Bitcoin Holds Above $64K as Coldcard Hack Fallout Meets Hormuz Diplomacy Hopes
US crypto markets are threading a needle on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, balancing bullish macro signals against a hardware wallet security scandal that refuses to fade. Bitcoin is changing hands near $64,000–$64,270, up roughly 0.6% to 1% over the past day, while Ethereum trades in the $1,864–$1,880 range. For American investors, the story isn't just about price — it's about two very different forces pulling on sentiment at once: renewed optimism around geopolitics and institutional demand, and a fresh reminder that self-custody isn't foolproof.
ETF Inflows and Hormuz Diplomacy Lift Sentiment
Institutional appetite remains the clearest tailwind. Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in more than $170 million on August 4 alone, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for over $111 million of that total, helping absorb selling pressure and keep Bitcoin anchored above the $62,000–$64,000 zone it has been defending in recent weeks.
Macro headlines have added to the upbeat mood. Comments from President Trump suggesting a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached as early as this week have eased some geopolitical risk premium priced into markets, a dynamic that tends to benefit risk assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum alongside equities. Traders are also positioning ahead of Friday's July jobs report, which could shape expectations for Federal Reserve policy and, by extension, appetite for crypto over the rest of August.
Coldcard Exploit Keeps Self-Custody Under the Microscope
Even as prices hold steady, the crypto security world is still absorbing the scale of the Coldcard hardware wallet exploit. Blockchain forensics firm Galaxy Research now places confirmed losses at more than 1,596 BTC — worth upward of $100 million — drained from roughly 7,300 addresses across three confirmed waves, with 14 additional related incidents pushing suspected total losses toward 2,000 BTC, or nearly $130 million.
The root cause traces back to a March 2021 firmware update that mistakenly routed recovery-seed generation through a predictable software randomizer instead of the device's dedicated hardware random number generator, sharply weakening the entropy behind affected seeds. That flaw allowed attackers to precompute private keys offline and sweep vulnerable wallets without ever touching a physical device — a stark departure from phishing or malware-based theft.
There is a silver lining for victims: researchers estimate that roughly 90% of the stolen coins remain unmoved and traceable on-chain, suggesting the attacker (or attackers) prioritized consolidating funds over rushing to cash out, which keeps recovery efforts realistic. Coinkite, the manufacturer behind Coldcard, has since shipped emergency firmware, though affected users still need to generate entirely new seeds to fully secure their holdings.
What It Means for US Crypto Investors
Despite the size of the Coldcard breach, its market impact has been muted — Bitcoin and Ethereum have each moved less than 1% in response, underscoring how institutional ETF flows and macro catalysts are currently driving price action more than isolated security incidents. Still, the episode is a timely reminder for US investors who favor self-custody: hardware wallets reduce exposure to exchange risk, but firmware integrity and proper seed generation remain just as critical.
Looking ahead, three catalysts will likely define crypto's next move: how Hormuz negotiations resolve over the coming days, whether Friday's jobs data reinforces or undercuts the case for easier Fed policy, and whether ETF inflows can sustain their current pace into the back half of August.
