Key Highlights
- Bitcoin hovered near $65,000, registering a 0.61% gain at $64,986
- BTCPay Server exploit compromised Lightning node security, enabling fund theft
- BIP-110 fork proposal threatens potential chain split and replay vulnerability
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US attracted approximately $1 billion in inflows — best weekly performance since April
- Blockchain analytics revealed 2.27 million newly created wallets — a 12-month high
Bitcoin maintained upward momentum on Saturday, climbing 0.61% to reach $64,986 and approaching the psychologically significant $65,000 threshold, even as two distinct security concerns captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community.
On Friday evening, malicious actors took advantage of a critical security flaw within BTCPay Server, successfully obtaining credentials that granted control over Lightning nodes operating on LND software. This security breach enabled unauthorized individuals to access “macaroon” authentication files — powerful credentials capable of managing Lightning wallets, terminating payment channels, and transferring digital assets.
The BTCPay team acknowledged the theft and issued an urgent advisory for all node operators to immediately upgrade to version 2.4.2 or temporarily shut down their servers. Details regarding the number of affected users and the total value of stolen Bitcoin remain undisclosed.
⚠️ALERT: An actively exploited BTCPay Server flaw is draining merchant Lightning nodes.
Attackers can remotely grab credential files from BTCPay deployments running LND and empty the node, with hardware wallet maker Foundation among the confirmed victims, per CoinDesk.
BTCPay… pic.twitter.com/558xdhTbjm
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) August 8, 2026
Foundation, a prominent hardware wallet manufacturer, verified that its BTCPay Lightning node suffered losses, while emphasizing that its main on-chain hot wallet remained secure. Similarly, Bitcoin-focused publication Citadel21 disclosed fund losses from a Lightning node breach.
Traditional on-chain wallets operating within BTCPay infrastructure remained uncompromised. Nevertheless, Bitcoin held in LND node on-chain wallets could still face exposure.
Potential Chain Split from BIP-110
Meanwhile, another technical challenge centers on the BIP-110 fork proposal, which might trigger around block height 961,632 during the weekend. This modification aims to restrict the amount of non-payment related data that can be embedded within Bitcoin transactions.
BIP-110 Minority Fork Falls 18 Blocks Behind Bitcoin Main Chain
A minority fork backed by BIP-110 supporters emerged after Bitcoin block height 961,632. The BIP-110-supporting pool Roughnecks had produced only blocks 961,632 and 961,633, while the Bitcoin chain had advanced to… pic.twitter.com/higWmYqZRn
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 9, 2026
Mining pool support for the proposal registered approximately 2.6% on Friday, significantly short of the necessary 55% activation threshold. Despite insufficient miner backing, nodes operating BIP-110-compatible software will begin rejecting blocks from non-compliant miners after reaching the designated activation height, potentially spawning a minority blockchain.
Should a blockchain division materialize, Bitcoin holders would possess identical balances across both networks. Developer Kevin Loaec cautioned that attempting to liquidate coins on the forked chain without properly isolating balances could leave genuine BTC vulnerable to replay attacks.
Institutional Capital Floods Bitcoin ETFs
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s ETF analyst, revealed that United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds accumulated approximately $1 billion in net capital inflows throughout the week — representing their most impressive weekly showing since April and ranking as the third-strongest week since October 2025.
Balchunas speculated that the recent Coldcard hardware wallet compromise, which resulted in approximately $116 million worth of Bitcoin stolen through a firmware vulnerability affecting key generation, might have influenced some investors to favor ETF products. He observed, “long-term I can’t imagine there aren’t some who migrate over,” while acknowledging the correlation remains speculative.
Blockchain intelligence platform Santiment documented that Bitcoin’s network expansion reached 2.27 million newly established wallets during the previous week — marking the highest figure recorded in twelve months. Santiment attributed this surge partially to the Coldcard incident, explaining that security breaches typically motivate users to relocate assets, reorganize custody arrangements, and establish new wallets, thereby substantially increasing network activity. The analytics firm additionally observed that major Bitcoin holders have traditionally leveraged periods of heightened retail participation to strengthen their positions.
🔐 Bitcoin has just posted a huge on-chain week. Network growth reached 2.27M new wallets, the highest level of the past year, while 751K active wallets marked the strongest reading in 10 months.
📈 The biggest catalyst is the Coldcard wallet chaos. Security shocks pressure… pic.twitter.com/fBEGeSPbNO
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) August 7, 2026
At last check, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $64,933, reflecting a modest $74 decline for the session.
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