Crypto Market Update: Strategy Returns to Profit in Bitcoin Rebound
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrencymarket news
Here's a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (August 31) as of 10:00 a.m. UTC.
Bitcoin price update
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$78,501.69, up by 0.6 percent over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin price chart
Chart via the Investing News Network
Bitcoin price performance, August 31, 2026.
Ether and altcoin price update
Bitcoin price performance, August 19, 2026.
- Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,446.20, trading 0.2 percent lower over the last 24 hours.
- XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.37, down 0.7 percent over the past 24 hours.
- Solana (SOL) was trading at US$103.07, 1.5 percent lower over the past 24 hours.
Today's crypto news to know
Saylor's Strategy shift US$2.8 billion into profit, hints at buying
Michael Saylor's Strategy holds a paper profit of more than US$2.8 billion as a recent Bitcoin rally lifted the company's 840,447 BTC stash to roughly US$66.4 billion.
The firm's holdings achieved a 4.4 percent gain over its average purchase price of US$75,653 per token when Bitcoin climbed to around $79,007 on Sunday (August 30). Early Sunday morning, Saylor posted a chart of the holdings on X alongside the two-word message: "We're Back."
The recent five-day price surge erased roughly US$13 billion in paper losses from July when Bitcoin 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 recently raised US$334 million by selling MSTR stock while keeping its Bitcoin intact as part of a new capital-management framework.
The firm also sold small amounts of Bitcoin in recent months, departing from its historical buy-and-hold approach, to fund preferred dividends and stock buybacks.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh warned Friday (August 28) that inflation remains stubborn, pushing September rate-hike odds higher and pulling Bitcoin down to US$76,877.
Cronos halts blockchain operations following Tectonic exploit
Cronos announced on X it had shut off its entire blockchain on Sunday 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 DeFi 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 down 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 invested in four Bitcoin mining companies transitioning into artificial intelligence during the second quarter of 2026.
According to an SEC 13F filing, 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) worth US$7 million, Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) worth US$1.38 million, and Applied Digital Corp (NASDAQ:APLD) worth US$820,000.
Applied Digital, Hut 8, and Riot Platforms signed multi-billion 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.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
