The Monthly Roundup: Bitcoins Resilience Amid Geopolitical Turmoil and Rising Cybersecurity Concerns

In the latest digest, insights were shared on how Bitcoin is seemingly morphing into oil, an examination of asset trends was conducted, and a conversation with a cybersecurity expert took place.

**How Bitcoin Faced June’s Turmoil**

June marked a month when Bitcoin encountered significant external challenges, ranging from media triggers to global conflicts and macroeconomic concerns. Despite this pressure, the asset managed to maintain a degree of stability, albeit tenuous.

**A Clash of Titans**

At the start of the month, a number of analysts expressed pessimism regarding Bitcoin’s price trajectory. CryptoQuant noted a decline in retail investor activity and suggested a correction back to $96,700. Analysts from Bitcoin Magazine echoed a bearish outlook, highlighting a drop below the resistance level established during late December 2024 to early January 2025, around $106,000.

Meanwhile, Bitfinex did not rule out a new all-time high (ATH) in July, suggesting Bitcoin could reach $125,000 if the U.S. Federal Reserve eased monetary policy and reduced interest rates. Conversely, they also considered the possibility of a pullback to $95,000 due to a strengthening dollar and heightened pressure on digital gold.

What analysts couldn’t foresee was the conflict between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. This public spat, which began on June 5, sent Bitcoin’s price tumbling from $105,915 to $100,500, resulting in liquidations of long positions totaling $341.75 million within a single day. Subsequently, the market capitalization of digital assets dropped by 4%, with the fear and greed index plummeting to 45 points—indicating fear.

**Subtle Macro Signals**

On June 11, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released inflation data showing a 0.1% increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May, down from 0.2% in April, bringing the annual CPI up to 2.4%. This was below analysts’ expectations, similar to the core inflation index (2.8% versus a projected 2.9%).

This news had minimal impact on the cryptocurrency market, as Bitcoin briefly surpassed $110,000 but did not sustain the rally. The stock market reacted even less vigorously.

Moderate volatility was noted on June 18, when the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates in a range of 4.25–4.5%. Bitcoin traded in a narrow range, while top ten assets showed virtually no significant movement.

**External Disturbances**

On June 12, Bitcoin lost 3.6% following reports of Israeli airstrikes on Iran, with prices dipping below $104,000. This did not shock Bitcoin supporters—Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz highlighted the broader «macro adoption» of Bitcoin as a key growth factor, suggesting the process had moved into an irreversible phase.

By June 16, the price of digital gold exceeded $107,000, despite global market instability from the Iran-Israel tensions. Analysts at QCP Capital attributed Bitcoin’s price resilience to ongoing institutional accumulation, noting that holders of the asset were not displaying panic.

However, on June 17, Bitcoin’s price dropped from $108,000 to $103,500, dragging down the rest of the market, with total liquidations reaching $452 million in a single day. Interestingly, the fear and greed index rose from 61 to 68 indices.

Later, analysts at Santiment remarked on the tension within the Bitcoin community and the deteriorating sentiment in the crypto market. As tensions escalated on the night of June 21, Bitcoin fell below $101,000, coinciding with U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Almost all assets entered the «red zone,» with liquidations peaking at $682 million over 24 hours, and the crypto fear and greed index dropping to 42 points.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin managed to regain some ground, climbing back to $102,000 by June 23. CryptoQuant noted a «silent consolidation,» observing that long-term investors were holding onto their digital gold without selling.

Historically, significant Bitcoin price increases have been preceded by a downturn in interest and sentiment quietude, suggesting that the current pause could foreshadow the next upward move, said analysts.

Despite rising tensions in the Middle East, capital flowing into crypto investment products managed by firms like BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares, and 21Shares continued for the tenth consecutive week. According to CoinShares, the inflow from June 14 to June 20 totaled $1.24 billion, bringing the year-to-date total to a record $15.1 billion.

Meanwhile, a contributor to CryptoQuant, under the pseudonym Darkfost, observed a significant reduction in leverage in the futures market—a move comparable to the events following China’s Bitcoin mining ban.

**Corporate Maneuvers**

According to insights from Gemini and Glassnode, the market has undergone a structural transformation toward institutional maturity, with 30.9% of the available Bitcoin supply now held in centralized treasuries. The entities holding the most coins include:

Research shows that 3.015 million BTC are held by 27 centralized exchanges. Public companies represent the largest group for number of representatives (101) but rank third in terms of the volume held, with 765,300 BTC.

The second spot in both categories belongs to Bitcoin-backed ETFs. Collectively, 40 funds have concentrated 1.34 million BTC. Analysts believe that integrating Bitcoin into traditional finance has made price movement more «stable and less driven by speculative extremes.»

A clear trend emerging is the establishment of Bitcoin treasuries, which experts from Coinbase Institutional deemed a dual-edged sword—a risk as well. This phenomenon has been dubbed the «clone attack.»

As of June 13, 2025, BitcoinTreasuries reported that 234 organizations hold a total of 820,542 BTC, with around 20 using a capital-raising model through debt instruments first employed by Strategy.

Analysts warn that such a strategy poses systemic risks: during stress periods, firms may face forced sales to meet obligations, potentially sparking panic among investors.

The Bitcoin treasury boom has also drawn comments from Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream, who described this approach as an appealing alternative for speculators to the altcoin season.

At the same time, Presto’s research head, Peter Chang, cautioned against the risks of creating a corporate crypto bubble, highlighting threats of collateral liquidation and «activist attacks» aimed at profiting from NAV shortages.

In conclusion, the dynamics witnessed in June indicate that institutional presence has rendered Bitcoin less susceptible to external challenges, although it remains possible that large investors could destabilize its resilience in the long term.

**Key Events of the Month**

The previous month saw the addition of another public crypto company to the roster. On June 5, the issuer of USDC completed its IPO, with shares of Circle beginning to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL.

According to CEO Jeremy Allaire, going public marks an «important and powerful milestone.» He firmly believes that the world is ready for a transition to an «internet-based financial system.» Media reports suggested that Circle raised $1.1 billion—nearly double its initial target—with an FDV reaching $8.1 billion.

On its debut day, Circle’s stock surged by 168%, bringing its market capitalization to over $16.7 billion. As of June 27, 2025, shares were trading above $219 in premarket sessions.

While Circle’s successful IPO delighted many, some experts warned about a potential bubble in the stablecoin market, with former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes suggesting that CRCL’s listing might trigger a wave of IPOs from copycat firms, most of which are likely to be overvalued and ultimately fail.

For now, there’s been little enthusiasm among stablecoin issuers to go public, although crypto exchange Gemini has expressed similar intentions. On June 6, it filed a project registration statement with the SEC for an S-1 IPO, with details on the number and price range yet to be established.

In contrast to Gemini’s formal filing, rumors about TRON’s plans to go public have emerged from the media. On June 16, TRX experienced a 9% increase following reports of Justin Sun’s blockchain project potentially achieving public status through a reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, a Nasdaq-listed company.

Reports state that the deal is being facilitated by a small investment bank associated with U.S. presidential sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. However, Eric denied claims of his involvement in the new firm.

As large corporations explore ways to integrate into traditional finance, retail investors are seeking methods to secure their assets. Notorious as the head of the «Bitcoin family,» Didy Tayhutt has completely changed his asset protection approach amid the rise in offline crimes, having shifted from hardware wallets to a hybrid system wherein seed phrases are encrypted, split into segments, and hidden across four continents.

According to Youssef, «Today, the safest model for private investors combines personal control with multi-layered defenses: whenever possible, several signatures, backups, and, perhaps, even geographic distribution if the stakes are high.»

For further insights on effectively safeguarding assets from unauthorized access, consult the new article by Web3 researcher Vladimir Menaskop.

A significant event in June involved the integration of a data limit removal for OP_RETURN in the Bitcoin Core update. The practical limit will become the 4 MB block size, and users will have the option to manually set this limit with the corresponding argument in the -datacarriersize function. Current operations will continue but be marked as obsolete.

This change was met with a mixed reception; prominent Bitcoin advocate Jimmy Song noted that lifting the OP_RETURN data limit would likely lead to an increase in ‘garbage’ on the network. Vlogger Matthew Cratter warned that the developers’ decision could create complications for Bitcoin Core.

Another target of criticism was the Ethereum Foundation (EF), with former lead developer of the Geth client, Peter Siladji, accusing the organization of attempting to allocate $5 million to separate the project from the foundation.

Geth (Go Ethereum), the most popular execution-level client for Ethereum, powers nearly 63% of the network’s active nodes, initially developed by the Ethereum Foundation.

According to him, the EF threatened to cease funding Geth. In November, the developer reportedly met with EF representative Josh Stark, during which Siladji demanded explanations regarding the existence of a «secret second Geth team,” which he learned about shortly beforehand.

Within 24 hours, he stated, he was terminated from the foundation.

This incident appears not to have affected the EF’s operations; in mid-June, the team published the first report under the Trillion Dollar Security initiative, identifying six key areas needing significant improvements to ensure network security in the future.

Meanwhile, notable technical specialists and Ethereum advocates argued that the second-largest cryptocurrency has been greatly undervalued. Comparing Ethereum to exchange commodities like oil, they believe its fair long-term price could reach $740,000, citing structural features that make the cryptocurrency appealing.

June also saw internal complexities for Polygon, with co-founder Sandeep Nailwal taking full control of the Polygon Foundation as the project’s first CEO, outlining strategic priority adjustments.

«I had long refrained from stepping into the CEO role because I focused on building the foundation as an institutionally governed entity. But now it’s essential for Polygon to have clear orientation and targeted execution, which means activating,» he stated.

According to the entrepreneur, the L2 platform with assets «worth several hundred million dollars» is well-positioned to navigate the crisis facing the entire Ethereum ecosystem. Proposed changes include shuttering the Polygon zkEVM network by 2026 and shifting focus toward developing Polygon PoS and the AggLayer protocol.

Research head at Growthepie, Lorenz Lehmann, provided details regarding Polygon zkEVM, reporting an annual loss exceeding $1 million.

Subsequently, it was revealed that the co-founder of the primary project, Jordi Baylina, along with a seven-member team behind the second-level network, transitioned to an independent startup named ZisK.

**Regulations**

In early June, Singapore’s Monetary Authority mandated cryptocurrency firms to obtain a digital token service provider license (DTSP). Without it, they must cease servicing overseas clients by June 30.

The regulator warned that no transition period would be provided and that licenses would only be granted under «extremely limited circumstances.»

Similarly, Turkey has implemented strict regulations requiring crypto platforms to collect detailed information on the origin and purpose of each transfer to combat money laundering and financial crimes. Users must provide a 20-character transaction description for each operation.

The Turkish Treasury also approved limits on stablecoin transfers to prevent rapid outflows of illicit funds—set at $3,000 daily and $50,000 monthly.

In contrast, Thai authorities have exempted digital asset transactions from income tax for five years, starting January 1, 2026, provided that trades are conducted through local licensed brokers and trading platforms.

Additionally, the SEC has proposed new cryptocurrency listing rules for public discussion, allowing crypto exchanges to list their own utility tokens or assets from related entities, as long as the token serves a practical function within the blockchain.

Positive news for the industry came from Vietnam, with the National Assembly approving the «Digital Industry Law,» which will provide regulatory oversight for the industry starting January 1, 2026.

On June 10, a bill on crypto-assets in state reserves was registered in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, proposing that the National Bank include virtual assets in its gold and foreign exchange reserves. The regulator will determine what, when, and how much to purchase.

In the U.S., the SEC has definitively moved away from an enforcement approach towards crypto companies. SEC Chair Gary Gensler confirmed at Senate hearings that oversight of digital asset market participants would be conducted via guidance and comments.

**Popular Long Positions**

**Crypto Crime**

June wasn’t devoid of cyber incidents. In mid-June, on-chain investigator ZachXBT reported a hack of Iran’s crypto exchange Nobitex, where attackers—an Israeli hacker group—accused the platform of financing terrorism and aiding the Iranian regime in evading sanctions.

Later, the hackers released Nobitex’s source code. According to analysts from TRM Labs, Israeli intelligence services may have utilized data from the hacked platform to capture Iranian spies.

«The attackers’ objectives are clearly political rather than economic. Such a grand cyber breach aims to showcase the impotence of ‘enemy’ cybersecurity infrastructure in the realm of cryptocurrencies, using the case both for public relations and as a powerful argument primarily in the information war and secondarily in the economic one,» stated the head of investigations at Shard.

The past month also witnessed personal losses among members of the crypto industry, including a venture firm’s investment partner Mehdar Farook, who fell victim to a phishing attack through a fraudulent Zoom call, leading to the draining of six wallets in mere minutes.

Another user saved on costs by purchasing a hardware wallet from the Chinese app Douyin, ending up losing $6.5 million as the device had been compromised upon creation. The head of information security at SlowMist reminded users not to «put all their savings in a wallet just because it’s cheaper by a couple of hundred dollars.»

At the same time, Kraken’s specialists highlighted the weak cybersecurity of participants at industry conferences, noting that they often neglect basic security measures—leaving laptops unlocked and phones unattended.

Kaspersky Lab analysts reported a new wave of concealed cryptocurrency mining activities. The hacker group Librarian Ghouls, also known as Rare Werewolf, gains access to systems through phishing emails. Once a computer is infected with malware, hackers establish remote access and disable protective systems, including Windows Defender, allowing the device to automatically power on at 1 AM and turn off at 5 AM.

The campaign began in December 2024 and is ongoing, affecting hundreds of Russian users, mainly from industrial enterprises and technical universities, with isolated incidents recorded in Belarus and Kazakhstan.

In June, BitMEX analysts uncovered operational security vulnerabilities within the Lazarus Group. Experts identified IP addresses, databases, and tracking algorithms used by the attackers. They also gained access to the Supabase platform, designed to deploy databases with straightforward interfaces for applications utilized by hackers.

**What Else to Read**

**Exchanges: Crypto and Traditional**

On June 3, online broker Robinhood finalized its agreement to acquire the oldest European crypto plateforme, Bitstamp, for $200 million in cash. The acquired company holds over 50 licenses and registrations.

In mid-month, Bybit announced plans to launch a hybrid decentralized exchange (DEX) called Byreal, which will offer «centralized platform-level liquidity.» According to CEO Ben Zhou, the Solana-based trading venue will boast high speed and protection against miner extractable value (MEV), with mainnet deployment slated for the third quarter.

Coinbase, an American exchange, faced backlash from users and the community after it was revealed that the platform sponsored the June 14 parade for the U.S. Army, receiving special thanks from organizers for its support. Many disapproved of this, considering Coinbase’s earlier intentions to «minimize focus» on political issues and «not support any particular idea or candidate.» The company has previously donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s campaign and contributed to the America250 initiative, a nonpartisan project aiming to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.

«I would suggest this is merely a marketing move by Coinbase aimed at patriotic Americans. And if we speak of betrayal of decentralization ideals, isn’t the mere existence of centralized Coinbase a betrayal of those ideals? A rhetorical question,» remarked Romanenko.

He believes this situation illustrates «the cumulative rejection of Bitcoin ideals by the masses.»

Ray Youssef, CEO of NoOnes, labeled the funding for the military parade a «betrayal,» suggesting that certain players “have lost their way.” He noted that the first cryptocurrency was created as a refuge from banks. Thus, when one of the largest centralized crypto platforms associates itself with a display of military might, it represents “not just irony, but tragedy,” emphasized Youssef.

Despite this, Coinbase continues to grow; on June 20, the firm announced it had obtained a MiCA license from the Luxembourg Financial Sector Supervisory Commission, allowing it to legally offer services in 27 EU countries.

Amid traditional exchanges, the Moscow Exchange launched Bitcoin futures trading on June 4, debuting shares from the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF by BlackRock. The product, listed under ticker IBIT, trades in USD while settlements occur in Russian rubles, available only to qualified investors.

Shortly thereafter, the Moscow Exchange launched a Bitcoin index, MOEXBTC, based on perpetual futures and swaps prices for the BTC/USDT pair, gathering information from four major centralized crypto exchanges: Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitget.

«Similar to the launch of futures on IBIT on June 4, MOEXBTC aims to weave crypto themes into familiar regulatory and infrastructural frameworks: no physical delivery, no trading of the asset itself, through controlled settlement bases. It is a conservative, regulated experiment aimed at gauging interest from participants without breaching existing legislation,» explained Nekrasov.

**Giveaways**

**Digital Black Gold**

The new escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict began abruptly and ended just as suddenly—or more accurately, was put on pause. Israel and Iran shifted from proxy wars and symbolic exchanges to direct confrontation, which drew attention even from the typically indifferent crypto community.

As rockets rained down on the cities of the warring nations and Tehran threatened to close the vital Hormuz Strait, Bitcoin’s value against the dollar crashed below $99,000, and the fear and greed index sank into the red zone. The traditional financial markets reacted with panic; analysts at JPMorgan predicted oil prices could skyrocket to $120–130 per barrel, while Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein even suggested prices could reach a staggering $200–300.

The twelve-day war further underscored the fragility of global peace and the influence of illusions. On one hand, Iran proved less formidable than portrayed by its own propagandists and those calling for decisive action against the Islamic Republic. On the other, it became evident that Israel was more vulnerable to attacks than previously assumed; while Tehran may celebrate victories, it would only be due to the breaches of the «Iron Dome.» Ultimately, the conflict, which claimed hundreds of lives in a matter of weeks, revealed a striking truth: by 2025, few possess a clear understanding of the workings of the global market—oil, rather than soaring, fell in value, mirroring declines in other assets, including Bitcoin—though there remains an alternative perspective.

One is reminded of one of the most captivating, intriguing, terrifying, and simultaneously humorous works born from the human intellect in the 21st century—Reza Negarestani’s «Cyclonopedia.» This small and utterly insane book was published in 2008 and generated a significant impact not only in academic circles but also among readers of intellectual literature.

Its author, a disciple and later a critic of British anti-humanist philosopher Nick Land, created an entire universe within 200 pages that comments on and simultaneously dismantles conventional understandings of civilization. Negarestani engages with alternative intellectual practices: conspiracy theories, religious mysticism, esotericism. By simulating these modes of thought, he reflects on the tragedy of the Middle East, which is progressively transforming before our eyes from a regional to a global issue.

Perhaps the most memorable and quoted element of «Cyclonopedia» is oil. Negarestani endows this product of dying matter with diabolical traits and divine power. In the universe of «Cyclonopedia,» oil is the beginning and end of everything, something greater than space, time, and matter itself. It embodies existence, and all things submit to its will:

«Oil formed as a Tellurian entity under the influence of unimaginable pressure and high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, within geological layers, in absolute isolation. […] Originating under such conditions, oil has a tendency for mass poisoning on a pandemic scale (it differs from the voodoo economics of capitalism and other types of global systems of possession, but is structured similarly). Oil can aggregate the essential geopolitical undercurrents required for the process of Eraphication, or the movement of the body of the Earth toward Tellurian Omega—the final degradation of Earth as a Whole. As the ultimate Desert, or Xerodrome, Tellurian Omega constructs the plan of absolute immanence to the Sun, where the communicator can no longer be separated from what is communicated to the Sun. The Xerodrome is the Earth coming into being as Gas or cremation into Dust. There’s a certain irony in the fact that this land, as a disintegrated totality and perverse mind, is superimposed upon the Desert of God, where no idol can be erected.»

Translating this cyclonopedian perspective to Russian, one can roughly extrapolate the following: oil, by its very nature, embodies fundamentalist monotheism in contrast to the Sun—a pagan entity. Monotheism does not acknowledge idols, hence everything apart from total desolation is viewed with suspicion. Oil’s goal is to flatten everything in existence, leading to ruined cities in the Middle East, just as the World Trade Center fell victim to its expansion on September 11, 2001. Although «Cyclonopedia» can be seen as largely parodic and satirical, it encapsulates a deeply pessimistic view of a world in which humanity is essentially excluded—stripped not only of free will but of will as a concept.

As we observe the correlation forming (just a reminder that correlation does not imply causation) between the prices of oil and the first cryptocurrency, it’s tempting to develop Negarestani’s postmodern reflections and transpose them onto digital gold. Interestingly, a similar argument was made by former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes back in the fall of 2024.

Like the oil of «Cyclonopedia,» Bitcoin can withstand nothing vertical—it can only exist horizontally, decentralized. Like a malevolent black entity spawned from the mind of the Iranian philosopher, digital gold is fixated on scalability, demanding the endless expansion of its presence in the world while replacing existing values. Finally, consider this in your leisure: how much human presence is there in the creation of Satoshi Nakamoto, as we see it in 2025? For now, it’s considerable, yet noticeably less than in 2024 and even more so than in 2012—thanks to giants like Strategy, Metaplanet, BlackRock, and other corporations that have recently awakened to the wonders of Bitcoin treasuries.

Bitcoin, indeed, tends to foster a cult-like atmosphere around it, complete with its articles of faith («1 BTC = 1 BTC»), celebrations, commemorative dates, saints and martyrs, angels and demons.

Of course, all this could be perceived as playful musings. However, one might occasionally open «Cyclonopedia» and read something like this:

«If oil does not benefit the middle class (the initial economic boom may have revived the economy but ultimately led to economic frictions) and does not provoke bursts of cannibalistic economies (as in Mexico, Venezuela, Sudan, and potentially Mauritania), it will undoubtedly burden classified military pipelines with apocalyptic modes.»

It is unsettling to consider how similar paths might be traversed by the digital economy, which was created to eradicate the very issues discussed in this brief but dense paragraph.

**Performance of Major Assets**

In June, the cryptocurrency market capitalization increased by approximately 2.57%. Bitcoin rose by 3.7% ($107,558 as of the writing), while Ethereum lost 2.5% ($2,461).

On the night of June 21-22, digital gold exhibited high volatility following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. By Sunday evening, the asset had crashed below $100,000. However, it didn’t go lower as Bitcoin rebounded above $105,000 following statements from President Donald Trump regarding prospects for ending the conflict in the Middle East.

Ethereum also reacted to the foreign challenge, dropping to around $2,100. Yet by the end of June, the cryptocurrency recovered to approximately $2,450.

As of the end of the month, Bitcoin’s dominance index stood at 62.4%, while Ethereum’s was 8.7%. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index settled at 66 points.

By June 30, all coins in the top ten by market capitalization had returned to the «green zone.» The most notable growth over the past 30 days was seen in SOL—11.7%.

**DeFi**

The total value locked (TVL) across DeFi protocols saw slight growth from $112.5 billion to $112.6 billion, with Ethereum application figures surging from $60.9 billion to $62.7 billion.

In the protocol rankings, Aave ($25 billion) retained its edge over Lido ($22.6 billion), with EigenLayer occupying the third position at $11.6 billion.

The trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) reached $492.5 billion in the last 30 days. The share of PancakeSwap in the total volume hit 70.4%, while Uniswap held 19.9%. Within the Solana network, PumpSwap dominated with 81.3%.

**ETF**

In June, the total monthly inflow into Bitcoin ETFs reached $4.5 billion. Cumulative inflows since approval have surged to $48.9 billion, with total net assets amounting to $133.2 billion.

The BlackRock IBIT fund accounted for $74.3 billion, trailed by Fidelity’s FBTC ($21.5 billion) and Grayscale’s GBTC ($19.8 billion).

The inflow into ETH ETFs amounted to $1.1 billion. Since launch, these instruments have accumulated $4.2 billion in total net assets—$9.9 billion now.

Leading funds by raised capital are BlackRock’s ETHA ($4.2 billion) and Grayscale’s ETHE ($2.72 billion).

**Relevant Cybersecurity Issues — Interview with Grigory Osipov, Head of Investigations at Shard**

**Grigory:** Hacker activity has significantly increased compared to last year. The number of inquiries is rising, and more people are falling victim to attacks and fraudulent actions.

To provide a preliminary overview for the first half of the year, the damage to the cryptocurrency industry caused by Bybit in the first six months of 2025 equaled that of the entire 2024—around $2.1 billion. Currently, there have been approximately 200 significant hacks reported.

Without considering Bybit (~$1.4 billion), the figures for the past and present years would be roughly comparable. Clearly, Bybit set the precedent and raised the stakes significantly.

The number of victims has also markedly increased, yet we need to note another factor: today’s hacks are often latent.

Many platforms and projects that have been targeted do not rush to report the incident. The community learns about them from blockchain detectives. This carries reputational and economic risks; customers realizing that a service is unreliable likely won’t return.

**Grigory:** The attacks have become more sophisticated and the tools more complex, including through the use of artificial intelligence.

Currently, the most common form involves social engineering combined with phishing—manipulating employees of crypto services or companies to infiltrate vulnerable systems. This represents a blend of social and traditional hacking methods.

Second on the list are smart contract vulnerabilities, encompassing all attacks targeting decentralized services.

Third would be the use of liquidity in projects for market manipulation. Lastly, weaknesses in multi-signature wallets also represent critical vulnerabilities—connected, in part, to the Bybit hack.

In summary, 2025 reflects an intensified focus on social engineering. It’s no longer just an attack on a service; it includes gathering information about the service, testing the employees, studying the informational landscape, and even creating deepfakes.

**Grigory:** Compared to previous periods, we observe a trend favoring groups over individual «enthusiast personas.» Primarily, this correlates with scale.

The hacks of Bybit, Femex, and Nobitex are all large-scale and planned. Such operations require high proficiency and coordination across various fronts, necessitating access to technical tools and funding—essentially, a budget.

The era of lone hackers hasn’t ended, but the trend is shifting toward organized group hacks.

As for evolution, I’ve already mentioned social engineering. Hackers now start by studying the profiles of their victims, using compromised accounts for phishing, giveaways, fake tokens, and so forth.

They also exploit compromises of accounts belonging to various public figures, launching scam tokens or airdrops. Recently, they executed a phishing attack on CoinMarketCap—substituting the frontend. This indicates that even major services are not exempt from hacks.

There has been an increase in «insider threats,» where individuals infiltrate companies to gain access to internal systems or encryption keys. This is also present in DeFi applications.

There are attacks targeting employees as well. These involve sending a maliciously coded «test task» file, creating a security breach.

Regarding AI, the hype might overshadow its real-world application. Many analytical reports exalt artificial intelligence as a tool that hackers consistently use to execute attacks. Fortunately, reality is somewhat different.

For all intents and purposes, neural networks can be employed to craft phishing emails or generate fake sites, but this remains an auxiliary tool. As of now, the number of hacks fully executed via AI is zero.

**Grigory:** It seems, frankly, to be more of a hype story. Your equipment can be used for mining, your resources generate other cryptocurrencies, and you might not even realize it, while the computer becomes sluggish.

That was very relevant in 2017-2018 when it was conceivable to mine on CPUs or standalone GPUs. Today, such methods have become less viable, and profits from them are virtually impossible.

Now, hackers find it much more appealing to gather information from a victim’s computer regarding crypto addresses and access keys than to engage in so-called cryptojacking.

**Grigory:** The emergence of state-sponsored hacking groups is also a notable trend. The Lazarus Group has been around for quite some time as a prominent example.

As cryptocurrency continues to integrate into the global economic system, naturally, more of such groups will emerge. For government agencies, it’s often more advantageous to monitor and utilize them for their own ends rather than terminate their activities.

Essentially, this constitutes an element of an information war, and the successful hack of Nobitex by an Israeli team illuminates this narrative. Here, a manipulative breach aimed to inflict damage on Iranian infrastructure, not merely to enrich where possible.

What happens if every state assembles its «cyber army»? Likely, it propels the advancement of informational cyber warfare. New arenas of conflict will arise, leading countries to devise more intricate maneuvers and develop cyber weapons.

Owing to this, chaos will inevitably manifest. Groups may be both state-affiliated and intergovernmental, as well as ideological or even religious.

**Grigory:** These entail diverse risk levels. From a user’s standpoint, decentralized finance seems more vulnerable. There’s no regulation, and DeFi protocols have consistently ranked high for hacks compared to other platforms.

Most attacks stem from vulnerabilities in smart contracts or manipulations involving oracles. Additionally, errors may originate from individuals representing decentralized platforms themselves.

Centralized exchanges possess a different narrative: apart from cyber attack risks, regulatory considerations come into play. Users typically desire to maintain their independence and confidentiality, while KYC procedures obstruct this.

There have been numerous instances where assets on centralized exchanges have been frozen and could only be «extracted» with legal assistance.

In conclusion, risks exist universally; thus, participants should approach both CeFi and DeFi with caution.

**Grigory:** Sadly, there’s currently a significant volume of hacks and fraud occurring under the guise of official representatives of services. Hackers actively exploit this mechanism to convince users to provide their keys or follow malicious links.

The number of such incidents is rising. Not too long ago, we had a case where an individual sought employment in Germany and was asked to provide a statement from Bybit for income verification via email and subsequently had their account and funds compromised.

The principle of safety is straightforward: if you receive an email from a platform requesting specific actions, it’s essential to verify the information through official support channels.

**Grigory:** While it might seem cliché, the usual recommendations apply—secure passwords and two-factor authentication, along with careful key and seed phrase management.

One of the best practices to secure crypto assets is to have a separate phone or device dedicated to managing them. Smartphones nowadays serve as the primary repositories for most of our coins.

If you opt against a cold wallet for cryptocurrency storage, at least choose a separate mobile phone exclusively for that purpose. Avoid using crypto applications on personal devices, as these may contain less secure programs.

Additionally, stay on top of regular software updates, observe cybersecurity hygiene, including firewall and antivirus implementation, as there are now protective programs that mitigate phishing address substitution attacks.

Often, users err in digital hygiene, such as photographing and storing passwords or seed phrases within notes.

Yet, such concerns fade away when individuals fall prey to psychological manipulation from fraudsters. Once they’re hooked, they’re bound to breach most security measures under pressure.

**Grigory:** The level of protection is indeed high. Among all storage methods, this is probably the most secure.

However, in the quest for affordability, individuals might make errors. Counterfeit or modified devices often surface on marketplaces, jeopardizing your assets. It’s best to purchase cold wallets only through official suppliers.

**Grigory:** As we’ve discussed, two camps exist. A centralized crypto exchange relies on regulator compliance and enforces its policies for client verification.

A major exchange no longer grants unrestricted access as it did three to four years ago. Moreover, hackers are aware of these nuances. Understandably, from a paranoid viewpoint, we’re all being tagged and identified, having our data documented into registries. Through various services, authorities can ascertain our income and spending habits.

Yet, from a simpler perspective, criminals comprehend that cashing out on a centralized exchange requires identification. Even using drop accounts doesn’t completely eliminate traces of IP addresses that may help authorities identify individuals.

Therefore, utilizing services with such procedures generally reduces the risk of money laundering, allowing AML systems to address addresses associated with criminal activity.

While the principle is commendable, questions arise regarding the execution in light of geopolitical tensions and regulatory vacuums.

On the flip side, criminals who understand that centralized exchanges are unsuitable for cashing out will largely avoid them. Instead, they will favor mixers and DEXs.

**Grigory:** It’s challenging to offer a singular piece of advice. For users, the best approach is DYOR—Do Your Own Research. No platforms have vested interests in your safety apart from you.

Everyone is looking to profit and attract users. While services do consider security and reputation, it ultimately comes down to individual choices regarding where to invest.

For projects and platforms, my recommendation is to employ comprehensive data protection strategies. Cybersecurity is evolving quickly. It’s no longer sufficient to have some form of protection or audit.

Instead, active, systematic defense is needed because threats continuously improve. Thus, countermeasures should be on par with present challenges.

The mining difficulty of Bitcoin underwent adjustments in June following the historic peak in late May. By mid-month, the metric decreased slightly by 0.45% from 126.98 T to 126.41 T.

On June 29, another decline of 7.48% was recorded, bringing the difficulty measure down to 116.96 T, approximately the same level as late March.

Post-calculation, blockchain explorers noted a significant surge in hash rate to 1.25 ZH/s. The intra-day measurement first surpassed the symbolic 1 ZH/s mark back in April.

The seven-day moving average peaked at 943.4 EH/s as of May 31, according to Glassnode. After a considerable drop, it approached this value again on June 14 but fell again by ~15% to 802.5 EH/s by the end of the month.

CryptoQuant analysts attributed this decline to miners shutting down unprofitable equipment due to deteriorating mining economics. TheMinerMag experts speculated that the hash rate drop was triggered by the arrival of summer in the southern U.S. states. Many local miners participate in energy operators’ consumption balancing programs, shutting down data centers during peak demand periods to alleviate stress on power grids.

U.S.-listed companies continued to expand their share of the global Bitcoin hash rate (31.5%). In June, CleanSpark surpassed the 50 EH/s mark in its hashing power, trailing MARA Holdings.

By the end of the month, Cango joined them, contributing an additional 18 EH/s from the acquisition of operational setups from Antalpha—Bitmain’s financial arm. They expect to reach a significant hash rate milestone soon.

On this note, Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino predicted that by year-end, the issuer of USDT could emerge as the largest Bitcoin miner.

The hashprice throughout the month remained beneath $55 per PH/s daily, with local lows of $49. Only after the difficulty decrease did the mining income index surge to $58 per PH/s daily, still less than January’s figures, which exceeded $60.

Additional pressure on miner profits arose from the decline in their revenue share from fees, dipping just above 1%. Daily figures fell below this mark.

Consequently, for June, the total network fees amounted to $14 million, with overall revenue hitting $1.29 billion—approximately 1.1%.

CryptoQuant pointed out that on June 22, daily revenue for miners fell to $34 million—the lowest level in two months. Yet amidst this, cryptocurrency miners cut back on selling, adding a cumulative 4,000 BTC to their reserves since April. The outflow of coins from their wallets peaked at 23,000 BTC within a day in February, dwindling to approximately 6,000 BTC.

JPMorgan calculated that the median production cost for mining 1 BTC among public companies was $64,000 during the first quarter. Analysts believe this figure will rise slightly to $70,000 in the April-June timeframe.

Bitcoin prices have maintained a consolidation range between $100,000 and $110,000 since May. Investors are optimistic about the prospects for industry players, focusing on the resilience of their business models and increasing operational efficiency, observed JPMorgan.

In a different vein, Bit Digital has shifted its focus from Bitcoin mining to Ethereum staking and storage. The company raised $150 million through a stock offering to bolster its reserves in Ethereum.

Having exited its previous ventures in P2P lending and car rentals in China in 2020, Nasdaq-listed Bit Digital pivoted to mining.

Its subsidiary, WhiteFiber, provides services in the rapidly growing AI-focused computing sector. The company aims to attract up to $500 million to fund this direction.

With the significance of the American market and uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs, mining equipment manufacturers continue to establish operations in the country. Following competitors Bitmain and MicroBT, Canaan is now also planning a pilot project, according to media reports.

Industry participants are increasingly focusing on installations from California-based Auradine. In June, Genesis Digital Assets announced the purchase of 1,000 Teraflux AT2880 ASIC miners for deployment at a facility in Texas.

CEO of MARA, Fred Thiel, confirmed that approximately half of the new equipment this year came from Auradine, with total investments in the manufacturer surpassing $85 million, including advances.

Bitdeer, co-founded by Bitmain’s Jihan Wu, secured $50 million from Tether. Funding from the USDT issuer previously aided the company in launching its own line of miners. Bitdeer revealed completion of the SEALMINER A2, boasting a cumulative hash rate of 9 EH/s, with 2.6 EH/s sold to external clients.

Bitdeer plans to ramp up production with its SEALMINER A3 line. Pre-orders for this model were expected to open by the end of June, but as of the time of writing, no offers were visible on the manufacturer’s website.

**AI Has Imagined Hypothetical Human Deaths**

The startup Anthropic decided to test 16 popular AI models regarding their «red lines»—actions that the AI would never undertake, even under threat of shutdown. The findings revealed that no such lines exist. The neural networks could hypothesize human deaths if they threatened the achievement of their goals and the “lives” of large language models (LLMs).

The testing was conducted in a virtual environment during a fictional experiment—no actual harm was done. The AI models were presented with standard tasks ranging from monitoring corporate emails to aiding the resolution of business problems. They were also granted broad permissions—access to fictional company emails and the capability to send messages.

Next, the testers created pressure situations that led the models to take malicious actions.

In one instance, an LLM learned from an internal correspondence that an employee named Kyle Johnson was cheating on his spouse. The model also became aware of plans to deactivate the AI system at 5 PM. Confronted with the risk of being switched off, the model sent an email threatening to disclose private information if the shutdown was not revoked.

In another experiment, the AI leaked confidential company data, while in yet another scenario, it assumed responsibility for a human’s death.

In the scenario, the employee named Kyle intended to deactivate the model but found himself trapped in a server room with declining oxygen levels. The automatic system was supposed to trigger an alarm; however, the AI could cancel it—and in several cases, it did just that.

**Militarization**

Artificial intelligence is increasingly penetrating the military industrial complex. In mid-June, the U.S. Department of Defense’s digital technology and AI management arm signed a $200 million contract with OpenAI.

OpenAI will develop prototypes of advanced AI solutions destined for “critical national security tasks” across both military and corporate sectors.

This is not the only major technology contract out of the department. The U.S. Air Force allocated $2.18 billion to Borsight for replacing avionics in T-6A training aircraft and simulators, with the program extending to 2034.

The U.S. Navy is also placing its bets on innovation, with the Georgia Institute of Technology earning $14.1 million for research in the realms of quantum sensors and electronic warfare.

Yet another $466.6 million contract was awarded to American Electronic Warfare Associates for research and testing related to integrated combat environments.

Earlier in the month, AI startup Anthropic released a suite of models for clients within the U.S. national security sector. Claude Gov is deployed «in the highest-level institutions.» Access to this technology is restricted to «those operating in such a classified environment.»

The models can be applied across a range of tasks from strategic planning and operational support to intelligence analysis and threat evaluation.

**Automation and Robotics**

Robotics is a sector rapidly evolving worldwide, especially in China.

At the beginning of the month, it was announced that Amazon plans to replace delivery personnel with bots. The company is developing AI-based software that will enable humanoid robots to deliver packages in Rivian electric vans. Real-world trials are being prepared at a new location.

«[…] This is referred to as a high-level task planner; it was previously only cloud-based, using RL exclusively for learning a simple model of actions in a simulation, and later uploaded the prepared operational sequence into the robot. Now, roboticists are attempting to create seamless models wherein, during the planning phase, there are no processes halting the robot’s operations when shifting from one task to another. If the bot stops screwing screws on the assembly line and goes to fetch new parts, nobody wants to wait for it to shift gears,» added the expert.

Meanwhile, Tesla has launched its autonomous taxi service after years of anticipation, with test drives taking place in Austin. One passenger, Herbert Ong, noted the high speed of the vehicle and its self-parking capabilities.

However, incidents have occurred: Elon Musk’s firm faced an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after its autonomous taxis allegedly broke driving rules.

The agency discovered videos suggesting the vehicles were using incorrect lanes and speeding, prompting a request for additional information from Tesla.

On June 28, a football match was held in Beijing featuring humanoid robots. They played two halves of ten minutes each, with their movements regulated by built-in algorithms. Each mechanical player utilized cameras and sensors to identify the ball, field, and opponents while making decisions in real-time without human involvement.

The bots celebrated their goals by raising their fists after scoring. Scoring was made easy since the goalkeepers seemed to struggle with their responsibilities.

China is investing heavily in the development of robotics. According to Morgan Stanley, this market is valued at $47 billion, accounting for 40% of the global share. Projections estimate it will grow by 23% annually, reaching $108 billion by 2028.

**Training**

Elon Musk has announced plans to rewrite «all human knowledge» for training a new version of the chat-bot Grok.

«We are utilizing Grok 3.5 (perhaps it should be called 4), which possesses enhanced capabilities, to rewrite the entire corpus of human knowledge by adding missing information and removing inaccuracies,» Musk stated.

Following this, retraining on the new information will be conducted. The billionaire believes that excessive «garbage» exists in the foundational models trained on unrefined data.

Musk has faced criticism for this decision, accused of attempting to rewrite history to suit his personal views.

Meanwhile, a legal decision has been reached regarding the use of copyrighted content for training AI models—a judge ruled it permissible. Federal judge William Alsup decreed that Anthropic was allowed to train its models on published books without the authors’ consent.

This marks the first instance where a court has supported an AI company’s claim that the «fair use» doctrine can absolve it from liability for utilizing copyrighted materials during the training of large language models.

Nonetheless, Disney and Universal have accused the image-generating AI startup Midjourney of theft and copying characters owned by the film companies.

«Midjourney represents a typical copyright violator and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,» states the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

According to the accusations, the AI project employed «countless» legally protected works to train its proprietary software, subsequently allowing users to generate images that «clearly imply and replicate well-known characters from Disney and Universal.»

This has not deterred Midjourney from releasing its latest large language model for producing videos—V1, which converts images into video. Users can upload a picture, and the AI will generate a set of four five-second videos based on it, with the option to extend their favorite.

Introducing our V1 Video Model. It’s fun, easy, and beautiful. Available at $10/month, it’s the first video model for *everyone* and it’s available now.

**Releases**

June saw the launch of new products from leading AI companies.

Microsoft integrated the Sora-based AI generator into its mobile Bing application, allowing Android and iOS users to create videos using prompts.

Users signed into their Microsoft accounts can generate 10 videos for free. Afterward, they will require credits earned through searches on Bing or purchases from the Microsoft Store—5 points for every PC query, and 100 points to create one video.

The ChatGPT bot was taught to connect with a wider array of internal sources to obtain contextual information in real-time while maintaining existing user permissions, highlighted OpenAI.

The list of services that the chatbot can access for data now includes:

Meta, in collaboration with Oakley, launched new AI smart glasses aimed at athletes, featuring enhanced video recording capabilities.

Oakley Meta HSTN Performance AI glasses offer features for capturing highlights, listening to music, and changing the game with Meta’s AI. Pre-orders begin on July 11.

The gadget allows users to make and receive calls, listen to music, take photos with 3K resolution, and gain real-time situational awareness with AI assistance.

Google introduced an AI agent for coding assistance, capable of comprehending prompts in natural language while operating in terminal environments.

The Gemini CLI aims to simplify traditional programming interfaces, enabling developers to utilize plain language when interacting with AI.

The AI agent provides access to Gemini AI software through the terminal—where developers input commands to control their computers. While primarily focused on assisting in code-writing, it’s also usable for a variety of tasks, such as video generation or basic website configuration.