Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, BTCPay Server temporarily restricted public remote access to LND nodes after attackers exploited a critical flaw to obtain credentials and move funds. The US Senate moved the CLARITY Act closer to consideration after Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture ahead of a September procedural vote, while a US court backed Bybit’s efforts to trace funds stolen in the $1.5 billion North Korea-linked hack by granting expedited discovery.

BTCPay restricts remote Lightning access after attackers steal funds

BTCPay Server has temporarily restricted public remote connections to Lightning Network nodes running Lightning Network Daemon (LND) software after attackers exploited a critical vulnerability to obtain credentials and move funds. 

BTCPay said the restriction prevents external wallets such as Zeus from connecting through a BTCPay Server domain or Tor onion address on Docker deployments. BTCPay said Lightning payments can continue and that it plans to restore the remote-access option when it considers it safe. 

Version 2.4.2 installs LND version 0.21.1 and automatically regenerates the macaroon credentials on standard BTCPay installations. The project advised operators to check for unauthorized payments, unexpected channel closures, unfamiliar peers and discrepancies in their onchain or Lightning balances.

The BTCPay breach is the latest security incident involving widely used Bitcoin products, following a Coldcard hardware-wallet flaw linked to more than $100 million in confirmed losses. The separate incidents affected software surrounding Bitcoin rather than the network’s underlying protocol.

US Senate sets up September procedural vote on CLARITY Act

US Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on a motion to take up the CLARITY Act, setting up a key procedural vote on the crypto market structure bill after lawmakers return in September.

The Senate is expected to vote after reconvening next month. Invoking cloture requires 60 votes, meaning Republicans will need Democratic support to clear the procedural hurdle and bring the legislation closer to Senate consideration. The vote is not on passage of the CLARITY Act and does not guarantee the bill will ultimately receive a final vote.

The move revives momentum for one of the most consequential pieces of US crypto legislation after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement before the August recess. The CLARITY Act would establish a federal market structure for digital assets and clarify oversight responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Negotiations have stalled over proposed ethics provisions and rules governing stablecoin rewards. Lawmakers have reportedly been working on a bipartisan ethics addendum aimed at addressing Democratic concerns over President Donald Trump’s crypto-related financial interests, including a proposal requiring the president to divest from certain crypto-related businesses.

US court backs Bybit’s bid to trace funds from $1.5 billion North Korea hack

United States court records unsealed on Thursday show that a federal judge backed crypto exchange Bybit’s effort to trace assets stolen in the $1.5 billion North Korea-linked hack by granting the company expedited discovery. 

According to the records, Bybit filed the lawsuit under seal on June 18 against North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, the Lazarus Group and 20 unidentified defendants. The court granted Bybit’s request for expedited discovery on June 19.

The discovery authority gives Bybit a practical route to identify alleged intermediaries and pursue a small portion of stolen assets that remains traceable, rather than relying solely on a judgment against North Korea. 

In its complaint, Bybit alleged that some traceable assets reached exchanges operating or maintaining infrastructure in the US. The company sought account-holder identities, balances and transaction histories, saying certain platforms had indicated they would cooperate after receiving a court order.