Iranian drone and missile strikes on Kuwait's power and water infrastructure have rattled crypto markets, sending Bitcoin below $73,000 and triggering over $700 million in liquidation cascades.
The escalation in Gulf tensions coincided with US sanctions freezing $130 million in Iranian crypto assets. Nearly $1 billion in total crypto positions were liquidated as traders responded to the geopolitical shock.
The incident marks one of the sharper macro-driven selloffs in recent months, underscoring how rapidly geopolitical events can translate into crypto market volatility.
🔐 UK gang jailed for £4M crypto impersonation scam
A UK criminal gang has been sentenced after stealing over £4 million ($5.4M) in cryptocurrency from eight victims by posing as police officers.
The group used convincing fake police websites to deceive targets into handing over their crypto holdings. The fraud involved direct impersonation of law enforcement, a tactic designed to pressure victims into compliance under the guise of official investigations.
The case highlights the growing use of authority impersonation in crypto-related fraud, where fake government and law enforcement identities are deployed to bypass victims' skepticism.
🟠 Project Eleven proposes post-quantum wallet recovery for Bitcoin
Project Eleven has outlined a proposal for a post-quantum cryptographic proof system that would allow Bitcoin users to verify wallet ownership in the event of a quantum computing attack — commonly referred to as "Q-Day."
The mechanism is designed to let users prove control of their wallets without exposing the private key data that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could otherwise compromise. The proposal addresses a long-standing concern in the Bitcoin community: how to recover or protect funds if elliptic curve cryptography is broken by quantum hardware.
No timeline or formal Bitcoin Improvement Proposal process was announced alongside the proposal.
💵 Aptos Launches Open USD Stablecoin with Mastercard, Visa and Stripe
Aptos has unveiled Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin initiative developed in partnership with Mastercard, Visa, and Stripe, positioning the project as a potential accelerant for global stablecoin adoption.
The collaboration brings together major payments infrastructure players alongside the Aptos blockchain. The initiative aims to broaden stablecoin usability across mainstream payment networks, though it faces regulatory scrutiny and coordination challenges that could affect its rollout.
No further details on OUSD's backing mechanism, issuance structure, or launch timeline were provided in the announcement.
🟠 Strategy holds $3B cash as Bitcoin position sits $9.9B underwater
Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR) has halted Bitcoin purchases and built a $3 billion U.S. dollar reserve alongside its 843,775 BTC holding, currently valued at roughly $55 billion but sitting $9.9 billion below cost basis.
Executive chairman Michael Saylor is framing the cash-and-Bitcoin barbell structure as the company's approach to navigating the current bear market — preserving liquidity while maintaining the world's largest corporate Bitcoin position intact.
🟠 BIP-110 splits Bitcoin community ahead of activation deadline
A proposal to restrict non-financial data on the Bitcoin network is dividing developers, miners, and industry leaders, reviving governance tensions not seen since the Blocksize Wars.
BIP-110 would limit the use of Bitcoin's block space for non-financial data — a practice popularized by protocols like Ordinals and Runes. Supporters argue it preserves Bitcoin's core monetary function and reduces node bloat, while opponents contend it represents a contentious protocol change that could harm miner revenue and set a precedent for restricting permissionless use of the network.
The debate reopens fundamental questions about who controls Bitcoin's development direction and how consensus changes are legitimately activated — issues that last reached this intensity during the 2017 Blocksize Wars.
⚖️ Japan reclassifies crypto as a financial product
Japan's House of Councillors has passed an amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, officially recognizing cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP — as financial products rather than payment tools.
The legislation introduces insider trading rules, tougher penalties and stricter oversight for crypto businesses. It also establishes a separate crypto tax rate of approximately 20%, down from the current maximum of 55%, and opens the door to domestic crypto ETFs. Lawmakers cited crypto's evolution beyond its original payment function as the basis for applying investment-grade regulation.