Autor Cointelegraph By Helen Partz

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Lido, a liquid staking protocol that lets users earn Ethereum staking rewards through its stETH token, has launched an upgrade to its staking infrastructure that aims to improve validator efficiency and decentralization.The upgrade introduces Curated Module v2, which adds support for Ethereum’s 0x02 withdrawal credentials. The change allows validators to increase their effective balance from 32 ETH to up to 2,048 ETH, according to a Lido update on Monday.Lido said the migration could reduce Ethereum’s validator count from about 880,000 to roughly 628,000, a decrease of about one-third. The migration has not started yet, and the figures are based on Lido’s projections.The change is expected to affect Ethereum’s consensus layer by reducing the number of validators and validator messages required to maintain the network, according to Lido. It is not designed to change execution-layer activity, which determines transaction fees and gas costs.The update also introduces new accountability measures for Lido’s node operators, including bonding and penalty mechanisms. Lido said future stake distribution could place more weight on factors such as operator performance, fees and contributions to Ethereum’s ecosystem.“Curated Module v2 is the next major step in that evolution,” Lido said, adding that the upgrade introduces new operator incentives, bond-based security mechanisms and governance improvements. Lido said no action is required from stakers because the upgrade will be handled at the protocol level.Related: Ethereum nears market bottom against Bitcoin, though key signals remain unconfirmed: CryptoQuantCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Apple is facing a lawsuit from three customers who say they lost a combined $1.8 million after downloading a fake Bitcoin wallet app from the App Store.The complaint, filed Friday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Apple failed to adequately review and monitor apps despite promoting the App Store as a trusted marketplace, according to a copy of the filing obtained by MacRumors.The plaintiffs, James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis and Jalen Delgado, said they entered their seed phrases into the fraudulent app, allowing scammers to transfer their Bitcoin. They reported losses of about $875,000, $840,000 and $120,000, respectively, during 2025, according to the complaint.Sparrow Wallet is available on Windows, macOS and Linux. Its developer, Craig Raw, has previously criticized Apple over fake versions of the app appearing in the App Store. The wallet has no official iOS app.Apple told MacRumors that it has removed apps impersonating Sparrow Wallet and terminated developer accounts linked to those apps. The company said developers and users can report apps that violate its guidelines, adding that it takes action against apps that do not comply with App Store rules.Related: Binance disappears from Google Play in certain EU countriesCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Strategy, the business intelligence firm that has built the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, continued adjusting its capital structure last week through a combination of stock sales and preferred share repurchases.Strategy sold 5,429,160 shares of its Class A common stock (MSTR) through its at-the-market (ATM) offering program between July 20 and July 26, generating $544.5 million in net proceeds. The MSTR share price was up more than 2% in Monday’s premarket activity, according to Yahoo Finance. The STRC preferred shares were up 2.3% to $88.90 ahead of the Nasdaq open.The company also repurchased 288,930 shares of its STRC preferred stock for $25 million, according to a Form 8-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.The update comes after Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor sparked speculation on Sunday with his “We’re gonna need another color” post on X, which some market observers interpreted as a hint at a new move involving the company’s preferred stock strategy.Source: Michael Saylor on X.comStock sales boost dollar reserve $3.75BFollowing additional capital raised through its ATM stock offering program, Strategy increased its US dollar reserve to $3.75 billion as of July 26, up from $3.225 billion the previous week.However, Strategy reported no Bitcoin purchases or sales during the July 20-26 period, leaving its holdings unchanged at 843,775 BTC, acquired at an average purchase price of $75,476 per Bitcoin, or $63.69 billion in aggregate. The biggest crypto was last trading hands at roughly $64,971 at time of publication.Related: Strive’s SATA recovers most of June decline, trades within 3% of parStrategy’s growing cash reserve highlights management’s efforts to maintain liquidity as it expands its capital markets activity through common stock offerings and preferred stock instruments. The reserve is intended to support dividend payments on preferred stock and interest payments on the company’s outstanding debt.Saylor sparks debate over BTC future role for banksThe update came shortly after Saylor reignited a debate over whether banks have a place in Bitcoin’s future after arguing that the crypto asset’s growth depends on integration with traditional financial institutions.Saylor wrote on X on Sunday that rejecting Bitcoin’s links to financial infrastructure would deny access to most potential users. His comments drew criticism from some BTC supporters, who contend that greater involvement from banks conflicts with the network’s original goal of enabling transactions without intermediaries.Several users pushed back against Saylor’s argument by citing Bitcoin’s white paper, which introduced the asset as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system designed to remove the need for financial institutions. The exchange highlighted a growing divide between advocates who view banks as necessary gateways for mainstream adoption and those who see them as a threat to Bitcoin’s decentralized foundation.Magazine: Strategy became a symbol of the dot-com crash: Could history repeat?