August 2026 was Bitcoin's strongest month of the year, but the most important developments went beyond price action. A vulnerability affecting Coldcard hardware wallets led to substantial BTC thefts, Strategy balanced Bitcoin sales with renewed purchases, and MSCI raised questions about including crypto treasury companies in major equity indexes. Meanwhile, the competition between Polymarket and Kalshi moved into a new round of multibillion-dollar valuations.

Bitcoin gained nearly 25% in its best month of 2026

According to final Binance BTC/USDT data, Bitcoin entered August near $62,888, reached an intramonth high of $81,479 and closed August 31 at $78,581. Its 24.95% calendar-month gain was the strongest result of 2026 following June's steep decline. Even after the rebound, BTC remained below its October 2025 all-time high.

As The Block reported on September 1, this was Bitcoin's first positive August since 2021 and its strongest August since 2017. Renewed spot demand and short-position liquidations supported the rebound, but one positive month did not guarantee that the recovery would continue into autumn.

HYPE outperformed Bitcoin, though its monthly return was not 80%

Hyperliquid's native token stood out during the broader recovery. According to an August market review using Hyperliquid API prices, HYPE rose from around $52.51 to $84.17, gaining 60.3% over the month. It also reached approximately $86.73 intraday in late August. An 80% return therefore did not match the price change from the monthly open to the monthly close.

Most of the acceleration came in the second half of August as HYPE set fresh highs amid interest in Hyperliquid's trading infrastructure. That did not imply a uniform altcoin rally: each token's price movements also depend on venue activity, liquidity and supply dynamics.

Coldcard's weakened seed generation exposed Bitcoin holders

The month's most serious security story involved certain Coldcard hardware wallets made by Coinkite. The vulnerability was not a remote takeover of powered-on devices. Instead, insufficient randomness during recovery-seed generation allowed attackers to regenerate some private keys offline and transfer Bitcoin out of affected wallets.

According to a Galaxy Research investigation published on August 14, high-confidence confirmed losses reached 1,778.84 BTC across more than 8,600 addresses, worth about $112.7 million at the time. Including lower-confidence suspected cases increased the estimate to 2,417.35 BTC, or approximately $153 million. Saying that more than 2,000 BTC had definitely been stolen would conflate confirmed and still-unverified incidents.

How the Coldcard vulnerability arose

In its technical explanation, Coinkite said a software integration change introduced in March 2021 caused seed generation to rely on an unsuitable software random-number generator instead of the intended hardware randomness source. The vendor stressed that the weak path was not an intentionally designed fallback mechanism.

The first confirmed thefts began on July 30, while the wider scope became clear in August. The problem primarily affected seeds created with vulnerable firmware. It did not mean every Coldcard device or every wallet ever used with one had been compromised.

Firmware updates do not repair an already vulnerable seed

On August 20, Coinkite released security updates and migration guidance, including version 5.6.1 for Mk4/Mk5 devices and 1.5.1Q for the Q model. New seed generation requires user-supplied randomness, while holders of potentially vulnerable old seeds were told to generate a fresh seed using fixed firmware and move their assets to new addresses.

Simply installing an update does not make a weak seed generated previously safe. Users should follow official Coinkite advisories, never enter recovery words into third-party websites and never share them with support representatives.

Strategy sold 1,690 BTC but did not remain a seller all month

Between August 3 and 9, Michael Saylor's Strategy sold 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million, at an average price of $64,262. The transaction reduced holdings to 840,447 BTC. Proceeds were used to repurchase STRC preferred shares rather than to exit the company's long-term Bitcoin position.

By mid-August, Strategy's US dollar reserve had grown to approximately $4.8 billion. The company also expanded authorization under its Bitcoin monetization program to as much as $5 billion. That was potential future sale capacity for liquidity management and obligations, not evidence that $5 billion of BTC had already been sold.

On August 31, however, Strategy reported buying 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million during August 24–30. Total holdings increased to 845,050 BTC, with purchases funded through MSTR share sales. The claim that Strategy spent the entire month selling Bitcoin and never resumed accumulation was therefore incorrect.

MSCI consulted on possible exclusion of Strategy and Metaplanet

On August 3, index provider MSCI launched an official consultation on whether companies dominated by non-operating assets and with limited regular business activity should qualify for its global investable-market indexes. The proposed review would apply several financial tests rather than automatically excluding firms for holding cryptocurrency.

As The Block explained on August 14, a simulation based on May financial data flagged Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potentially ineligible for MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes. At the end of August, this was a proposal and simulated outcome, not a final decision to remove their shares.

If a company loses index membership, passive investment funds tracking that index may need to rebalance. The size and timing of any outflows, however, depend on final eligibility rules, transition periods and fund holdings. A consultation should not be presented as an immediate forced sale.

Polymarket and Kalshi pursued valuations of $21 billion and $40 billion

On August 31, Bloomberg reported a $1 billion Polymarket round led by 1789 Capital, at an approximately $21 billion post-money valuation. The terms were described by sources familiar with the matter. Earlier in the year, Polymarket had been discussing fundraising at a $15 billion valuation. Those valuations reflect investors' pricing of a business, not trading volume on its platform.

Competing prediction-market operator Kalshi, according to an August 13 CoinDesk report, was in advanced talks with Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management to raise at least $750 million at a potential $40 billion valuation. At the time, this remained a funding negotiation rather than a confirmed completed round.

Kalshi led the prediction-market trading-volume race

According to The Block's July figures, published August 3, Kalshi processed around $40.1 billion in trading volume, compared with approximately $12.9 billion across Polymarket's international and US platforms combined. Kalshi therefore already held a substantial lead on this particular metric.

Activity eased in August. The Block's September 2 update recorded $37.17 billion in volume for Kalshi and $8.16 billion for the two Polymarket platforms. Both fell from July, when the FIFA World Cup had helped boost contracts. Trading volume should not be confused with a platform's net revenue or profit.

Why the month mattered for affiliate marketers

For media buyers and affiliate networks, August highlighted two different operational concerns. Crypto payments require attention to seed security, firmware provenance, emergency wallet migration and reserve custody. In prediction markets, rising company valuations do not automatically translate into profitable user acquisition; marketers still need to assess jurisdictional restrictions, advertising policies, customer economics and the accuracy of any claims about winnings.

August 2026 was Bitcoin's strongest month of the year, but the most important developments went beyond price action. A vulnerability affecting Coldcard hardware wallets led to substantial BTC thefts, Strategy balanced Bitcoin sales with renewed purchases, and MSCI raised questions about including crypto treasury companies in major equity indexes. Meanwhile, the competition between Polymarket and Kalshi moved into a new round of multibillion-dollar valuations.

Bitcoin gained nearly 25% in its best month of 2026

According to final Binance BTC/USDT data, Bitcoin entered August near $62,888, reached an intramonth high of $81,479 and closed August 31 at $78,581. Its 24.95% calendar-month gain was the strongest result of 2026 following June's steep decline. Even after the rebound, BTC remained below its October 2025 all-time high.

As The Block reported on September 1, this was Bitcoin's first positive August since 2021 and its strongest August since 2017. Renewed spot demand and short-position liquidations supported the rebound, but one positive month did not guarantee that the recovery would continue into autumn.

HYPE outperformed Bitcoin, though its monthly return was not 80%

Hyperliquid's native token stood out during the broader recovery. According to an August market review using Hyperliquid API prices, HYPE rose from around $52.51 to $84.17, gaining 60.3% over the month. It also reached approximately $86.73 intraday in late August. An 80% return therefore did not match the price change from the monthly open to the monthly close.

Most of the acceleration came in the second half of August as HYPE set fresh highs amid interest in Hyperliquid's trading infrastructure. That did not imply a uniform altcoin rally: each token's price movements also depend on venue activity, liquidity and supply dynamics.

Coldcard's weakened seed generation exposed Bitcoin holders

The month's most serious security story involved certain Coldcard hardware wallets made by Coinkite. The vulnerability was not a remote takeover of powered-on devices. Instead, insufficient randomness during recovery-seed generation allowed attackers to regenerate some private keys offline and transfer Bitcoin out of affected wallets.

According to a Galaxy Research investigation published on August 14, high-confidence confirmed losses reached 1,778.84 BTC across more than 8,600 addresses, worth about $112.7 million at the time. Including lower-confidence suspected cases increased the estimate to 2,417.35 BTC, or approximately $153 million. Saying that more than 2,000 BTC had definitely been stolen would conflate confirmed and still-unverified incidents.

How the Coldcard vulnerability arose

In its technical explanation, Coinkite said a software integration change introduced in March 2021 caused seed generation to rely on an unsuitable software random-number generator instead of the intended hardware randomness source. The vendor stressed that the weak path was not an intentionally designed fallback mechanism.

The first confirmed thefts began on July 30, while the wider scope became clear in August. The problem primarily affected seeds created with vulnerable firmware. It did not mean every Coldcard device or every wallet ever used with one had been compromised.

Firmware updates do not repair an already vulnerable seed

On August 20, Coinkite released security updates and migration guidance, including version 5.6.1 for Mk4/Mk5 devices and 1.5.1Q for the Q model. New seed generation requires user-supplied randomness, while holders of potentially vulnerable old seeds were told to generate a fresh seed using fixed firmware and move their assets to new addresses.

Simply installing an update does not make a weak seed generated previously safe. Users should follow official Coinkite advisories, never enter recovery words into third-party websites and never share them with support representatives.

Strategy sold 1,690 BTC but did not remain a seller all month

Between August 3 and 9, Michael Saylor's Strategy sold 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million, at an average price of $64,262. The transaction reduced holdings to 840,447 BTC. Proceeds were used to repurchase STRC preferred shares rather than to exit the company's long-term Bitcoin position.

By mid-August, Strategy's US dollar reserve had grown to approximately $4.8 billion. The company also expanded authorization under its Bitcoin monetization program to as much as $5 billion. That was potential future sale capacity for liquidity management and obligations, not evidence that $5 billion of BTC had already been sold.

On August 31, however, Strategy reported buying 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million during August 24–30. Total holdings increased to 845,050 BTC, with purchases funded through MSTR share sales. The claim that Strategy spent the entire month selling Bitcoin and never resumed accumulation was therefore incorrect.

MSCI consulted on possible exclusion of Strategy and Metaplanet

On August 3, index provider MSCI launched an official consultation on whether companies dominated by non-operating assets and with limited regular business activity should qualify for its global investable-market indexes. The proposed review would apply several financial tests rather than automatically excluding firms for holding cryptocurrency.

As The Block explained on August 14, a simulation based on May financial data flagged Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potentially ineligible for MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes. At the end of August, this was a proposal and simulated outcome, not a final decision to remove their shares.

If a company loses index membership, passive investment funds tracking that index may need to rebalance. The size and timing of any outflows, however, depend on final eligibility rules, transition periods and fund holdings. A consultation should not be presented as an immediate forced sale.

Polymarket and Kalshi pursued valuations of $21 billion and $40 billion

On August 31, Bloomberg reported a $1 billion Polymarket round led by 1789 Capital, at an approximately $21 billion post-money valuation. The terms were described by sources familiar with the matter. Earlier in the year, Polymarket had been discussing fundraising at a $15 billion valuation. Those valuations reflect investors' pricing of a business, not trading volume on its platform.

Competing prediction-market operator Kalshi, according to an August 13 CoinDesk report, was in advanced talks with Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management to raise at least $750 million at a potential $40 billion valuation. At the time, this remained a funding negotiation rather than a confirmed completed round.

Kalshi led the prediction-market trading-volume race

According to The Block's July figures, published August 3, Kalshi processed around $40.1 billion in trading volume, compared with approximately $12.9 billion across Polymarket's international and US platforms combined. Kalshi therefore already held a substantial lead on this particular metric.

Activity eased in August. The Block's September 2 update recorded $37.17 billion in volume for Kalshi and $8.16 billion for the two Polymarket platforms. Both fell from July, when the FIFA World Cup had helped boost contracts. Trading volume should not be confused with a platform's net revenue or profit.

Why the month mattered for affiliate marketers

For media buyers and affiliate networks, August highlighted two different operational concerns. Crypto payments require attention to seed security, firmware provenance, emergency wallet migration and reserve custody. In prediction markets, rising company valuations do not automatically translate into profitable user acquisition; marketers still need to assess jurisdictional restrictions, advertising policies, customer economics and the accuracy of any claims about winnings.

August 2026 was Bitcoin's strongest month of the year, but the most important developments went beyond price action. A vulnerability affecting Coldcard hardware wallets led to substantial BTC thefts, Strategy balanced Bitcoin sales with renewed purchases, and MSCI raised questions about including crypto treasury companies in major equity indexes. Meanwhile, the competition between Polymarket and Kalshi moved into a new round of multibillion-dollar valuations.

Bitcoin gained nearly 25% in its best month of 2026

According to final Binance BTC/USDT data, Bitcoin entered August near $62,888, reached an intramonth high of $81,479 and closed August 31 at $78,581. Its 24.95% calendar-month gain was the strongest result of 2026 following June's steep decline. Even after the rebound, BTC remained below its October 2025 all-time high.

As The Block reported on September 1, this was Bitcoin's first positive August since 2021 and its strongest August since 2017. Renewed spot demand and short-position liquidations supported the rebound, but one positive month did not guarantee that the recovery would continue into autumn.

HYPE outperformed Bitcoin, though its monthly return was not 80%

Hyperliquid's native token stood out during the broader recovery. According to an August market review using Hyperliquid API prices, HYPE rose from around $52.51 to $84.17, gaining 60.3% over the month. It also reached approximately $86.73 intraday in late August. An 80% return therefore did not match the price change from the monthly open to the monthly close.

Most of the acceleration came in the second half of August as HYPE set fresh highs amid interest in Hyperliquid's trading infrastructure. That did not imply a uniform altcoin rally: each token's price movements also depend on venue activity, liquidity and supply dynamics.

Coldcard's weakened seed generation exposed Bitcoin holders

The month's most serious security story involved certain Coldcard hardware wallets made by Coinkite. The vulnerability was not a remote takeover of powered-on devices. Instead, insufficient randomness during recovery-seed generation allowed attackers to regenerate some private keys offline and transfer Bitcoin out of affected wallets.

According to a Galaxy Research investigation published on August 14, high-confidence confirmed losses reached 1,778.84 BTC across more than 8,600 addresses, worth about $112.7 million at the time. Including lower-confidence suspected cases increased the estimate to 2,417.35 BTC, or approximately $153 million. Saying that more than 2,000 BTC had definitely been stolen would conflate confirmed and still-unverified incidents.

How the Coldcard vulnerability arose

In its technical explanation, Coinkite said a software integration change introduced in March 2021 caused seed generation to rely on an unsuitable software random-number generator instead of the intended hardware randomness source. The vendor stressed that the weak path was not an intentionally designed fallback mechanism.

The first confirmed thefts began on July 30, while the wider scope became clear in August. The problem primarily affected seeds created with vulnerable firmware. It did not mean every Coldcard device or every wallet ever used with one had been compromised.

Firmware updates do not repair an already vulnerable seed

On August 20, Coinkite released security updates and migration guidance, including version 5.6.1 for Mk4/Mk5 devices and 1.5.1Q for the Q model. New seed generation requires user-supplied randomness, while holders of potentially vulnerable old seeds were told to generate a fresh seed using fixed firmware and move their assets to new addresses.

Simply installing an update does not make a weak seed generated previously safe. Users should follow official Coinkite advisories, never enter recovery words into third-party websites and never share them with support representatives.

Strategy sold 1,690 BTC but did not remain a seller all month

Between August 3 and 9, Michael Saylor's Strategy sold 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million, at an average price of $64,262. The transaction reduced holdings to 840,447 BTC. Proceeds were used to repurchase STRC preferred shares rather than to exit the company's long-term Bitcoin position.

By mid-August, Strategy's US dollar reserve had grown to approximately $4.8 billion. The company also expanded authorization under its Bitcoin monetization program to as much as $5 billion. That was potential future sale capacity for liquidity management and obligations, not evidence that $5 billion of BTC had already been sold.

On August 31, however, Strategy reported buying 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million during August 24–30. Total holdings increased to 845,050 BTC, with purchases funded through MSTR share sales. The claim that Strategy spent the entire month selling Bitcoin and never resumed accumulation was therefore incorrect.

MSCI consulted on possible exclusion of Strategy and Metaplanet

On August 3, index provider MSCI launched an official consultation on whether companies dominated by non-operating assets and with limited regular business activity should qualify for its global investable-market indexes. The proposed review would apply several financial tests rather than automatically excluding firms for holding cryptocurrency.

As The Block explained on August 14, a simulation based on May financial data flagged Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potentially ineligible for MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes. At the end of August, this was a proposal and simulated outcome, not a final decision to remove their shares.

If a company loses index membership, passive investment funds tracking that index may need to rebalance. The size and timing of any outflows, however, depend on final eligibility rules, transition periods and fund holdings. A consultation should not be presented as an immediate forced sale.

Polymarket and Kalshi pursued valuations of $21 billion and $40 billion

On August 31, Bloomberg reported a $1 billion Polymarket round led by 1789 Capital, at an approximately $21 billion post-money valuation. The terms were described by sources familiar with the matter. Earlier in the year, Polymarket had been discussing fundraising at a $15 billion valuation. Those valuations reflect investors' pricing of a business, not trading volume on its platform.

Competing prediction-market operator Kalshi, according to an August 13 CoinDesk report, was in advanced talks with Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management to raise at least $750 million at a potential $40 billion valuation. At the time, this remained a funding negotiation rather than a confirmed completed round.

Kalshi led the prediction-market trading-volume race

According to The Block's July figures, published August 3, Kalshi processed around $40.1 billion in trading volume, compared with approximately $12.9 billion across Polymarket's international and US platforms combined. Kalshi therefore already held a substantial lead on this particular metric.

Activity eased in August. The Block's September 2 update recorded $37.17 billion in volume for Kalshi and $8.16 billion for the two Polymarket platforms. Both fell from July, when the FIFA World Cup had helped boost contracts. Trading volume should not be confused with a platform's net revenue or profit.

Why the month mattered for affiliate marketers

For media buyers and affiliate networks, August highlighted two different operational concerns. Crypto payments require attention to seed security, firmware provenance, emergency wallet migration and reserve custody. In prediction markets, rising company valuations do not automatically translate into profitable user acquisition; marketers still need to assess jurisdictional restrictions, advertising policies, customer economics and the accuracy of any claims about winnings.

August 2026 was Bitcoin's strongest month of the year, but the most important developments went beyond price action. A vulnerability affecting Coldcard hardware wallets led to substantial BTC thefts, Strategy balanced Bitcoin sales with renewed purchases, and MSCI raised questions about including crypto treasury companies in major equity indexes. Meanwhile, the competition between Polymarket and Kalshi moved into a new round of multibillion-dollar valuations.

Bitcoin gained nearly 25% in its best month of 2026

According to final Binance BTC/USDT data, Bitcoin entered August near $62,888, reached an intramonth high of $81,479 and closed August 31 at $78,581. Its 24.95% calendar-month gain was the strongest result of 2026 following June's steep decline. Even after the rebound, BTC remained below its October 2025 all-time high.

As The Block reported on September 1, this was Bitcoin's first positive August since 2021 and its strongest August since 2017. Renewed spot demand and short-position liquidations supported the rebound, but one positive month did not guarantee that the recovery would continue into autumn.

HYPE outperformed Bitcoin, though its monthly return was not 80%

Hyperliquid's native token stood out during the broader recovery. According to an August market review using Hyperliquid API prices, HYPE rose from around $52.51 to $84.17, gaining 60.3% over the month. It also reached approximately $86.73 intraday in late August. An 80% return therefore did not match the price change from the monthly open to the monthly close.

Most of the acceleration came in the second half of August as HYPE set fresh highs amid interest in Hyperliquid's trading infrastructure. That did not imply a uniform altcoin rally: each token's price movements also depend on venue activity, liquidity and supply dynamics.

Coldcard's weakened seed generation exposed Bitcoin holders

The month's most serious security story involved certain Coldcard hardware wallets made by Coinkite. The vulnerability was not a remote takeover of powered-on devices. Instead, insufficient randomness during recovery-seed generation allowed attackers to regenerate some private keys offline and transfer Bitcoin out of affected wallets.

According to a Galaxy Research investigation published on August 14, high-confidence confirmed losses reached 1,778.84 BTC across more than 8,600 addresses, worth about $112.7 million at the time. Including lower-confidence suspected cases increased the estimate to 2,417.35 BTC, or approximately $153 million. Saying that more than 2,000 BTC had definitely been stolen would conflate confirmed and still-unverified incidents.

How the Coldcard vulnerability arose

In its technical explanation, Coinkite said a software integration change introduced in March 2021 caused seed generation to rely on an unsuitable software random-number generator instead of the intended hardware randomness source. The vendor stressed that the weak path was not an intentionally designed fallback mechanism.

The first confirmed thefts began on July 30, while the wider scope became clear in August. The problem primarily affected seeds created with vulnerable firmware. It did not mean every Coldcard device or every wallet ever used with one had been compromised.

Firmware updates do not repair an already vulnerable seed

On August 20, Coinkite released security updates and migration guidance, including version 5.6.1 for Mk4/Mk5 devices and 1.5.1Q for the Q model. New seed generation requires user-supplied randomness, while holders of potentially vulnerable old seeds were told to generate a fresh seed using fixed firmware and move their assets to new addresses.

Simply installing an update does not make a weak seed generated previously safe. Users should follow official Coinkite advisories, never enter recovery words into third-party websites and never share them with support representatives.

Strategy sold 1,690 BTC but did not remain a seller all month

Between August 3 and 9, Michael Saylor's Strategy sold 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million, at an average price of $64,262. The transaction reduced holdings to 840,447 BTC. Proceeds were used to repurchase STRC preferred shares rather than to exit the company's long-term Bitcoin position.

By mid-August, Strategy's US dollar reserve had grown to approximately $4.8 billion. The company also expanded authorization under its Bitcoin monetization program to as much as $5 billion. That was potential future sale capacity for liquidity management and obligations, not evidence that $5 billion of BTC had already been sold.

On August 31, however, Strategy reported buying 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million during August 24–30. Total holdings increased to 845,050 BTC, with purchases funded through MSTR share sales. The claim that Strategy spent the entire month selling Bitcoin and never resumed accumulation was therefore incorrect.

MSCI consulted on possible exclusion of Strategy and Metaplanet

On August 3, index provider MSCI launched an official consultation on whether companies dominated by non-operating assets and with limited regular business activity should qualify for its global investable-market indexes. The proposed review would apply several financial tests rather than automatically excluding firms for holding cryptocurrency.

As The Block explained on August 14, a simulation based on May financial data flagged Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet as potentially ineligible for MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes. At the end of August, this was a proposal and simulated outcome, not a final decision to remove their shares.

If a company loses index membership, passive investment funds tracking that index may need to rebalance. The size and timing of any outflows, however, depend on final eligibility rules, transition periods and fund holdings. A consultation should not be presented as an immediate forced sale.

Polymarket and Kalshi pursued valuations of $21 billion and $40 billion

On August 31, Bloomberg reported a $1 billion Polymarket round led by 1789 Capital, at an approximately $21 billion post-money valuation. The terms were described by sources familiar with the matter. Earlier in the year, Polymarket had been discussing fundraising at a $15 billion valuation. Those valuations reflect investors' pricing of a business, not trading volume on its platform.

Competing prediction-market operator Kalshi, according to an August 13 CoinDesk report, was in advanced talks with Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management to raise at least $750 million at a potential $40 billion valuation. At the time, this remained a funding negotiation rather than a confirmed completed round.

Kalshi led the prediction-market trading-volume race

According to The Block's July figures, published August 3, Kalshi processed around $40.1 billion in trading volume, compared with approximately $12.9 billion across Polymarket's international and US platforms combined. Kalshi therefore already held a substantial lead on this particular metric.

Activity eased in August. The Block's September 2 update recorded $37.17 billion in volume for Kalshi and $8.16 billion for the two Polymarket platforms. Both fell from July, when the FIFA World Cup had helped boost contracts. Trading volume should not be confused with a platform's net revenue or profit.

Why the month mattered for affiliate marketers

For media buyers and affiliate networks, August highlighted two different operational concerns. Crypto payments require attention to seed security, firmware provenance, emergency wallet migration and reserve custody. In prediction markets, rising company valuations do not automatically translate into profitable user acquisition; marketers still need to assess jurisdictional restrictions, advertising policies, customer economics and the accuracy of any claims about winnings.