Bitcoin's Quantum Defenses and Solana Inflation Adjustment
Key developments and market movements in the crypto world this week
1Bitcoin's First Steps Against Quantum Threat
StarkWare researcher Avihu Levy conducted an experimental quantum-resistant transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet, providing protection during the brief period when public keys are exposed in the mempool. The 10,000 satoshi transaction was secured by Levy's Quantum Safe Bitcoin (QSB) scheme, combining hash-based one-time signatures with computational searches that bind authorization to specific transactions. However, it's far from practical - each transaction takes hours and costs $150-200. This marks early progress in addressing the theoretical quantum computing threat to Bitcoin's cryptography.
2Blockstream's Long-Term Quantum Solution
Blockstream researchers published a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal to upgrade Bitcoin with the SHRINCS signature scheme, reducing a massive hash-based post-quantum signature by 13.23 times. While impressive, SHRINCS signatures remain at least 9 times larger than Bitcoin's current signatures. Jonas Nick called it "the first concrete proposal for a post-quantum signature scheme designed specifically for Bitcoin," acknowledging it's "not optimal along every axis" but represents the best current trade-off. The proposal reflects growing attention to quantum resistance in blockchain security.
3Solana's Inflation Control Measure
Solana validators approved proposal SGP-0002 to double the network's annual disinflation rate from 15% to 30%, reducing issuance by 18.9 million SOL over six years. With 60.7% participation, the vote passed with 67% support. This adjustment accelerates Solana's path to its 1.5% terminal inflation rate, now expected in 2.8 years versus 5.7 years previously. The change comes as Solana processed a record 4.2 billion transactions in July, up 13.5% from June and 91% since December, demonstrating growing network activity.
4The $4.7B Cost of Trump's Crypto Ventures
A Public Citizen report estimates Donald Trump and family's digital asset ventures have left investors at least $4.7 billion underwater since 2022. Losses include $3.2B from the TRUMP memecoin, $1B from World Liberty Financial token, $450M from Trump Media's digital asset treasury, and $9.3M from 2022 NFT trading cards. These losses have become a key factor in the stalled CLARITY Act, with Democrats pushing for stronger protections against elected officials issuing cryptocurrencies. The stablecoin USD1 remains unaffected with $0 losses.
5Bitcoin Miners Outperform AI Stocks
BlocksBridge Consulting reported Bitcoin's 23% weekly rally outpaced most AI-linked infrastructure stocks. Bitcoin miners Canaan, American Bitcoin and Cango surged 41-67%, compared to CoreWeave's 21%, Nebius' 17% and IREN's 15% gains. Bitcoin ETFs saw over $3.3B inflows in August - the strongest month since October 2025's all-time high - though Friday outflows ended a nine-day streak. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju announced the first positive Bull/Bear Market Cycle Indicator reading since early October, declaring "The Bitcoin bear cycle is over."
6Bernstein's $500K Bitcoin Prediction
Bernstein analysts predict we're at the start of a new four-year cycle, forecasting Bitcoin will reclaim $125K in both base and bull cases. Their long-term outlook suggests Bitcoin could peak at $300K in 2029 under the base scenario or reach $500K that year in a bullish scenario. This optimism follows Bitcoin's recovery from its bear market, with institutional adoption through ETFs and ongoing protocol improvements contributing to positive sentiment among Wall Street analysts covering the crypto space.
7Revolut Launches Euro-Pegged Stablecoin
Revolut began rolling out EURR, its first stablecoin pegged to the euro, to 2 million customers in Denmark, Poland and Portugal. The phased rollout will expand to other European Economic Area markets later this year. Issued by Luxembourg-based Bridge Building S.A. (a Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure company), EURR will initially launch on Ethereum and integrate into Revolut's retail app with plans for multi-chain support and external wallet transfers. This marks Revolut's entry into the stablecoin market as regulatory clarity improves in Europe.
8Weekly Market Overview
At week's end, Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $78,420 (+1.1%), Ethereum (ETH) at $2,469 (+0.6%), while XRP (XRP) fell 8.7% to $1.38. Total crypto market cap stood at $2.64T per CoinMarketCap. Among top 100 cryptos, VeChain (VET) led weekly gainers (+18.5%), followed by SPX6900 (SPX, +17.3%) and Uniswap (UNI, +15.2%). Biggest losers were Aptos (APT, -16.4%), Stable (STABLE, -14.7%) and Morpho (MORPHO, -13.6%). The market shows mixed signals with Bitcoin's resilience contrasting with altcoin volatility, as investors weigh quantum security developments against macroeconomic factors.