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A gambler (or possibly a hacker) sold 262.78 $ETH for 643K $USDC and deposited it into Hyperliquid, then opened a 40x short on 305.51 $BTC ($25.4M) 40 minutes ago. Liquidation price: $84,086.03 https://hypurrscan.io/address/0xf15d41724e10e3d64d2e292fb6fd5e45ae7bddf9#txs https://arkm.com/explorer/address/0xF15d41724E10E3D64D2e292fB6Fd5E45AE7BDdf9
You may have noticed that Crypto Twitter has spent much of this week arguing about whether AI could break the cryptography most crypto wallets rely on. You may also have struggled to follow the elliptic curves, ECDSA, lattice-based commitments and P = NP stuff. That makes you completely normal. Fear not: nothing has been broken, as far as anyone knows. Here is what happened, what is still unknown, and why it matters. On Tuesday, OpenAI released 722 mathematical manuscripts, written by an internal model it has not made public, covering hundreds of open problems. Mathematicians are still working out what they represent. Fewer than half have computer-checked main results, and a computer check confirms the logic, not the significance. Three papers were withdrawn within a day over a sign error. OpenAI has not claimed an attack on wallet cryptography. One result nevertheless drew serious attention: claimed progress toward the Riemann hypothesis, a puzzle about prime numbers unsolved since 1859. Rutgers mathematician @AlexKontorovich said that if a human had done it, it would be "an instant Fields Medal, no questions asked." The crypto world noticed. On Wednesday, Ethereum Foundation researcher @drakefjustin asked the industry to "calmly begin planning for bunker mode": preparing for the elliptic-curve signatures protecting most Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets to be broken by ordinary mathematics before quantum computers can do it. His worst case: "months not years." @VitalikButerin took the concern seriously but cautioned: "don't rush anything." He advised favoring hash-based schemes where possible, adding: "I personally have lost more money in botched migrations than I have lost in all hacks combined." In three bullets, the central idea: ⦿ Your wallet has a private key you keep secret and a corresponding public key ⦿ A signature made with the private key authorizes a payment; anyone can check it against the public key ⦿ The security rests on one-way math: easy to go forward, believed practically impossible to reverse on today's computers, so nobody can realistically work out your private key from your public key Nobody has proved that last step cannot be reversed; it has resisted every known attempt on today's computers. The worry is that AI might find a shortcut. There is a precedent for mathematical shortcuts: decades of work made factoring large numbers far easier than the obvious method suggested. Vitalik asks whether elliptic curves, and the newer lattice-based schemes built to resist quantum computers, hide shortcuts humans have missed but machines might find. Not everyone is convinced. Coinbase's head of cryptography, @LindellYehuda, says there is "no evidence whatsoever" that the assumptions behind elliptic curves have been weakened, and called the warning FUD. Nobody claims a breakthrough has happened; the dispute is over how seriously to prepare for one. However you weigh the risks, there are two clocks running. One is a quantum computer powerful enough to break this cryptography. It doesn't exist yet, and its development involves engineering milestones we can track. The other is a hypothetical mathematical breakthrough, which could arrive without notice and run on machines already available. Nobody can confidently date either. What would be at risk if an attacker could recover private keys from public keys? The most immediately exposed funds would be those controlled by keys that are already public. On Bitcoin, many address types hide the public key until you spend, and good wallets send change to a fresh address. On Ethereum, people commonly keep using one address, and its public key can be recovered as soon as it signs a transaction or a message. Bitcoin also has exposed keys in older outputs, Taproot outputs and reused addresses. That distinction explains Drake's advice to move funds to fresh addresses that keep their public keys hidden behind a hash. A new address is not automatically safe, though: Taproot outputs, for example, include a public key from the start. Sensible preparation starts with the ability to change. A blockchain may need to swap how it checks ownership as confidence in existing methods shifts, ideally without a network-wide upgrade. That is what crypto-agility means: engineering for flexibility. On CKB, ownership checks are programs, so new ones can be added without changing the network's rules. A signature scheme built from hash functions, the family Vitalik advises favoring where possible, is already live on mainnet: SPHINCS+. Our Chief Architect, Jan Xie, covers the quantum timeline and the challenges of migration in notes from a recent talk: https://jan.la/posts/pqc-migration-talk-notes/
Empire Market Co-Founder Sentenced to 40 Years, Forfeits 1,230 BTC According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Empire Market co-founder Raheim Hamilton was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for a drug conspiracy offense and fined $5 million. From 2018 to 2020, the darknet marketplace facilitated more than 4 million transactions worth over $430 million, including nearly $375 million in net drug sales. The platform required all transactions to be conducted in cryptocurrency and encouraged users to use mixing services. Hamilton pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit about 1,230 BTC, 24.4 ETH and three properties. Co-founder Thomas Pavey also previously pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit about 1,584 BTC and other assets, with sentencing expected later this month.
@andrewcuomo on why the CLARITY Act failed, onstage at @okx Now: "It was murder on the Orient Express for a number of reasons, but basically it was politics." "It's right before the midterms. If it passes, does one side claim victory?"
WuBlockchain Weekly: OKX Raises at $25B, CFTC Unveils First Crypto Rules, Vitalik Warns of AI Risks OKX raises at a $25 billion valuation, the CFTC unveils its first crypto market rules, and Vitalik warns AI could weaken cryptographic security faster than expected. This week also saw new moves in stablecoins, tokenized finance, crypto banking and institutional infrastructure.
LATEST: Thailand’s SEC approves domestic $BTC and $ETH ETFs, taking effect October 16 on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
MARKETS: $XRP ETFs were the only crypto ETFs with net inflows Thursday, pulling in $8M as $BTC ETFs shed $244M and $ETH funds lost $73M.
CoinShares: Bond Market May Matter More Than the Fed for Bitcoin as Fund Flows Cool CoinShares said on October 8 that digital asset fund inflows have slowed markedly this week after totaling about $11.1 billion since mid-July. Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has risen above 5.3% and the 30-year yield to 5.7%, both near multi-decade highs. Following weaker-than-expected September jobs data, the market-implied probability of an October rate hike fell from 71% three weeks ago to 23%. CoinShares argued that the bond market may become a more important driver than Fed policy. If rising long-term yields increasingly reflect concerns over U.S. fiscal sustainability rather than stronger growth, Bitcoin could be viewed more as an alternative to government-issued money. Fund flows have yet to clearly reflect that thesis, making them a key indicator to watch in the coming weeks.
AguilaTrades(@AguilaTrades) got liquidated 10 minutes ago! AguilaTrades got wrecked on both sides! He lost $331K going long on $BTC, then flipped to short and got liquidated. https://hypurrscan.io/address/0x1f250Df59A777d61Cb8bd043c12970F3AFE4F925#txs https://x.com/lookonchain/status/2108359656188043507
THE BLOCK: Sam Altman-backed bitcoin life insurer Meanwhile has raised $37.5 million in a funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto, bringing its total funding to over $180 million. The Bermuda-based firm offers bitcoin-denominated life insurance and is expanding across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
NEW: @StanChart plans to launch institutional crypto custody in Singapore, covering cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.
NEW: U.S. government-linked wallets have now deposited 17,733 $BTC ($1.48 billion) and 750 $WBTC ($62 million) into Coinbase Prime over the past three days, according to Lookonchain. The wallets still hold $25.4 billion worth of crypto, including $25.3 billion in bitcoin alone, per Arkham labeling.
THE BLOCK: Thailand's SEC issued 11 notifications establishing rules for crypto ETFs, with the framework taking effect Oct. 16. Initial eligible assets are bitcoin $BTC and ether $ETH, with funds required to maintain average net exposure of at least 80% of net asset value to a single asset.
THE BLOCK: Cathie Wood's Ark Invest sold $21.7 million worth of Robinhood $HOOD shares on Thursday and $4.7 million of SpaceX $SPCX stock. The investment firm also offloaded $1.8 million of its own $ARKB Bitcoin $BTC ETF as it continues to rebalance its fund weightings.
THE BLOCK: U.S. spot Bitcoin $BTC ETFs recorded $244.1 million in net outflows on Thursday, extending their negative streak to two consecutive sessions. Ether $ETH ETFs shed another $72.5 million, extending their outflow streak to eight sessions, while $XRP ETFs attracted $8.2 million in net inflows.
FIDELITY HAS BOUGHT $354M OF BITCOIN Fidelity's FBTC ETF bought $354.1M of BTC over the past 20 trading days. Its other crypto funds bought in the same period too: $66.6M of ETH and $18.2M of SOL. How much will they buy this week?
Bitcoin Spot ETFs See $244 Million in Net Outflows on October 8 On October 8 (ET), U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $244 million, with only the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) reporting a net inflow. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw total net outflows of $72.544 million, marking their eighth consecutive day of net outflows.
Glassnode: Approximately 6.26 Million BTC Have Public Keys Exposed to Quantum Computing Risks Glassnode co-founder Rafael said that approximately 6.26 million BTC, or 31.2% of the total supply, are held in addresses with publicly exposed public keys, up from 24.8% in early 2021. Of this amount, around 4.33 million BTC are exposed due to address reuse, while another 1.94 million BTC are directly exposed through script types such as P2PK and Taproot. Among BTC held by exchanges, approximately 1.79 million BTC have exposed public keys, accounting for 57% of identified exchange holdings, up from 55% in May this year. Rafael stressed that the statistics only reflect on-chain public-key exposure, do not indicate that the assets have been attacked, and do not constitute an assessment of the security of exchanges or custodians.
We can’t afford to wait for legislation any longer. The @CFTC has the authority to put a regulatory framework in place for crypto markets, and we’re using it. Watch on @Varneyco:
Onstage at @okx Now, @star_okx says crypto and traditional finance are converging into a single financial system, combining blockchain infrastructure with institutional liquidity and trust. "Every crypto company will become a TradFi company. Every TradFi company will invest into crypto."
Bitcoin's genesis block was mined 17 years ago. Since then it has survived Mt. Gox, the block size wars, China's mining ban and the collapse of FTX. In 2026, the biggest threat to its existence is quantum computing. Word is spreading, and the conversation around it is heating up. This week, @VitalikButerin and @drakefjustin both advised holders to keep funds in addresses that have never signed a transaction. It isn't only Bitcoin. Every chain that signs with elliptic curves faces the same question. Bitcoin just has the most to lose, and no one in charge to decide. Freeze the coins, migrate voluntarily, slow the drain or launch lifeboats? Every option is on the table, and none of them is free. NaoX positioned itself for this from the first block. Transactions can be signed with NIST's post-quantum standard and validators have only ever used post-quantum keys, so this is one debate NaoX never has to have. Can Bitcoin & crypto survive quantum? Breakdown 👇
The Fake and Artificial News is out there trying to say that I'm inviting the enemy to bomb San Diego and Los Angeles when, in actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles? All I was doing was making a comparison between paying a little more, for a short time, for Gasoline, versus the bombing of our Major Cities. Everybody knew that, the Fake News knew it as well, but they continue to go out and say that I am asking the enemy to bomb two Cities that I love. It's totally clear what I say but, these people are Degenerates, and think they can continuously get away with Fake News! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Thank you, @Deseret News, for a great conversation as I near the end of my Senate service. I truly enjoyed discussing my work leading @SenWestCaucus, advancing digital asset policy, saving taxpayers money, and building bipartisan support for nuclear energy. It’s been a privilege to represent Wyoming and take on important issues! https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/10/08/how-cynthia-lummis-became-spark-from-west/
EXCLUSIVE: JPMorgan estimates $50 billion has flowed into crypto this year as momentum improves into Q4 https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-10-08-jpmorgan-crypto-inflows-50-billion-etf-futures-q4-418115?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
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