Mining
Intel to reveal new energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC at next ISSCC
Reports indicate that Intel, one of the largest computer processor manufacturers, intends to reveal a new “Ultra-Low-Voltage Energy-Efficient Bitcoin Mining ASIC” known as Bonanza Mine at the upcoming IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in February 2022. Intel submitted a patent in November 2018 outlining similar ideas for “high-performance Bitcoin Mining.” It is suspected that the processes described in the patent could make their way into the product being shown off at the ISSCC. According to the patent, the ASIC behind the Bonanza Mine will be able to finish calculations just as effectively as other ASICs while eliminating the need for repeated or redundant computations. This system is proposed to reduce overall power consumption by approximate...
Bitcoin cycle is far from over and miners are in it for the long haul: Fidelity report
Fidelity Digital Assets — the crypto wing of Fidelity Investments which has $4.2 trillion assets under management–shared their “two sats” on the future of the digital assets space. The key takeaways touched upon miners’ behavior and Bitcoin (BTC) network adoption. In the annual report released last week, the group shared some insights into the world of BTC mining: “As Bitcoin miners have the most financial incentive tho make the best guess as to the adoption and value of BTC (…) the current bitcoin cycle is far from over and these miners are making investments for the long haul.” The report stated that the recovery in the hash rate in 2021 “was truly astounding”, particularly when faced the world’s second-largest economy China banning Bitcoin in 2021. The rebound in hash rate s...
Bitfarm reveals it bought the dip during the early January market slump
The mining firm received a $100 million loan from Galaxy Digital at the end of last year Canada-based bitcoin miner Bitfarms said in a statement released on Monday that it purchased bitcoins as markets sunk by as much as 12% in January’s first week. Explaining the company’s strategy, CEO and founder Emiliano Grodzki held that Bitfarms intends to stack as much Bitcoin as possible in the shortest time possible. “With the dip in bitcoin, we seized the opportunity to move cash into BTC,” the Bitfarms executive explained, adding, “Our guiding company strategy at Bitfarms is to accumulate the most Bitcoin for the lowest cost and in the fastest amount of time for the benefit of our shareholders.” The mining firm had minted 363 BTC last month and 339 i...
Bitcoin price bounces to $41.5K, but derivatives data shows traders lack confidence
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly reached its lowest level in five months this Monday at $39,650, marking a 42.6% drawdown from the all-time high present on Nov 22, 2022. Some argue that a “crypto winter” has already begun citing the $2.1 billion leverage-long aggregate crypto futures contracts that were liquidated over the past seven days. Bitcoin/USD price at FTX. Source: TradingView The descending channel guiding Bitcoin’s negative performance for the past 63 days indicates that traders should expect sub-$40,000 prices by February. Confidence from investors continued to decline after the United States Federal Reserve’s December FOMC session on Jan. 5. The monetary policy authority showed commitment to decrease its balance sheet and increase interest rates in 2022. On Jan. 5, Kazakhstan’s political ...
Chinese crypto miner BIT Mining ‘unlikely’ to flee Kazakhstan: Report
Despite major internet blackouts amid anti-government protests in Kazakhstan, some Bitcoin (BTC) miners operating in the country are not planning to leave the country just yet. BIT Mining, one of the largest BTC mining companies that relocated operations from China to Kazakhstan last year, is still evaluating the impact of political unrest in Kazakhstan, Chinese industry news agency 8BTCnews reported Friday. “It is unlikely that our mining machines will be evacuated to North America,” a spokesperson for BIT Mining reportedly said, adding that the firm will be closely monitoring the situation. The representative also noted that Kazakhstan is not BIT Mining’s main area of business, as it has a number of “mid-to-high-end mining machines” deployed in North America. “It is unlikely th...
Mozilla puts crypto support on hold following intensified heat on initial decision
Distanced Mozilla founder vehemently lambasted the move in a tweeted response to the tweet announcing the decision The Mozilla Foundation yesterday announced that it was putting a hold on crypto donations following a discussion with involved parties and the larger community. On New Year’s Eve, the foundation revealed that it had partnered with crypto payment service BitPay to introduce support for crypto donations. The announcement was followed with heavy backlash and trenchant criticism as many users expressed their disapproval of the decision. Some brought to the fore a company blog from January last year in which the chief executive Mitchell Baker asserted that the organisation was devoted to positive climate efforts. Others even noted that they would entirely stop donating to the devel...
Crypto Biz: The rise of the Bitcoin treasury, Dec. 30–Jan. 6
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) cratered below $43,000 on Thursday in a selloff that was stoked by the Federal Reserve’s renewed pledge to start unwinding its pandemic stimulus support. For the so-called diamond hand investors among us, the decline presents an attractive entry point to continue accumulating BTC at discount rates. 2021 was the year that institutions and corporations became major movers and shakers in the Bitcoin market. By the end of the year, corporations and investment funds held roughly 1.48 million BTC, which represents 7% of the current circulating supply. Do you think these large, strategic investors are going to get shaken out by FUD? Below is the concise version of the latest “Crypto Biz” newsletter, which is delivered to your inbox every Thursday. For a comprehens...
Iran halts authorized crypto mining to save energy for winter
Amid Iran’s energy consumption increasing during the winter, local energy authorities have decided to halt operations of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, chairman of the board and managing director of Iran Grid Management Company (Tavanir), announced that Iran is shutting down crypto mining centers again to reduce liquid fuel consumption in power plants amid decreasing temperatures. Mashhadi said that Iranian authorities took this action to reduce energy consumption last month, The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on Saturday. “The Energy Ministry has been implementing measures since last month to reduce the use of liquid fuels in power plants, including cutting licensed crypto farms’ power supply, turning off lampposts in less risky are...
Argo Blockchain among most traded stocks by Fidelity customers
Financial services company Fidelity Investments’ U.K. arm reported that over the last 12 months, customers were most interested in trading shares of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain. In a Thursday report, Fidelity said Argo Blockchain ranked third among the top five stocks most actively traded by its customers in 2021 — the others were Rolls-Royce, British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines, oil giant BP and Lloyds Banking Group. Argo, which Fidelity described as a “trending” stock, also ranked third among stocks traded by Self-Invested Personal Pension, or SIPP, investors. However, the financial services company hinted that Argo may not make the top five next year. According to Fidelity, “new arrivals” knocked the mining firm off the list of most actively traded sto...
Paraguay moves a step closer to regulating digital currency
On Dec. 17, 2021, the Senate of Paraguay approved a cryptocurrency bill introduced in July. The provisions, which define several key terms including virtual assets and call for licenses to mine cryptocurrencies, will now be sent to the Deputy Chamber for further deliberation. Senator Fernando Silva Facetti, the bill’s sponsor, revealed that it’s passed in the Paraguayan Senate after a contentious debate. According to the senator, the law also aims to foster the growth of crypto mining activities by using the surplus electricity generated in the country. (1/3) Today, after an intense debate, the Senate @SenadoresPy approved todaya New Law Project which regulates the industry and commercialization of #Crypto assets #Bitcoin #Paraguay after …(open threat) — FernandoSilv...
Hive Blockchain on track to mine more Bitcoin, less Ether this quarter
Publicly traded crypto mining firm Hive Blockchain is expecting to produce 6,900 Ether (ETH) and 670 Bitcoin (BTC) for the fiscal quarter ending on Dec. 31, marking a respective drop and increase over that of the previous quarter. In a Wednesday notice to shareholders, Hive said it had mined 6,280 Ether from Oct. 1 to Dec. 21 and was on track to mine more than 65 ETH daily for the remainder of 2021. This projected total — 6,900 ETH — would represent a decrease of more than 20% from the 8,688 ETH the company mined from July 1 to Sept. 30. However, Hive is expecting its Bitcoin production to increase by 2% quarterly, from roughly 656 BTC to 670 BTC. “This increase [in Bitcoin] has been driven by the previously announced investments that have been made into new generation miner...
Enterprise blockchain to play a pivotal role in creating a sustainable future
Bitcoin (BTC) is often used to criticize all blockchain-based projects. This is understandable since Bitcoin was the first project to use a blockchain, is arguably the most recognizable and is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. In the first half of this article, I will use Bitcoin as a proxy for all blockchain-based projects because most people associate blockchain with Bitcoin. Anything environmentally positive that can be said about Bitcoin will be doubly true for the vast majority of newer blockchain-based projects since Bitcoin uses the oldest version of blockchain technology. Blockchain energy consumption Bitcoin has been attacked for high energy consumption. Headlines pointing out that Bitcoin’s electricity usage is comparable to a country’s total consumption is a popula...
