Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Bitcoin mining stocks jumped after Hut 8 and IREN announced multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure deals, extending the sector’s pivot beyond crypto mining. Elsewhere, Grayscale unveiled plans to make regular cash distributions from Ether and Solana staking rewards through its exchange-traded products, while cross-chain bridge Allbridge halted its protocol after a $1.65 million exploit.

AI infrastructure deals send Bitcoin mining stocks soaring

Bitcoin mining stocks rallied Monday after Hut 8 and IREN unveiled multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure agreements, highlighting the industry’s accelerating shift beyond crypto mining into artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Shares of IREN, Cipher Digital, CleanSpark, Hut 8 and MARA Holdings each climbed at least 9% after Hut 8 announced a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease for its AI data center campus and IREN revealed $2.8 billion in AI cloud services contracts. IREN also said it expects its AI cloud business to generate more than $4 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026.

The gains extended across the sector, with The Energy Mag’s AI Infrastructure Growth Index rising 1.4% on the day and more than 12% over the past week, alongside a broader recovery in technology stocks.

The rally underscores growing investor confidence that Bitcoin miners can diversify revenue streams through AI infrastructure, even as mining economics remain under pressure. However, analysts at Blocksbridge Consulting have cautioned that the transition will require significant capital, estimating the sector still needs about $50 billion to fund its AI ambitions. The firm also noted that insider stock sales at several miners have drawn increased scrutiny despite being conducted under prearranged trading plans.

Grayscale plans regular cash payouts from ETH, SOL staking rewards

Asset manager Grayscale plans to establish regular cash distributions from rewards generated by its ETH and SOL staking exchange-traded products (ETPs), giving holders recurring access to yield generated by underlying assets. 

In Form 8-K filings submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Grayscale said it intends to amend the trust agreements governing the Grayscale Solana Staking ETF (GSOL) and the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHE) around Aug. 7. The amendments would require each trust to convert staking rewards into cash no less often than quarterly and distribute net proceeds to shareholders. 

The framework could make staking returns more accessible to traditional investors by delivering cash rewards through broker-held products, eliminating the need for shareholders to hold crypto, pick validators and manage staking operations. However, Grayscale said distribution amounts cannot be predicted as they will depend on the staking rewards during each period and expenses deducted by the trusts. 

Grayscale made its first ETHE staking distribution on Jan. 5, paying shareholders about $0.08 per share from the sale of rewards. The asset manager enabled staking for its ETH and SOL products on Oct. 6, 2025, becoming the first US crypto fund issuer to add staking to spot crypto ETPs. 

ETHE ended the week with $1.22 billion in net assets, while GSOL had $101.13 million, Yahoo Finance data showed. The Ethereum fund’s gross staking rewards were 2.67%, as of July 17, while the Solana fund’s gross staking rewards were 6.10%, according to the fund’s home pages.

Allbridge pauses cross-chain bridge after $1.65M exploit

Allbridge, the company behind cross-chain stablecoin bridge Allbridge Core, said it has paused the protocol as a precaution after a “security incident” that reportedly saw $1.65 million drained on Sunday.

The incident affected Allbridge Core’s Solana deployment, with the attacker having already bridged the stolen funds from Solana to Ethereum before moving them into privacy pools. 

Warning posted to the Allbridge Core website. Source: Allbridge Core

“Allbridge Core is experiencing a security incident,” it said in a post on X on Sunday. “We have paused the protocol as a precaution while we investigate. If you have liquidity in affected pools, please withdraw now.” 

The Allbridge Core exploit is at least the sixth attack targeting a cross-chain bridge since May. Bridges are attractive targets for attackers because they often hold large pools of funds that back bridged assets on the destination blockchain.