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The European Parliament has passed legislation allowing tech firms to scan messages for child sexual abuse material until 2028, a controversial law dubbed “chat control” by critics.EU lawmakers on Thursday largely voted against extending the regulation, dubbed “Chat Control 1.0,” but stopping it required 361 lawmakers to reject it. Only 314 voted to stop the law, and 276 supported it.The vote advances reviving the “chat control” rules that expired in April, and has been a controversial topic among privacy and cryptography advocates, as the originally designed law breaks the principle behind encrypting messages.Parliament, however, passed an exemption to exclude “communications to which end-to-end encryption is, has been or will be applied,” handing a small win to cypherpunks. Pirate Party MEP Markéta Gregorová, whose party put forward the amendment to exempt end-to-end encrypted messages, said its success was “a bittersweet victory.” “Protecting encryption was one of our priorities, and I am therefore glad that we managed to secure an absolute majority for an amendment that at least preserves encryption. At the same time, however, voluntary mass scanning unfortunately passed,” she said.The law’s supporters argue it is vital to protect children and combat the spread of abusive material.The parliament’s laws with amendments will be sent back to the Council of the EU, a body of ministers from the bloc’s member nations who will approve or reject the legislation.Chat Control battle “just getting started”The vote on Thursday comes after the European Parliament voted through a rarely used urgent procedure on Tuesday that brought lawmakers back to vote on whether to extend a legal framework for the laws that expired in April.Since the framework expired, messaging platforms such as WhatsApp have been allowed to take their own voluntary measures to seek out those sharing abusive material.In March, Parliament had rejected a temporary extension of the scheme while a new permanent version of the law, dubbed “Chat Control 2.0,” was under discussion, before the European People’s Party, the largest group in Parliament, revived the extension in the urgent procedure vote on Tuesday.The party had largely voted against extending the laws in March because of amendments that restricted the scope of scans, but its leader, Manfred Weber, has been looking for ways to push through the extension without changes.Related: EU committee advances digital euro bill after key voteBreyer, the former MEP, said the “political battle over the permanent ‘Chat Control 2.0’ is just getting started.”“The resistance we saw in Parliament today was so strong that finding a majority for permanent, suspicionless mass scanning in future negotiations is a complete pipe dream,” he said.Negotiations for the permanent law, or “Chat Control 2.0,” will resume in September, with lawmakers disputing whether message scanning should be targeted or applied broadly.Features: Crypto industry looks to stablecoins and DeFi revisions in MiCA 2.0

The amount of Ether bridged to Robinhood’s new layer-2 blockchain exceeded $70 million in just the first week, according to Token Terminal. Robinhood Chain, an EVM-compatible Arbitrum-based layer-2 network that uses ETH as its native gas token, launched on July 1 with the company describing it as “AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets.” “If adoption continues, the chain could become a meaningful new source of demand for ETH,” said Token Terminal on Thursday. Robinhood has also offered tokenized stocks to customers in more than 120 countries, responding to a surging demand for tokenized US equities. Ethereum and its layer-2 scaling networks have been a popular choice for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) with more than 50% market share, according to RWA.xyz, and this move could cement that position even further. Turning liquidity into economic activity“Robinhood Chain is rapidly turning liquidity into economic activity,” said Token Terminal in a separate post on X. Robinhood Chain’s daily active users reached 194,000 while daily revenue has grown to $39,000, equivalent to a $14 million annualized revenue run rate, within the chain’s first week, it said. DefiLlama, a decentralized finance data platform, shows similar figures, showing Robinhood Chain has a total value locked of 46,748 ETH, worth around $83 million at current market prices. Thursday’s inflows alone totaled 31,855 ETH, or around $55 million.  Uniswap founder Hayden Adams said Friday that most of what is happening on the Robinhood Chain is ETH-denominated. “It’s the base pair for trading, the highest volume asset, and the gas token to pay for blockspace. It also burns ETH on L1 to pay data storage fees,” he added. ETH bridged to Robinhood Chain tops $70 million. Source: Token Terminal Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, told Cointelegraph that it was “strongly bullish” and early volume “validates the L2 flywheel,” as a “meaningful new demand sink.”“By using ETH as the native gas token on this high-velocity Arbitrum L2, every transaction I track creates direct, recurring demand while locking capital and onboarding Robinhood’s massive user base.” Related: L1s face decentralization ‘tug-of-war’ as adoption grows: Injective CEOTim Sun, HashKey Group senior researcher, said it was “a clear, structural positive for ETH.”“For Ethereum, the most direct benefit is that Robinhood Chain uses ETH for gas,” he said. “As bridged assets, wallet addresses, and on-chain transactions grow, new demand for ETH is generated.”“However, the deeper significance lies not just in how much gas is consumed, but in Robinhood’s choice to build its own on-chain financial ecosystem within the Ethereum network. This further solidifies the Ethereum mainnet’s position as the ultimate settlement layer and liquidity foundation for tokenized assets.”Bulls argue Ethereum’s long-term growth thesis comes from RWA tokenization, agentic AI payments, institutional adoption and network upgrades, such as Glamsterdam, expected before the end of 2026, which is expected to increase layer 1 capacity. ETH prices ticked up on Friday to reach $1,775 but remain at multi-year bear market lows, down 64% from their August 2025 peak. Features: The biggest blockchain upgrades still to come in 2026

Zcash’s Ironwood network upgrade, the solution to an “infinity” bug discovered in May on the privacy-focused blockchain’s main private transaction pool, Orchard, is set to go live on July 28. Announced in June, Ironwood closes the current Orchard pool, prevents new activity in it and sets up a new private pool. Funds leaving Orchard would have to pass through an accounting checkpoint before entering Ironwood, which could produce evidence about whether any counterfeit Zcash (ZEC) tokens were produced through the Orchard bug. “Zcash’s Ironwood mainnet activation height has been set and tagged! All of the major organizations are committed to activation of NU6.3 at height 3428143, which is approximately July 28th at 8AM EST,” Zcash core developer Sean Bowe said on Thursday.Source: Sean BoweShielded Labs had floated delaying Zcash’s Ironwood upgrade, warning that ecosystem participants such as exchanges, mining pools and wallets would not have enough time to prepare their systems for a late-July mainnet activation. Bowe’s latest comment confirms the upgrade will go ahead one week later than its earlier target date of July 21. Related: Anthropic’s Mythos AI finds no more ‘serious’ bugs in Zcash: WilcoxIn June, Shielded Labs said Ironwood may provide evidence about whether the Orchard vulnerability was ever exploited. “As users migrate funds from the existing Orchard pool to the new pool, any hypothetical counterfeiter faces a choice: attempt to move counterfeit funds and risk exposing their existence, or leave them behind and risk being unable to move them in the future.”ZEC plummeted 50% to $299.25 from $602.68 after the disclosure of the Orchard bug on June 3. The price of ZEC has made a partial recovery in the weeks following and is trading at $492.61 at the time of writing. Zcash crossed a major monetary milestone this week, with more than 80% of its maximum 21 million ZEC supply now issued. A post from ruZCASH on Monday shows that there is now 16,806,723 ZEC in supply. Magazine: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?Cointelegraph 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.

Hackers compromised a widely used Injective software package in a supply chain attack with malware designed to steal crypto wallet private keys, adding to a growing attack vector involving attackers using legitimate platforms to deliver malicious payloads. Security firm Socket discovered on Thursday that a popular npm (node package manager) package with around 50,000 weekly downloads used for building on the Injective blockchain was maliciously modified to steal wallet private keys and seed phrases.The large number of downloads makes the incident “significant for developers and applications that handle Injective wallet workflows,” Socket researchers said. The malicious code has since been removed.The software supply chain attack is a relatively new attack vector in which hackers don’t target a blockchain’s cryptography or smart contracts directly, but instead compromise trusted developer tools used to build wallets, exchanges and apps.Injective is an interoperable layer 1 designed for DeFi applications. Its usage has dwindled over the past two years, with total value locked shrinking by 88% to current levels of $8.2 million from its $71 million peak in mid-2024, according to DefiLlama. Secretly copying private keys and phrasesVersion 1.20.21 of the @injectivelabs/sdk-ts npm package was modified through a compromised developer GitHub account, with suspicious commits beginning June 8. It was also pinned across 17 other packages in the Injective Labs npm scope, “exposing users who may not have installed the SDK [software development kit] directly,” Socket said.“The malicious release hooks wallet key-derivation functions, records private keys and mnemonics, and exfiltrates them through fake telemetry,” Socket explained. The malicious code hooked into normal functions used to generate wallet keys, and whenever a developer’s app used these functions, it secretly copied the seed phrase or private key. The compromised data was then encoded and sent to a web address that looked like a legitimate Injective network server.“Any keys or mnemonics passed through affected packages should be treated as compromised,” Socket added. Related: ‘TrapDoor’ malware targets crypto dev tools in supply chain attackSocket reported that the developer whose account was infiltrated quickly detected the compromise, but the malware had been downloaded more than 300 times, and “the campaign itself isn’t yet fully contained.”Injective CEO Eric Chen said, “it’s already fixed, and the affected versions on npm are already deprecated.” No funds on the network are at risk, he added, and Socket did not specify whether any funds were stolen in the incident. The compromised npm package was downloaded 310 times. Source: SocketWallet compromises most costly this yearThe Security Alliance (SEAL) said in its second-quarter threat report that attackers are increasingly using legitimate platforms like GitHub, npm and Google to deliver payloads.“In some cases, compromised systems are being used to push malicious code directly into a company’s own GitHub repositories, turning a single compromise into a distribution channel for the next one.”SEAL added that the malware itself has also gotten more comprehensive, “with cross-platform payloads, including a rise in macOS-specific campaigns, that combine infostealers, RATs (remote access trojans) and backdoor capabilities in a single package.”A similar supply chain attack hit Axios npm releases in March, while a malware campaign called TrapDoor was discovered in May targeting crypto, DeFi, AI and security developers.GitHub itself was exploited on May 20 when it reported unauthorized access to its internal repositories following the compromise of an employee’s device. Wallet compromises were the most costly attack vector in the first half of 2026, with $444 million stolen across 33 incidents, CertiK reported Monday. Features: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?

Decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens have held up unusually well against Bitcoin over the past month, suggesting the market may be “quietly re-rating” the sector, says crypto index fund maker Bitwise.Bitcoin (BTC) fell about 22% in June, while Bitwise’s index tracking tokens from major DeFi protocols fell only 4% over the same period, Bitwise said in a report Thursday.“DeFi usually swings much harder than Bitcoin, so holding up this well is unusual, and almost no one is talking about it,” it said. DeFi tokens have a reputation for being highly volatile during crypto market swings, as they’re the first to be sold by risk-averse traders. However, Bitwise said this is changing as traditional institutions have begun to use the protocols, which have stabilized the wider DeFi ecosystem.“We think DeFi is quietly re-rating,” Bitwise said. “Token economics are improving, the gap between usage and token value is closing, and real institutions are building on names like Morpho and Jupiter, with Aave alone generating ~$900 million in the past year.”“We expect DeFi’s outperformance to keep playing out in Q3, the kind of shift the market tends to notice late,” it added.Source: BitwiseBitwise’s DeFi index fund weighs assets by market capitalization, and its current holdings are weighted 61% toward Hyperliquid (HYPE), the native token used by the crypto perpetuals exchange of the same name that has gained more than 160% so far this year.The index also holds Uniswap (UNI), Ondo (ONDO) and Aave (AAVE), among others, all of which have fallen by double-digit percentages year to date.DeFi value locked drops over 2026While HYPE has propped up the value of DeFi tokens, total value locked in DeFi has fallen nearly 40% so far this year through June, declining to just over $70 billion from roughly $115 billion in January, CryptoRank reported June 24.The crypto data aggregator attributed the market decline to the major correction in early October, which came after the crypto market peak, when Bitcoin hit a high of more than $126,000.However, the company said the current drawdown remains smaller than during the 2022 bear market, suggesting a more resilient DeFi market.Bitwise says expect stablecoins, volatility if CLARITY failsIn its report, Bitwise also noted key upcoming events it expects will affect the crypto market.It said it expects “a steady run of large firms to announce stablecoin projects” ahead of the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-regulating bill the US made law last year that takes effect in January 2027.Related: EU lawmakers urge assessing DeFi, staking, NFT regulationStablecoin supply has held amid the crypto market downturn, it added, and their growth will positively affect blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana this quarter as regulators finalize their rules for the GENIUS Act.Bitwise said it also expects the next three months will be “make-or-break for the CLARITY Act,” the crypto market structure bill currently under review and negotiation in the Senate that Bitwise said has an unlikely chance of passing before the November elections.“If it passes, we believe it likely marks this bear market’s bottom,” Bitwise said. “If it fails, expect volatility initially, then a clearing of uncertainty as the industry keeps building under a pro-crypto SEC and CFTC.”Features: DeFi hacks shake institutional confidence as risks outpace yields

Paul Grewal, who has served as Coinbase’s chief legal officer since 2020, announced that he would transition to an advisory role at the exchange starting on July 31.In a Thursday X thread and LinkedIn post, Grewal said Coinbase’s legal vice presidents Molly Abraham and Ryan VanGrack would step into new roles as general counsel and vice chair, respectively, following his departure at the end of the month. Abraham said that she would “take the helm” at the exchange’s legal team. Source: Paul GrewalWhoever steps into Grewal’s shoes as the exchange’s next chief legal officer would likely have significant influence over crypto policy and regulation in the US. As CLO, Grewal led the exchange’s legal team through the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2023 enforcement action that alleged it had been operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.Since the 2023 lawsuit, which was later dismissed under the Trump administration, Coinbase and its executives have established strong relationships with the White House and lawmakers favoring crypto policies. The company is one of the top contributors to the Fairshake political action committee (PAC), which funds media supporting politicians it considers “pro-crypto,” and CEO Brian Armstrong has met with US President Donald Trump in addition to advocating for crypto-related legislation in Congress. Related: CLARITY Act markup could happen as early as next week: Coinbase execGrewal added that he would announce a potential new position “in due course.” Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for additional details on Grewal’s departure, but did not receive an immediate response.Coinbase will continue to push for US crypto market structureMany Coinbase executives, including Armstrong, have been pushing lawmakers in Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), which is expected to largely shift oversight and regulation of digital assets from the SEC to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The US Senate is on a state work period until Monday, when lawmakers will return and potentially take up a vote on the bill.Magazine: How AI became crypto’s favorite reason to cut staffCointelegraph 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.

Shares of Bitdeer Technologies Group rose on Thursday after the Bitcoin (BTC) mining infrastructure company announced a $36 million manufacturing facility in Nevada, a move that expands its US production capacity and could reduce its reliance on third-party suppliers for mining hardware.Bitdeer climbed 14.1% to $14.33, fully recovering from a selloff earlier in the week. Despite Thursday’s rally, the stock remains roughly 27% below its June high but is up 26% year-to-date.The gains followed Bitdeer’s announcement that it will build a manufacturing facility in Sparks, Nevada, to assemble its SEALMINER line of Bitcoin mining machines. The plant will produce key mining hardware components, with commercial production expected to begin by the end of the year.Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR) stock. Source: Yahoo FinanceBitdeer CEO Catherine Guo told local media the Singapore-based company worked with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo’s administration and local authorities to secure tax incentives, including a reduction in qualifying sales taxes, as part of its decision to establish operations in the state.The investment comes as several large Bitcoin mining companies are expanding into AI and high-performance computing, leveraging their access to power and data center infrastructure. Bitdeer has also expanded into AI cloud services and HPC, though the new Nevada facility will be dedicated to manufacturing Bitcoin mining hardware.Related: Bitcoin miners’ AI pivot faces investor scrutiny over insider salesBitcoin miners ramp up AI infrastructure investmentsWhile Bitdeer is expanding its hardware manufacturing business, many publicly traded Bitcoin miners continue to diversify beyond cryptocurrency mining.On Thursday, MARA Holdings announced plans to acquire a Texas site with up to 2 gigawatts of capacity to expand its AI and digital infrastructure business. Earlier this week, TeraWulf signed a 20-year data center lease with AI startup Anthropic, a deal the company said could generate roughly $19 billion in contract revenue.Bitdeer, meanwhile, remains focused on expanding its mining operations alongside its infrastructure business. In its latest production update, the company said it mined 921 BTC in May, a 370% increase from the previous year.Related: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?Cointelegraph 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.

White House officials claimed that they had “not received names” in response to requests to Senate Democrats for potential commissioners to two US financial regulatory agencies.In a Thursday letter to US Senate majority leader John Thune and minority leader Chuck Schumer, White House officials said that they had already solicited names from Senate Democrats for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The leadership panels of both financial agencies are understaffed, with only Republican members nominated and confirmed by the Senate.The letter came in response to a June 10 request from 12 Senate Democrats over staffing concerns at US federal agencies, including the SEC and CFTC. Although US President Donald Trump has put forward some Democratic names for positions at agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and International Trade Commission, many lawmakers have expressed concerns about the financial regulators being understaffed with crypto market structure legislation pending.As of Thursday, the SEC had two vacant Democratic seats with three Republican commissioners, one of whom, Hester Peirce, was expected to leave by November. The CFTC chair and sole commissioner was Republican Michael Selig, who, in his seven months on the job, has been outspoken about defending what he called the agency’s “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction market companies.Related: Wyden urges Senate leaders to keep dev protections in crypto bill“In a sharp break from precedent across Republican and Democratic administrations, you have refused in almost every instance to engage with Senate Democratic leadership in the normal process of identifying Democratic nominees to fill vacancies on independent agencies,” said the Democratic senators in June. “Instead, the White House appears set on leaving the vast majority of these critical positions open indefinitely.”Trump had not announced any nominations sent to the Senate since June 24. Cointelegraph reached out to a White House spokesperson for comment but did not receive an immediate response.CFTC chair says agency could write “all the rules” on digital assets without legislationWith the Senate on state work periods until Monday, there have been reports that some lawmakers are continuing to discuss the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, with Republicans preparing to vote on the bill in July. Source: Cynthia LummisThe digital asset market structure legislation has already faced significant delays since passing the House of Representatives in July 2025, with government shutdowns and debates over ethics provisions in the bill amid Trump’s ties to the crypto industry. While two Senate committees advanced their versions of the bill this year, the legislation still needs some Democratic support to meet the 60-vote threshold in the chamber.“I do think there’s a little bit of this creep into ethics and other types of extraneous issues and [Democrats are] just derailing this real opportunity to have a bipartisan bill in place,” said Selig in a Wednesday interview with Fox Business, referring to the CLARITY Act. “Otherwise, you end up with regulators like me writing all the rules, and I’m sure all the Democrats would prefer to get something in place that’s bipartisan.”Magazine: Crypto’s CLARITY Act faces partisan fight over ethics on Senate floor

Crypto wallet provider Phantom and the Hyperliquid Policy Center have urged the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to exempt blockchain protocol developers and non-custodial wallet providers from regulations designed for traditional financial intermediaries.In response to a CFTC request for information on regulations affecting fintech firms, the companies asked the agency to confirm that blockchain protocol developers do not have to register solely for creating onchain software, issue guidance allowing regulated derivatives firms to use blockchain infrastructure, and codify exemptions preventing non-custodial wallet providers from being treated as introducing brokers.The companies argued that existing CFTC regulations were designed for custodial financial intermediaries that hold customer assets and process trades, while onchain protocols allow users to transact directly without intermediaries controlling funds or executing orders.Letter to the CFTC. Source: Hyperliquidpolicy.orgThey said registration requirements should apply to entities that handle customer funds or execute trades, rather than to developers who create blockchain software or contribute to open-source protocols without controlling how the software is used.The groups also asked the CFTC to clarify that registered derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses and intermediaries can use onchain infrastructure for functions including trade execution, clearing, settlement, margining and recordkeeping, provided they continue to comply with existing regulations.The groups said the alternative to adopting the recommendations is the status quo, in which “American users continue to be walled off from onchain derivatives markets,” while innovation continues to take place offshore.Related: Can AI drain DeFi? Separating Claude Mythos hype from realityRegulatory debate over onchain derivatives intensifiesThe letter comes as crypto companies and traditional exchanges press US regulators over how blockchain-based derivatives should be regulated, with both sides seeking greater clarity on the agency’s approach.In May, Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group reportedly urged regulators to scrutinize Hyperliquid’s expansion into commodity-linked perpetual futures, arguing that the decentralized platform’s energy derivatives posed market integrity and manipulation risks.Two weeks later, ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher called for a “level playing field” that would allow regulated exchanges to offer 24/7 onchain perpetual futures, saying existing regulations were preventing traditional exchanges from competing with platforms such as Hyperliquid. Sprecher also said ICE had held exploratory discussions with Hyperliquid to better understand onchain derivatives markets.CME, meanwhile, has continued expanding its own regulated crypto derivatives business. This year, the exchange announced futures tied to Avalanche and Sui, launched CFTC-regulated Bitcoin volatility futures and introduced the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures, a market-cap weighted contract tracking seven digital assets.Despite that expansion, CME sued the CFTC in June over the agency’s approval of crypto perpetual futures, arguing the regulator exceeded its authority under the Commodity Exchange Act.Magazine: The 5 types of real world assets being tokenized fastest onchain

Several publicly traded Bitcoin miners have enjoyed sharp stock re-ratings after pivoting toward AI infrastructure, but investors are increasingly questioning whether insiders and major shareholders capitalized on the rally before the sector cooled, raising fresh governance concerns, according to Blocksbridge Consulting.In its latest Miner Weekly newsletter, Blocksbridge said the AI narrative helped lift valuations for several Bitcoin mining companies as they repositioned operations around data centers, power infrastructure and hyperscaler partnerships. However, sentiment has since weakened, with AI and chip stocks pulling back. The TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index, which tracks Bitcoin miners, artificial intelligence cloud providers, power suppliers and other AI infrastructure companies, has decline 16% over the past month.That shift has brought insider transactions into sharper focus. Executives at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and Core Scientific have disclosed stock sales, many of them executed under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. While such plans are common and designed to avoid conflicts around nonpublic information, the sales have attracted greater scrutiny as AI-related stocks have retreated, Blocksbridge said.The trend extends beyond company executives. Strategic investors have also reduced their exposure, including stablecoin issuer Tether, which trimmed its stake in Bitdeer after the company’s AI-driven rebound. According to Blocksbridge, investors are increasingly shifting their attention from the AI growth narrative to questions around governance and whether the benefits of the tech transition will ultimately accrue to public shareholders.Most stocks in the TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index have declined sharply over the past month. Source: Miner WeeklyBlocksbridge said TeraWulf offers the clearest example because the company remains one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure transition. CEO Paul Prager and Beowulf E&D Holdings, an entity he manages, sold roughly 1.59 million WULF shares before the company on Monday announced a 20-year AI infrastructure lease with AI developer Anthropic, a deal widely viewed as a major validation of its AI strategy.Related: SBI Crypto shuts Bitcoin mining pool after 5-year runAI spending raises questions about long-term returnsMany Bitcoin miners have pivoted toward AI data centers as mining economics have become increasingly challenging, particularly after Bitcoin’s 2024 halving squeezed industry margins. However, the artificial intelligence trade has also become more crowded, with companies facing growing pressure from investors to justify heavy infrastructure spending amid uncertain returns.A report published by Deloitte in October described AI as a “paradox of rising investment and elusive returns,” noting that many organizations expect AI investments to take longer than anticipated to generate meaningful value.Separate research by Teneo, based on a survey of more than 350 public company CEOs, found that fewer than half of artificial intelligence initiatives have delivered returns exceeding their costs.Corporate AI spending is expected to increase significantly despite modest returns on investment. Source: DeloitteDespite those challenges, companies continue to invest aggressively in AI infrastructure, betting that long-term demand for compute capacity will outweigh near-term concerns over profitability. Bitcoin miners, with access to large-scale power and existing data center infrastructure, are positioning themselves to capture that opportunity.Related: Trumps’ American Bitcoin sinks 8.4% ahead of reverse stock split to stay listed

Members of the UK’s ruling Labour party are considering a total ban on digital asset donations in response to Nigel Farage’s resignation from Parliament and the potential influence crypto billionaires had on his policies.The Guardian reported Thursday that Labour MPs are looking to overhaul existing rules on donations to political parties and candidates. Specifically, lawmakers have proposed that a moratorium on crypto donations enacted in March be made permanent after it was revealed that the Reform leader personally accepted millions of British pounds in what he called “gifts” from industry figures.“Amendments to the representation of the people bill which my colleagues and I have tabled are vital safeguards against the wider threat that’s seen [$268 million] come flooding in to build a whole media political complex behind populists in Britain,” said Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North and the Labour chair of the business select committee calling for a permanent crypto donation ban. “We simply cannot afford to let our crumbling defenses be undermined any further.”Source: Liam ByrneUK lawmakers will reportedly consider amendments to the crypto donation measures next week. Farage announced on Tuesday that he would resign as MP for Clacton in response to reports of the contributions, which included a $6.7 million “gift” from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and staff, security, transport and accommodation by George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster involved in a crypto casino.Farage confirmed in his resignation speech that the UK’s parliamentary standards commissioner was investigating the donations, but said that he did “nothing wrong.” Related: Bank of England governor denies Farage lobbying swayed CBDC policy: ReportThe Reform UK leader’s resignation has automatically triggered a by-election in the area, where he said “the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions.” However, the major political parties, including Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens will reportedly not field candidates for the by-election, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling Farage’s resignation a “desperate stunt.”Former Manchester mayor on track to be next UK PMAndy Burnham, a UK Labour lawmaker who recently won a by-election to become an MP representing Makerfield, is expected to be the country’s next prime minister following Starmer’s resignation. On Thursday, the week-long window opened for Labour MPs to nominate candidates for the party’s next leader, who would also become prime minister.As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham advocated for the city to be a “Web3 powerhouse” and supported using digital technology as an economic development tool. If he receives enough support from Labour MPs to win a leadership bid, he could address the crypto donation ban and the Financial Conduct Authority’s oversight of the industry.Magazine: Crypto industry looks to stablecoins and DeFi revisions in MiCA 2.0

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings shares rose about 15% in early trading Thursday after the company announced plans to acquire a Texas powered-land site with access to up to 2 gigawatts of electricity for AI computing and Bitcoin mining.The 1,200-acre site in Matagorda county, about 90 miles southwest of Houston, is expected to provide access to an initial 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027 and up to 2 GW by April 2028. MARA said it plans to develop the site as a digital infrastructure campus supporting both high-performance computing and Bitcoin mining.Upon full energization, the site is expected to more than double the Bitcoin (BTC) miner’s potential power capacity to about 4.8 GW. HIF USA will retain a minority ownership stake in the project if MARA signs a lease with a high-performance computing tenant, according to the companies. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the transaction.Source: Yahoo FinanceIn a post on X, MARA said the project remains in the early stages of development and is subject to regulatory approvals, adding that construction will be phased over several years.In April, MARA announced it would acquire Long Ridge Energy & Power, adding a 505-megawatt gas-fired power plant and a co-located data center in Ohio, in a roughly $1.5 billion transaction. Earlier this year, the company acquired a 64% stake in French computing infrastructure operator Exaion.MARA is the fourth-largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin (BTC), with 36,303 BTC, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.Related: Crypto Biz: Is AI the exit strategy for miners?BTC miners bet big on AI data centersBitcoin miners have increasingly expanded into AI and high-performance computing as demand for data center capacity has grown. Rather than repurposing mining hardware, companies are leveraging existing power infrastructure built to support BTC mining, including grid connections, substations and energized sites.However, converting mining sites into AI-ready data centers requires significant investment. CoinShares estimates mining infrastructure typically costs $700,000 to $1 million/MW, compared with $8 million to $15 million/MW for liquid-cooled AI infrastructure, while hyperscale customers require higher power density and uptime than many mining facilities were designed to provide.Even so, several publicly traded miners have announced multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure agreements in recent months. Core Scientific expanded its hosting agreement with CoreWeave to more than $10 billion, while Hut 8 signed a 15-year, $7 billion data center lease with Fluidstack. TeraWulf has reported billions of dollars in contracted HPC revenue.Investors have broadly rewarded the strategy. Hut 8 shares jumped about 20% after announcing its Fluidstack agreement, while companies with AI and HPC contracts have traded at higher valuation multiples than miners focused solely on Bitcoin production, according to a report from CoinShares.Last week, TeraWulf shares rose about 12% after the Bitcoin miner announced a 20-year AI data center lease with Anthropic, expected to generate roughly $19 billion in contract revenue.MARA is the sixth-largest holding in the sector exchange-traded fund CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF, as 4.76% of assets, according to Yahoo Finance data. WGMI shares were up more than 5% in early afternoon trading on Thursday.Magazine: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?