Hormuz Nerves Cost Bitcoin $65,000 Mark Despite Solid Institutional Flows
cointelegraph.com – Aug 10, 2026
Galaxy Research said 90% of the stolen Bitcoin remains unmoved as investigators examine a suspected fourth wave that could lift losses to $130 million.
Confirmed losses from the Coldcard wallet incident have exceeded $100 million, with 1,596 Bitcoin (BTC) stolen from about 7,300 addresses across three separate major attack waves and 14 smaller incidents, according to a new update from Galaxy Research.
On Monday, Galaxy Digital’s research arm said 73 victims had contacted its researchers, and victim reports confirmed the first three major attacks, helping investigators identify smaller “footprints” that Galaxy said could represent opportunistic attackers exploiting the vulnerability.
Galaxy Research also identified a suspected fourth wave that could bring total losses to 2,055 BTC, worth about $130 million. However, Galaxy said it excluded the event from its confirmed estimate because it had not yet received confirmation from victims believed to be part of that wave. The research group said with “medium-high” confidence that the wave largely represented attacker activity.
Galaxy said 90% of the stolen Bitcoin had not been moved, including funds attributed to the first three confirmed incidents. Attacker and victim addresses have been shared with US federal law enforcement, crypto exchanges and cyber-investigation companies, according to Galaxy Research.
The new findings raise Galaxy’s confirmed estimate from the 1,367 BTC traced across 4,585 addresses, which it published on Saturday. Galaxy warned that attacks were ongoing and urged uncertain Coldcard users to migrate their funds to a safe address immediately.
Bitcoin wobbled with US stocks as Iran deflated hopes on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz oil route, while analysis praised “exceptionally strong” institutional BTC inflows.
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $64,500 after Monday’s Wall Street open as markets digested more US-Iran uncertainty.
Key points:
- Bitcoin joins US stocks in selling off amid uncertainty over whether the Strait of Hormuz will reopen.
- The Japanese yen commands attention as it slides back toward historic lows against the dollar.
- Bitcoin analysis doubts market strength despite “exceptionally strong” institutional inflows.
This mirrored US stocks, which initially fell as the odds of the Strait of Hormuz oil route reopening appeared to fade.
Addressing Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, deputy speaker Ali Nikzad said that the “opening of the Strait of Hormuz has no military solution,” as quoted by Al Jazeera and others.
US WTI crude oil was up by almost 5% on the day at $80.90 per barrel at the time of writing, while the S&P 500 index nonetheless reversed to turn green, still below Friday’s all-time highs.
Attention also remained focused on the Japanese yen, which continued to weaken against the US dollar despite an earlier rare joint intervention by Japan and the US. USD/JPY hit 159 on Monday, nearing the psychological boundary of 160 before the end of the week’s first Asia session.
Economist Mohamed El-Erian warned that more decisive government policy action from the Japanese side would be required.
“The yen has been weakening gradually since the large joint Japan-US FX intervention, a sharp reminder that the key to fixing a currency ‘mispricing’ is getting the policy mix right. The longer Japan delays in doing so, the more elusive the goal of this historic intervention becomes,” he wrote in a post on X.
Bitcoin comeback “tentative” despite $865 million ETF inflows
Bitcoin analysts warned that the attempted BTC price rebound “remains tentative” despite some promising signals.
Glassnode’s latest Market Pulse update highlighted weak spot-market momentum as one key missing component of a sustainable recovery.
“Momentum has returned toward neutral and spot taker buying has accelerated sharply, but overall centralized exchange turnover remains subdued,” the onchain analytics platform said. It added:
“This divergence points to improving demand within a broader consolidation regime rather than a broad-based expansion in speculative activity.”
Among the positive catalysts were institutional inflows, which Glassnode noted were “exceptionally strong.” Last week, the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded net inflows of $865.3 million, per data from UK-based investment company, Farside Investors.
Data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, meanwhile, showed that hedge funds had flipped net long CME BTC futures — an event that CEO Ki Young Ju described as “rare.”
“The basis trade keeps them structurally short. That’s why this chart’s been red for years. You can’t carry trade into a net long. The suits are betting on upside,” he told X followers.
