Coldcard attack fears spur small BTC transfers, Trump Media cuts holdings, and the CLARITY Act nears a key vote; today’s BTC trades near $62K amid fear sentiment. The broader cryptocurrency market continues to face pressure from both macroeconomic uncertainty and changes in market positioning at the beginning of August. Bitcoin has fallen back toward $62K, with a 24-hour decline of around 3%. Ether is consolidating near $1,860 and has dropped approximately 3.5% over the same period. This has pushed the total digital asset market capitalization slightly lower to around USD 2.18 trillion. The latest Crypto Fear and Greed Index reading stands at 28, which shows that market sentiment remains firmly in the fear zone. Derivatives market data shows that total liquidations reached USD 145 million over the past 24 hours. Both long and short positions experienced significant forced closures, which reflects the continued liquidation pressure on leveraged positions under current volatility conditions. On-chain activity has also drawn attention. Bitcoin long-term holders have recently made several large transfers, with tens of thousands of BTC moving out of cold storage or into centralized exchanges. These movements have raised concerns about macroeconomic uncertainty and potential selling pressure. Meanwhile, volatility across global financial markets continues to affect crypto investor risk appetite through cross-market liquidity channels. Other important factors include expectations surrounding the U.S. Treasury's currency policy and rapidly changing geopolitical conditions. Institutional analysts generally believe that crypto assets are undergoing one of the industry's larger periods of liquidity consolidation and deleveraging. Market attention is gradually shifting away from short-term speculative narratives toward long-term fundamental value and infrastructure security.

Source: Alternative

Key News Highlights:

Suspected Coldcard Security Incident Pushes Small Bitcoin Transfers to Highest Level Since 2022

Small Bitcoin transfers have risen sharply as the suspected Coldcard wallet security incident continues to develop. The daily volume of transactions below 1 BTC reached its highest level since the collapse of a major cryptocurrency exchange in 2022. On-chain data shows that users moved approximately 39,600 BTC through small transactions in a single day. This was only 300 BTC below the 39,900 BTC recorded on November 16, 2022. The increase suggests that some holders began moving their assets after the security incident became public. These transfers may involve switching addresses, moving funds to other wallets, or adopting different custody arrangements. Researchers reported that the latest confirmed wave of attacks drained another 207.7 BTC, worth approximately USD 13.2 million at the time. Estimated losses from the incident have now reached 1,367 BTC, with a total value of around USD 88.6 million. A total of 4,585 addresses have reportedly been affected. Researchers said the attack was still active at the time of publication, and teams continued to identify new victim and attacker addresses. Security specialists have urged users who still hold funds in affected wallet-generated addresses to review their assets and move them to unaffected addresses in accordance with security guidance. The incident has also renewed discussion about self-custody security, the responsibilities of hardware wallet providers, and the suitability of third-party custody services.

Trump Media Transfers Another 2,628 BTC as Holdings Fall to 4,261 BTC

Trump Media & Technology Group has made another adjustment to its Bitcoin treasury. On-chain data shows that company-linked addresses transferred 2,628 BTC to a major centralized exchange. The assets were worth approximately USD 165 million at the time. Analytics platforms have classified these transfers as part of the company's recent Bitcoin sales activity, extending a seven-month reduction in its crypto holdings. Data shows that Trump Media initially purchased 11,542 BTC at an average price of $118,522 per coin. After several transfers and sales, the company has now disposed of a total of 7,281 BTC. These assets were worth approximately USD 545 million. Analytics data estimates that Bitcoin was sold at an average price of around $74,855 per coin, which was significantly below the company's previously disclosed average purchase price. The latest on-chain records show that Trump Media still holds 4,261 BTC, worth approximately USD 269.8 million at the time of reporting. The latest transfer consisted of two main transactions. One involved approximately 2,429 BTC, while the other involved around 198.9 BTC. Company-linked wallets had also transferred a combined 2,650 BTC to the same type of platform on May 22. These transactions have kept market attention focused on how publicly listed companies adjust their crypto treasuries during periods of price volatility.

Strategy Maintains STRC Dividend at 12% as Preferred Shares Remain Below Par

Strategy announced that the August dividend rate for its STRC preferred shares will remain at 12%, even though the security continued to trade well below its $100 par value at the end of July. STRC closed at $89.46 on the final trading day of July and gained approximately 5.42% during the month. However, its price remained below the company's target range. Strategy raised the dividend rate by 50 basis points to 12% in early July but chose not to increase it again for August. This will be the second month in which STRC dividends are paid twice monthly following an arrangement previously approved by shareholders. Strategy's management reiterated that its long-term objective is for STRC to trade near $99 to $100. However, the company did not provide a specific timeline. Strategy recently reported a second-quarter net loss of approximately USD 8.22 billion. Most of the loss came from an unrealized decline of around USD 8.32 billion in the value of its Bitcoin holdings. To support preferred dividend payments and related interest obligations, Strategy has established a cash reserve of approximately USD 3.75 billion. The company said this reserve could cover more than two years of preferred dividend and interest payments. It has also repurchased around USD 25 million of STRC preferred shares at a discount to par.

U.S. CLARITY Act Vote Nears as Ethics and Stablecoin Rules Remain Unresolved

The U.S. Senate review of the CLARITY Act has entered a critical stage, but lawmakers have yet to reach full agreement on several ethics and regulatory provisions. Reports indicate that the U.S. government is considering a revised ethics proposal. The proposal would place restrictions on elected officials who participate in, promote, or profit from crypto projects. The original plan assigned responsibility for enforcing these rules to the U.S. Department of Justice. However, some Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about the independence of the enforcement process. A new compromise proposal would allow state attorneys general to take legal action if the Department of Justice failed to enforce the rules properly. It would not allow them to sue elected officials directly. Disagreements also remain between the banking and crypto industries over whether stablecoins should be allowed to pay yield to users. Another proposal concerning the legal liability of blockchain developers has drawn attention from law enforcement agencies. Some authorities believe that overly broad protections could interfere with investigations into money laundering and fraud. Several amendments proposed by prosecutors have not received support from the White House crypto policy team, and negotiations remain ongoing. With the available congressional voting window becoming increasingly limited, the market is watching whether lawmakers can resolve the remaining disputes over ethics rules, stablecoin yield, and blockchain developer liability before a formal vote.

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