A $116 million exploit targeting Coldcard hardware wallets has reignited one of Bitcoin's oldest debates: is holding your own keys worth the risk? Days after the breach, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their strongest week of inflows since April, prompting Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas to ask whether security scares could eventually push more investors away from self-custody and toward regulated fund products.

The week's other business headlines were no less consequential: Strategy is preparing to resume Bitcoin purchases after a rare bout of selling, Riot Platforms is reportedly converting its mining infrastructure into a $9 billion artificial intelligence deal, and Trump Media is rethinking its crypto treasury strategy after a $238 million quarterly loss.

Strategy CEO says company will resume Bitcoin accumulation this year

Strategy CEO Phong Le said the company plans to resume Bitcoin accumulation later this year, seeking to reinforce its long-term strategy after a series of relatively small sales drew scrutiny of its once-firm "never sell" stance.

Strategy pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury model under executive chairman Michael Saylor when it began buying the cryptocurrency in 2020, a playbook a growing number of public companies have since copied.

Le told FOX Business that Strategy bought roughly 175,000 BTC and sold about 7,000 BTC this year — about 25 times more buying than selling. The company now holds more than 840,000 BTC, making it the largest institutional holder of the cryptocurrency, but it has sold Bitcoin on four occasions since May, most recently unloading 1,690 BTC to support preferred dividends, buybacks and its dollar reserve.

Those sales have highlighted the competing demands facing Strategy as it balances its Bitcoin accumulation strategy against obligations to common and preferred shareholders. The treasury model itself has also come under pressure: according to Novaque Research, when companies trade below Bitcoin net asset value, raising capital becomes increasingly dilutive and the financing cycle harder to sustain.

Bitcoin ETF demand rebounds as self-custody risks come into focus

US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which launched in January 2024, attracted roughly $1 billion in net inflows for the week, signaling renewed institutional demand even as Bitcoin's price remains subdued and a major hardware wallet exploit puts fresh attention on the risks of self-custody.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said it was the third-best week since October — a stretch he described as Bitcoin's "silent IPO," a term popularized by investor Jordi Visser. The theory holds that early investors have been selling into growing ETF and institutional demand, creating enough supply to keep Bitcoin subdued despite fresh capital entering the market.

The rebound also followed a Coldcard hardware wallet exploit linked to faulty key generation that drained about $116 million in Bitcoin. Balchunas said the incident could ultimately bolster the appeal of ETFs among investors concerned about self-custody risks, pointing to post-hack inflows as a possible, though unproven, connection.

He cautioned that correlation does not imply causation, but added: "long-term I can't imagine there aren't some who migrate over." (Source: Eric Balchunas on X)

Anthropic reportedly struck a $9 billion compute deal with Bitcoin miner Riot

Anthropic has reportedly struck a $9 billion deal with Riot Platforms for 191 megawatts of capacity from the Bitcoin miner's Texas campus, highlighting how access to power is becoming increasingly valuable as AI data centers face capacity constraints.

Riot said it secured a 20-year agreement to supply 191 megawatts from its Rockdale campus to a "leading frontier AI" company, which Bloomberg identified as Anthropic. The deal follows Anthropic's $19 billion data center lease with TeraWulf and adds Riot to a growing list of Bitcoin miners expanding into AI, including Bitdeer, CleanSpark, MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, Hut 8 and IREN. That diversification push has gained momentum since the April 2024 halving cut per-block mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, weighing on revenue across the sector.

Riot shares fell 5.4% on Monday before rising 21% overnight, and are up roughly 50% year-to-date. The fourth-largest Bitcoin miner has a $7.33 billion market capitalization, while analysts at Bernstein said partnerships between AI companies and miners could help address the power crunch constraining data center expansion.

Trump Media to revamp crypto treasury strategy after $238 million Q2 loss

Trump Media said it will revamp its digital asset treasury strategy after unrealized losses on crypto and securities helped push the company to a $238 million second-quarter net loss, highlighting the balance-sheet risks of corporate crypto holdings.

The company built its Bitcoin position this year after striking treasury agreements with partners including American Bitcoin, the Hut 8-linked mining firm. It reported $190.4 million in unrealized losses across its digital assets, and pledged digital assets and equity securities, in the second quarter. It held 9,477.16 Bitcoin as of June 30, down from 9,542.16 in the prior quarter.

In July, Trump Media sold $159.6 million in Bitcoin-related securities and used the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin, bringing its holdings to about 14,139 BTC worth $890.5 million by July 31.

Trump Media warned that generating additional income from its Bitcoin holdings could expose it to counterparty risk, particularly if a partner should default or become insolvent. In some cases, the company could be unable to recover Bitcoin committed under unsecured arrangements. It also plans to direct more resources to Truth Social, Truth+ and other media operations as part of a broader shift in capital allocation.