The Daily: Bitcoin just got a 'lifeboat' against the quantum threat, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Thursday! Bitcoin's risk-off narrative is back in focus as it consolidates near $80,000, with BlackRock's Robbie Mitchnick calling it "the one to bet on" long-term as analysts point to returning ETF demand and a weakening correlation with equities.

In today's newsletter, StarkWare says it has successfully demonstrated the first quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction, Bithumb wins another lawsuit over proceeds a user gained from its 620,000 BTC fat-finger error, bitcoin faces a key hurdle to reach its January high, and more.

Meanwhile, at Bitcoin Asia 2026, Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said bitcoin could surpass gold's market value in the next bull market.

P.S. Don't forget to check out today's reader poll on bitcoin 2026 price targets later in the newsletter.

First quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction successfully executed, StarkWare says

StarkWare said it executed the first quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction, arguing a network fork isn't the only way to protect holdings from quantum computing risks.

• The method, devised by StarkWare's Avihu Levy, uses "signature grinding" to keep a transaction from exposing public-key data while it sits in the mempool awaiting confirmation.
• The mempool is Bitcoin's vulnerability to the theoretical technology, since a waiting transaction can reveal the information a future quantum computer could use to forge a signature and steal funds.
• However, the technique is deliberately expensive, brute-forcing millions of candidate signatures to produce the desired result, and can take hours of computing for a single transaction.
• As the transaction's format is non-standard, ordinary nodes ignore it, so StarkWare also had to send it straight to a miner, with MARA mining it via its Slipstream service.
• Both Levy and StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson still favor a protocol-level upgrade, likening the method to "lifeboats" that buy time but should not breed complacency.

Bithumb wins lawsuit over proceeds from 620,000 BTC fat-finger error

A Seoul court ruled in favor of Bithumb in one of four lawsuits seeking to claw back proceeds from bitcoin the exchange mistakenly credited to users earlier this year.

• The court ordered the defendant to return about 194 million won ($140,513) from selling the erroneous BTC, the second-largest of the four suits and Bithumb's second win.
• In February, Bithumb accidentally credited 620,000 BTC internally to hundreds of users as part of a promotional campaign giveaway after a staff member input the reward unit as BTC instead of KRW (Korean won).
• The error saw Bithumb's BTC-KRW pair plunge about 15% and drew a regulatory probe into its internal controls, as the exchange now eyes a 2028 IPO.

Bitcoin faces key hurdle in $81,000-$86,000 range to reach January high, analyst says

Onchain analysts at Glassnode said bitcoin's rebound faces a key test in the $81,000–$86,000 range, where multiple sources of selling pressure converge before it can retake its January highs.

• A large group of long-term holders sit near breakeven in that range, the analysts said, raising the risk they sell to get out flat.
• The rally, triggered by the Treasury's buyback expansion announcement last week and a major short squeeze on Aug. 19, "consumed the modelled liquidation clusters in its corridor, cutting the fuel in its path by 86%," they added.
• Settling above $83,300 with continued ETF inflows would indicate that the wall is being absorbed, Glassnode said, whereas a return to $62,900 would unwind the rally completely.

Mirae Asset maps out $109 billion digital asset push with Digital X

South Korea's Mirae Asset Financial Group plans to build a 150 trillion won ($109 billion) digital asset business centered on Digital X, according to The Korea Times.

• Mirae founder Park Hyeon-joo said Digital X will focus on crypto, stablecoins, real-world assets, and security token offerings, with plans to tokenize assets including gold, silver, and electricity.
• Mirae is considering a possible share allotment of up to 300 billion won ($218 million) in fresh capital, aiming to make the digital asset business profitable by 2027.
• The move follows Mirae's July acquisition of a 97% stake in crypto exchange Korbit, which it renamed Digital X.

Charles Schwab to add Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink to crypto trading platform

Charles Schwab plans to add Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink to its Schwab Crypto platform "in the coming months," expanding beyond the Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services it launched in May.

• The brokerage is taking a more measured approach compared to platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood, adding more established assets rather than a broad range, charging 75 basis points per transaction.
• With over $12 trillion in client assets and 39 million brokerage accounts, Schwab's customer base represents a significant distribution channel as crypto trading increasingly moves toward traditional brokerages.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will speak at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.
• Artificial Superintelligence Alliance is among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
• Bitcoin Asia and the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium continue.

Reader poll

Wall Street analysts keep adjusting their bitcoin targets. Where does BTC actually end 2026?

ABOVE $100K

BELOW $100K

One click records your pick. We'll share the answer in a later edition.

*Some 66% of respondents in last Thursday's poll said they expect regulators to bring Hyperliquid onshore in the U.S. by year-end.

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