and “Digital Credit” push despite the loss and first notable bitcoin sales, versus market skepticism on sustainability. Uncertainties focus on whether the cash buffer and buyback authorizations stabilize sentiment, or if further BTC weakness pressures the model amid soft industry trading activity.