Crypto Market Update: Saylor's Strategy Returns to Profit in Bitcoin Price Rebound

Bitcoin price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$78,895.39, trading flat over the past 24 hours.

After falling at the start of the US trading session, Bitcoin recovered slightly after Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent hinted at further interventions in the American bond market.

Bitcoin price chart

Ether and altcoin price update

• Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,480.81, trading 1.1 percent lower over the last 24 hours.

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.39, down 2.2 percent over the past 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$103.66, 1.6 percent lower over the past 24 hours.

Today's crypto news to know

Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:

• Saylor's Strategy shifts into US$2.8 billion profit
• Cronos halts blockchain operations following Tectonic exploit
• Billionaire bets big on Bitcoin miners pivoting to AI
• Coinbase and Webull expand partnership

Saylor's Strategy shifts into US$2.8 billion profit

Michael Saylor's Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) holds a paper profit of more than US$2.8 billion following a recent Bitcoin price rally that lifted the company's 840,447 BTC stash to roughly US$66.4 billion.

The company's holdings achieved a 4.4 percent gain over its average purchase price of US$75,653 per token when Bitcoin climbed to around US$79,007 on Sunday (August 30). Early that morning, Saylor posted a chart of the company's holdings on X alongside the message: "We're Back." Bitcoin's recent five day price surge erased roughly US$13 billion in paper losses from July, when the popular cryptocurrency dropped toward US$58,000.

Saylor's upbeat post sparked social media speculation that Strategy plans to resume weekly Bitcoin acquisitions after a two month buying pause. The company raised US$334 million by selling shares, but has also sold small amounts of Bitcoin in recent months, departing from its historical buy-and-hold approach.

US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh warned on August 28 that inflation remains stubborn, pushing September interest rate hike odds higher and pulling Bitcoin down to US$76,877.

Cronos halts blockchain operations following Tectonic exploit

In an X post on Sunday, Cronos announced that it temporarily shut off its entire blockchain to contain a US$75 million exploit on decentralized lending protocol Tectonic. Tectonic allows users to deposit crypto assets and borrow against posted collateral while earning interest on their holdings. The lending protocol holds roughly half of all capital deposited across decentralized finance applications on the Cronos network.

An attacker manipulated the price of Tectonic's illiquid TONIC governance token, driving its price up 100-fold in 20 minutes before borrowing heavily against the inflated collateral. Tectonic assigned TONIC a 20 percent collateral factor despite its tiny US$1.34 million liquidity pool, enabling the attacker to borrow funds the market could not support.

Total capital deposited in Tectonic collapsed from US$121.7 million to roughly US$3 million following the attack.

Cronos coordinated the network shutdown through its capped set of 100 validators, immobilizing roughly US$60 million of the stolen funds on-chain.

Billionaire bets big on Bitcoin miners pivoting to AI

Billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Seth Loeb reportedly invested in four Bitcoin-mining companies transitioning into artificial intelligence (AI) during the second quarter of this year.

According to a 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point, increased its position in Hut 8 (TSX:HUT,NASDAQ:HUT) to US$151.8 million.

Third Point also established new stakes in Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) at US$7 million, Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) at US$1.38 million and Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) at US$820,000.

Hut 8, Riot Platforms and Applied Digital have signed multibillion-dollar long-term lease agreements with major tech firms and AI companies like Anthropic. Higher electricity costs, lower Bitcoin prices and reduced mining rewards forced miners to pivot their data center infrastructure toward AI hosting.

Coinbase and Webull expand partnership

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and Webull Canada announced an expanded partnership under which Webull Canada will offer crypto trading and custody in Canada, with Coinbase serving as the infrastructure partner powering those services through its crypto-as-a-service platform, on which Webull Canada is building its crypto product.

“Canadian investors expect access to a growing range of asset classes, and crypto has become an increasingly important part of that mix,” said Michael Constantino, CEO of Webull Canada, in a joint press release.

“Our partnership with Coinbase provides the infrastructure needed to deliver this offering with the scale and reliability our clients expect. As adoption continues to grow across the country, we remain focused on giving investors secure, regulated tools to build their portfolios on their own terms," he added.

The two companies also referenced a recent survey by the Ontario Securities Commission that shows ownership of crypto assets has increased to 25 percent, up from 10 percent in 2023.

Webull said it selected Coinbase due to its comprehensive offering of assets, global coverage, flexibility and scale, as well as its position as a trusted and compliant publicly traded company and its competitive pricing.

Crypto assets are not covered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, a nonprofit compensation fund that protects clients of Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization-regulated investment dealers if the dealer becomes insolvent.