GM, bitcoiner — October 31, 2026

gm

Your morning Bitcoin brief: lnd mitigates a Linux kernel flaw by disabling MPTCP, Chainalysis and TRM Labs link the $6.3 billion Binance hack to North Korea, Lightning Labs’ Wavelength goes live on mainnet and other bitcoin news

##Network Stats

As of Oct 31, 2026, 5:03 AM EDT

MARKET
  Price       $77,275  (-0.84%)
  24h volume  $182.8 bn
  Dominance   59.3%
  Sats / $    1,294

NETWORK
  Block       #973,955
  Hashrate    1,069 EH/s
  Difficulty  -3.19%
  Retarget    13 days
  Halving     528 days  (63.8%)

MEMPOOL
  Fee    1 sat/vB
  TX     56,033
  Size   22.0 MB
  Queue  23 blocks

LIGHTNING
  Capacity  2,531 BTC
  Channels  22,680

##Security & Privacy

###lnd v0.21.6-beta and v0.20.7-beta disable MPTCP listeners to mitigate a Linux kernel flaw

CVE-2026-98432 is a use-after-free in the Linux kernel’s TCP stack; the demonstrated remote exploit needs an MPTCP listener. This is a mitigation, not a fix: Linux operators should also disable MPTCP on the host and install a patched kernel. Windows and macOS are unaffected. github.com github.com

###StartOS v0.4.1 brings important security updates, Start9 urges prompt upgrade

The release adds opt-in conversion of existing backups to an authenticated filesystem format, named read-only backup snapshots, bearer tokens for API clients and an MCP server that lets AI agents call the StartOS API. github.com x.com

##Price & Market

###Bitcoin risks its worst October in 12 years as tech sell-off spreads to gold

Bitcoin hovered around $77,000 after dipping to a multiweek low of $76,320 following the $6.3 billion Binance hack; Coinbase shares fell more than 12% and Strategy 6%, while gold hit a one-year low. cointelegraph.com news.bitcoin.com

##Lightning & L2

###Lightning Labs’ Wavelength is live on Bitcoin mainnet

According to a Lightning catch-up post, apps and AI agents can send and receive over Lightning with a few API calls, self-custodially, with no node or channels to manage. Wavelength VTXOs carry Taproot Assets secured by the Ark policy tree. Eclair and Core Lightning shipped security fixes. x.com x.com

##Mining

###Bitcoin mining difficulty hits 148 trillion as revenues fall to three-month lows

At October 30’s hashprice, a 25 J/TH rig covers power costing about 5.45 cents/kWh, assuming a 2% pool fee. cryptoslate.com

##Technology & Development

###Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #429: silent payments from multiparty wallets

The issue describes a protocol for creating silent payment transactions from multiparty wallets, the responsible disclosure of a denial-of-service bug in older Core Lightning versions, and Bitcoin Core’s updated security policy. bitcoinops.org

##Bitcoin Rap Sheet

###Chainalysis and TRM Labs link $6.3 billion Binance hack to North Korea

The firms tie the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. Chainalysis also reports previously unseen laundering patterns across thousands of transactions; the attackers held 18,270 BTC early Friday, more than Coinbase’s reported corporate holdings. bitcoinmagazine.com news.bitcoin.com

###Binance prepares phased resumption of withdrawals and unveils $6.3 billion hack recovery plan

Reopening depends on security checks; the exchange committed company funds to replace stolen assets. Co-CEO Richard Teng said investigators found additional breach points, bypassed approval controls and evidence-destruction tactics. news.bitcoin.com news.bitcoin.com