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Bitcoin keeps taking it on the chin, with attacks coming from multiple angles that, until recently, seemed like hypothetical nightmare scenarios.
The week started with a cryptography researcher calling for “bunker mode” as OpenAI unveiled a series of AI-assisted mathematical breakthroughs, raising concerns that advances in AI could threaten classical cryptography before we even reach Q-Day.
While the prospect of AI breaking ECDSA suddenly felt a little less far-fetched, the threat remained theoretical.
Then another nightmare scenario became reality.
Attackers reportedly stole more than $90 million in crypto from Ledger hardware wallets in what appears to be a sophisticated supply-chain attack.
The attackers went so far as to purchase a well-known hardware wallet reseller in Malaysia and modify Ledger devices with malicious implants. The suspected mechanism involved a chip and GSM modem that could capture sensitive information during wallet setup and transmit it to attackers, letting them drain funds remotely.
This is truly horrifying stuff for an industry already reeling from months of increasingly sophisticated AI-empowered attacks.
But Bitcoin is antifragile. And while the threats are evolving, so are the Bitcoiners working tirelessly to harden the protocol and defend the self-custody we hold so dear.
Other headlines this week include
Saifedean says Bitcoin’s electricity consumption may have already peaked.
ZachXBT goes undercover inside a DPRK money laundering operation.
STRC enters its fifth month trading below its $100 par value.
Latest News
Adoption
Breez reports a 14X surge in Bitcoin development inquiries following the rise of AI coding agents, with Lightning payment integrations expanding into fitness, messaging, travel, and other apps.
David Friedberg asks whether OpenAI is withholding major cryptographic breakthroughs after its recent AI-assisted mathematics announcements omitted cryptography entirely.
Bitcoin settles $5.75 trillion in Q3 2026, averaging $62 billion daily in on-chain transaction volume, operating around the clock without bank holidays, business hours, or permission requirements.
Regulation
Ledger confirms unauthorized hardware implants in devices linked to suspected $86 million wallet thefts, prompting reseller CryptoBilis to halt sales amid an ongoing supply chain attack investigation.
CryptoBilis, a Malaysian HWW reseller, transferred ownership to a Chinese national before the Ledger supply chain attack, with former owners confirming their March departure and denying further involvement.
ZachXBT, the on-chain investigator, claims he infiltrated a Chinese criminal network allegedly laundering over $1 billion for North Korea’s Lazarus Group, using $349,700 of his own funds to gather evidence.
Markets
Bringin launches a Bitcoin banking platform for European businesses, offering self-custody, virtual IBANs, SEPA transfers, Lightning payments, Bitcoin-to-euro conversions, and cross-border payments.
Thailand’s SEC approves Bitcoin ETFs for its domestic stock exchange starting October 16, requiring 80% minimum asset exposure and regulated custody while expanding access for institutional investors.
Coinbase completes Deribit integration into its Everything Exchange, consolidating Bitcoin derivatives trading globally, with over $30 billion in options open interest and plans for margin trading and unified portfolios.
Treasury
Metaplanet adds 1,000 BTC, reaching 44,000 BTC as the second-largest public Bitcoin treasury, while allocating 10–15% of assets to income-generating investments and acquisitions to fund further purchases.
Strategy’s STRC has traded below its $100 target for over 150 days, despite the company spending approximately $1.45 billion on share buybacks to support its price and restore investor confidence.
Strategy and BlackRock’s IBIT now hold a combined 1.653 million BTC, equivalent to roughly 7.9% of Bitcoin’s total supply and worth about $141 billion.
Mining
Saifedean Ammous argues Bitcoin mining electricity consumption may have peaked in 2025, as declining mining rewards, halvings, and growing competition from AI data centers threaten future mining profitability.
Public Bitcoin miners shed roughly 75 EH/s of realized hashrate in the first half of 2026 as HPC and AI revenue climbed 52% quarter over quarter, highlighting the accelerating shift of mining infra toward AI.
The U.S. remains the largest Bitcoin mining hub with 35.6% of global hashrate, followed by Russia at 18.1% and China at 11.7%, as global mining capacity remains largely unchanged.
Politics
U.S. Treasury withdraws proposed surveillance rules targeting crypto mixers and self-custody wallets, acknowledging legitimate privacy uses of mixing services in what Coin Center calls a major victory.
Nation-state Bitcoin adoption is reportedly outpacing individual ownership, with 8% of countries adopting BTC acquisition or holding policies versus 5% of the global population owning Bitcoin.
India orders Apple to remove Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat from its App Store under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, prompting criticism from the Human Rights Foundation over government censorship.
The Ledger Supply-Chain Attack Is a Wake-Up Call for Bitcoin Custody
Imagine thinking you were doing everything right with Bitcoin self-custody. You buy a hardware wallet, generate your seed phrase offline, and never share it with anyone.
And you still lose your Bitcoin.
That’s the nightmare scenario emerging from the Ledger supply-chain attack, where malicious hardware implants reportedly allowed attackers to steal users’ seed phrases.
The lesson? Your Bitcoin security shouldn’t depend on a single device, manufacturer, or institution.
That’s why Bitcoin custody must evolve.
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Bam’s 2 Sats
When Retail Gets Bored, Nation-States Start Paying Attention
A Bar Market of Apathy
This week felt more like consolidation than anything else, with Bitcoin taking a breather as everyone debates what comes next.
Some see it as a normal bull market retracement. Others are still clinging to the idea that “Q4 is not over,” hoping for one more violent move lower to fulfill the four-year cycle prophecy. Or, if we’re being honest, to fill the bags they never got around to packing.
Looking back at the past few months, I’d say this bear market has been defined more by apathy than fear.
Bitcoin didn’t collapse the way it did after previous major bull runs. No one panicked that Bitcoin was going to die. Instead, the mood shifted toward something quieter: Bitcoin probably wasn’t going anywhere, but the days of outsized returns might be behind us.
While Retail Looks Away, Bigger Players Move In
That’s why one statistic caught my attention this week.
According to Willy Woo, Bitcoin adoption among nation-states is now estimated to be outpacing adoption among individuals.
What started as a grassroots movement is increasingly attracting governments, institutions, and some of the world's largest pools of capital.
Maybe the endless hacks and security failures across the broader industry have played a role. Maybe AI simply stole the spotlight while Bitcoin matured into something less exciting but more established.
Whatever the reason, Bitcoin adoption looks very different when you stop measuring it through retail sentiment and start paying attention to what governments and institutions are actually doing.
And, perhaps surprisingly, nation-states do seem to be coming.
Could the next major Bitcoin bull run be driven less by retail speculation and more by institutions and sovereigns? Maybe.
But I hope everyday people eventually catch up and recognize Bitcoin for what it offers beyond an investment: a tool for monetary freedom.
Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Let’s keep stacking.
Let’s keep stacking.
- Bam
Bitcoin Trivia
How much Bitcoin did U.S. government-linked wallets reportedly move over three days this week?
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