Market Snapshot
Price (start)
$78,500
Price (end)
$80,900
Weekly Change
+3.1%
BTC Dominance
53.5%
Hash Rate
598 EH/s
LN Capacity
5,320 BTC
Top Stories
Lightning Network Surpasses 60,000 Active Nodes
The Lightning Network reached 60,000 publicly reachable nodes, a 40% increase from the same period last year. Growth is attributed to improved wallet software (Phoenix 2.0, Breez SDK), exchange integrations, and merchant adoption through BTCPay Server. Private node counts are estimated to be significantly higher.
Tether Announces $1 Billion Bitcoin Purchase for Reserves
Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin (USDT), disclosed a $1 billion Bitcoin purchase as part of its reserve diversification strategy. The company now holds over 80,000 BTC, making it one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders. The purchase was made through OTC desks to minimize market impact.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Reaches All-Time High
Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusted upward to a new all-time high of 82.5 trillion, reflecting continued growth in mining hash rate. Despite the increasing difficulty, mining profitability remains strong due to Bitcoin's elevated price and the efficiency of latest-generation ASIC miners from Bitmain (Antminer S21) and MicroBT (Whatsminer M60).
South Korea Approves Spot Bitcoin ETF Framework
South Korea's Financial Services Commission published a regulatory framework for spot cryptocurrency ETFs, with the first products expected to launch by Q3 2026. Major Korean asset managers including Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset have already filed applications. South Korea is the fourth major Asian market to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Blockstream Launches Next-Generation Satellite Service
Blockstream announced the launch of its upgraded satellite network, broadcasting the full Bitcoin blockchain and Lightning Network data globally via six geostationary satellites. The new service supports higher bandwidth, enabling faster initial blockchain synchronization and real-time mempool data for users in areas with limited internet connectivity.