₿itcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

  Federal prosecutors charged three St. Louis men over a plan to storm a Connecticut home and force a transfer of bitcoin tied to a theft worth hundreds of millions. Each faces up to 20 years in prison. Key Takeaways Three St. Louis men face up to 20 years over a bitcoin robbery plot. The trio stalked a family for two days with air rifles and rental cars. A Florida crew arrived next, carjacking and kidnapping the parents. Grand Jury Returns Second Superseding Indictment in New Haven U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut announced Aug. 4 that a grand jury in New Haven had charged three St. Louis men with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. Sedric Louis, 32, John Davis, 34, and Martel Williams, 27, each face up to 20 years in prison under the Hobbs Act charge.

  Ripple says the regulatory groundwork for its European crypto business is now in place, shifting its focus from winning approvals to scaling. The push follows full MiCA authorization as Europe tightens rules for crypto service providers. Key Takeaways Ripple says its European crypto business is now ready to scale. Full MiCA authorization gives Ripple a regulated base in the EEA. Stablecoin payments are central to its next phase of expansion. Ripple Declares Europe Ready for Its Next Phase Ripple said in an Aug. 5, 2026, insight that the regulatory groundwork for its European expansion is now in place . With MiCA authorization secured, the company is shifting its focus toward scaling digital asset payments, stablecoins, and institutional services across the region.

  At 7:56 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Following Bitcoin’s chain split at block height 961632, BIP-110-aligned mining pool Roughnecks managed to squeeze out a second block at height 961633, while the main chain has already left it in the dust at 961651. Key Takeaways Roughnecks mined BIP-110 blocks 961632 and 961633 as Bitcoin’s dominant chain raced ahead. Bitcoin’s 127.48 trillion difficulty leaves Roughnecks’ minority chain facing painfully slow blocks. Simple Mining mined Bitcoin block 961634, showing Ocean-linked hashrate was divided. After two years of bitter bickering, Bitcoin has blown past the BIP-110 signaling line at block 961632 , and reality is now doing the talking as BTC blocks keep stacking. BIP-110 supporters appear stunned by the outcome, while the Bitcoin Knots creator Luke Dashjr has issued a notice to everyone.