Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin miners’ worst days may have passed, but a few key hurdles remain
A handful of improving metrics show profit margins slowly improving for Bitcoin miners, but key areas of the sector remain under pressure. Market Analysis Own this piece of history Collect this article as an NFT Bitcoin’s mining industry has been relatively stable compared to the bearish price action and the tumultuous fallout of exchanges and lending companies. The network’s hashrate dipped slightly toward the end of 2022, primarily due to an unprecedented blizzard in the U.S., and has since recovered strongly to surpass its previous peak above 270 EH/s. It was particularly encouraging to see that the hashrate holding well above summer 2022 lows, despite the aftermath of FTX collapse. Bitcoin 7-day average hash rate. Source: Glassnode However, despite the recent robustness in a vari...
Bitcoin mining in a university dorm: A cooler BTC story
The humble university dorm is a place for students taking their undergraduate degrees to study, rest, make new friends, host wild dorm parties and, of course, mine Bitcoin (BTC). A master’s student in market research and self-described “data guy,” Blake Kaufman, has hooked up an S9 Bitcoin miner to the Bitcoin network. He won the S9 miner in a raffle at a mid-Michigan Bitcoin meetup and immediately set about learning how to use it. Blake has consistently shown up to every https://t.co/2Q6OuIwW4O event with at least one friend, a tremendous attitude, and unmatched enthusiasm. Glad you won the S9 raffle! Hash away at those KYC free sats, and enjoy the heat this winter! https://t.co/AQNzDjnDGC — Mid-Michigan Bitcoin (@517Bitcoin) November 17, 2022 During a video call with Cointelegraph,...
Crypto mining stocks surge to yearly highs after Bitcoin bounces back
The Bitcoin (BTC) price rebound to a multi-month high has also positively affected mining stocks. Many crypto-mining stocks recorded their best monthly performance in a year. The surge in mining stocks also relieved the troubled miners who had to sell a significant chunk of their mined coins to boost liquidity in 2022. Bitfarms — one of the top BTC mining firms — registered a 140% surge in the first two weeks of January 2023, followed by Marathon Digital Holdings with a 120% surge. Hive Blockchain Technologies saw its stock value nearly double in the same period, while the MVIS Global Digital Assets Mining Index is up by 64% in the first month of the new year. The Luxor Hashprice Index, which aims to quantify how much a miner might make from the processing power used by the Bitcoin network...
Can Canada stay a crypto mining hub after Manitoba’s moratorium?
Canada has remained a peculiar regulatory alternative to the neighboring United States in regard to cryptocurrency. While its licensing process has become more stringent than in some countries, Canada was the first to approve direct crypto exchange-traded funds. State pension funds have invested in digital assets, and crypto mining firms have moved to the country to take advantage of the cool temperatures and cheap energy prices. But the gold rush for miners in Canada may be slowing down. In early December, the province of Manitoba — rich in hydroelectric resources — enacted an 18-month moratorium on new mining projects. This move resembled a recent initiative in the U.S. state of New York that stopped the renewal of licenses for existing mining operations and required any new proof-of-wor...
New York sued by environmental group after approval of crypto mining facility: Report
The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) was sued by environmental activists on Jan. 13 for approving the takeover of a cryptocurrency mining facility in the state. According to The Guardian, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) is responsible for regulating public utilities, and authorized in September 2022 the conversion of the Fortistar North power plant into a crypto mining site. The facility is located in Tonawanda, a city less than ten miles from Niagara Falls, and was set to be taken over by the Canadian crypto mining firm Digihost. Plaintiffs claim that the approval violates New York’s climate law of 2019. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) sets the goal of reducing 85% in statewide emissions by 2050, and zero-emissions electricity by 2040, a...
Mining Bitcoin at home — Is it time to start? Market Talks
On this week’s episode of Market Talks, Cointelegraph welcomes Justin Kramer, CEO of Badgerland Home Crypto Mining — a home-based crypto mining equipment business. This week, to kick things off, we get to know a little bit about Kramer and his mining business. What are his expertise and experience with crypto mining, and how did he gravitate toward it? We also get his take on the current market conditions and the price of Bitcoin (BTC). Doing anything from your house, whether it’s working from home or mining cryptocurrencies, comes with its own set of challenges, especially when you’re first starting out. We find out what some of those challenges are and how to overcome them. This is especially useful for anyone looking to set up their own mining rig at home. We discuss the five major thin...
Marathon Digital experiments with overclocking to increase competitive advantage
One of the largest Bitcoin mining operations in North America, Marathon Digital Holdings, has shared in an update that it has been experimenting with overclocking to increase its competitive advantage in the Bitcoin mining industry. Overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock speed of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) or graphics processing unit (GPU) beyond the manufacturer’s rated maximum speed, potentially leading to improved performance in certain tasks. According to the company’s press release, it produced 475 BTC in December 2022, bringing its total mined Bitcoins in the fiscal year of 2022 to 4,144 BTC, a 30% increase from 3,197 BTC which was produced in 2021. Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel commented on the company’s decision to experimen...
1.5M houses could be powered by the energy Texas miners returned
During the winter storm in Texas in December 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) mining operators returned up to 1,500 megawatts of energy to the distressed local grid. It became possible due to the flexibility of mining operations and the ancillary services, provided by the state authorities. In his commentary to Satoshi Action Fund, Texas Blockchain Council president Lee Bratcher stated that miners returned up to 1,500 megawatts to the Texas grid. This amount of energy would be enough to heat “over 1.5 million small homes or keep 300 large hospitals fully operational,” according to the calculations from the Bitcoin advocacy group. While there’s no specification regarding the exact time period in which miners have accumulated such an amount of power, the global Bitcoin mining hashrate dropped by 30...
Iran court orders the release of seized crypto mining equipment
Iranian authorities seized numerous crypto mining equipment over the past two years, citing stress on energy grids during winter. Now, a court ordered the release of crypto-mining equipment that was previously seized as a measure to conserve energy. Since 2021, Iran’s Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property (OCSSOP) has seized mining equipment — both authorized and unauthorized — due to looming power shortage concerns. However, the authorities had a change of heart amid winter as they ordered the release of the seizure. As explained by Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, the head of Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance: “Currently some 150,000 crypto mining equipment are held by the OCSSOP, a large part of which will be released following judicial rulings. Mach...
Crypto Biz: Did Michael Saylor buy the Bitcoin bottom for once?
Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy is showing no signs of backing down on its Bitcoin gambit. Right around the time that Sam Bankman-Fried was being exposed as a fraud, MicroStrategy was scooping up more Bitcoin (BTC) — this time, the firm bought as close to the bottom as it’s ever gotten. While Bitcoin can always go lower, seeing a MicroStrategy buy around $17K is refreshing. Interestingly, MicroStrategy also sold some BTC earlier this month — but not for the reason you think (more on that below.) The final Crypto Biz newsletter of 2022 discusses MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin buy, Fidelity Investments’ foray into the metaverse, Changpeng Zhao’s response to haters and the collective woes of Bitcoin miners. MicroStrategy adds to Bitcoin stake despite steep loss Business intelligence firm Mi...
Blockware sued over alleged misrepresentation of miners’ performance
London-based Faes & Company filed a complaint against crypto mining firm Blockware Solutions LLC on Dec. 17, claiming it misrepresented the performance capability of its miners and lacked adequate power access to keep the machines running. Plaintiffs allege losses of $250,000 and are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. According to the complaint, the parties entered into contracts in October 2021 for Faes to buy $525,000 worth of Bitcoin miners and related hosting services. As part of the agreement, Blockware would host Faes’ miners at one of its server facilities, which it allegedly owns and operates for a monthly hosting fee and energy costs. Related: Public Bitcoin mining companies plagued with $4B of collective debt The plaintiff alleges that at the time of the a...
Public Bitcoin mining companies plagued with $4B of collective debt
The recent bankruptcy filing of Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific despite a $72M relief offer from creditors raised questions about the overall health of the bitcoin mining community amid a prolonged bear market. Turns out, the public bitcoin miners owe more than $4 billion in liabilities and require an immediate restructuring to get out of the unsustainably high debt levels. The Bitcoin mining community took up massive loans during the 2021 bull market, negatively impacting their bottom lines during a subsequent bear market. Bitcoin mining data analytics by Hashrate Index show that just the top 10 Bitcoin mining debtors cumulatively owe over $2.6 billion. Public Bitcoin mining companies with highest debt. Source: Hashrate Index Core Scientific, the biggest debtor among the lot — with $1...
