Bitcoin and Ethereum recover as risk appetite improves
Crypto markets strengthened during the week ending 9 August 2026, with Bitcoin rising from roughly $63,000 at the start of the week to around $67,000, while Ethereum also gained. Improving hopes for a U.S.–Iran agreement helped sentiment, while Bitcoin ETFs recorded their strongest week since April, attracting roughly $850 million in net inflows after months of generally weak institutional demand.
The CLARITY Act slips beyond the summer recess
The long-running effort to pass comprehensive U.S. crypto market-structure legislation suffered another delay. The Senate failed to complete the CLARITY Act before leaving for its August recess, pushing the next realistic opportunity into September. The bill would establish clearer SEC/CFTC responsibilities and rules for digital assets, but political disagreements—particularly around ethics and conflicts of interest—have repeatedly slowed its progress.
Coldcard hack drives renewed focus on self-custody security
The fallout from the serious Coldcard hardware-wallet vulnerability continued to reverberate through the industry. The flaw reportedly resulted in around $70 million of Bitcoin being stolen, raising uncomfortable questions about the security assumptions surrounding hardware wallets and self-custody. The incident prompted affected users to move funds and contributed to a wider debate over whether regulated custodians and ETF structures can sometimes offer greater protection than managing private keys independently.