Mining

Litecoin has executed its third halving event on Wednesday, reducing block rewards for miners from 12.5 to 6.25 Litecoins per block.

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Top blockchain and crypto news: Standard Chartered eyes US$120,000 per Bitcoin | Another week of declines in NFT market | Sega and Line team up.

A higher difficulty reading indicates it is more competitive to mine Bitcoin, reducing profit. The network’s hashrate also increased to a record high. 

Top blockchain and crypto news: Miners dodge tax bullet. Blur, Binance heat up NFT lending. Chinese cities’ plans reveal nationwide Web3 ambition.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 3.4% on Thursday to an all-time high, as the network’s hashrate also increased to a record high.

Tether, the issuer of the world’s most traded stablecoin, will invest in power generation and Bitcoin mining in Uruguay to tap the country’s renewable energy resources, the company said on Tuesday.

A proposed tax on electricity used by cryptocurrency miners in the U.S. has been scrapped in the deal to raise the country’s debt ceiling, according to Republican congressman Warren Davidson.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 3.22% on Thursday, hitting an all-time high, as the network’s hashrate also increased to a record high.

Bitcoin network faces heightened congestion with over 5 million inscriptions, exacerbating block space demand as BRC-20 tokens achieve a market cap milestone of $1 billion, contributing to increased activity on the network.

Andrew Webber of Digital Power Optimization says more renewable energy would get built “if it was more profitable” and that’s where Bitcoin mining can help.

Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer Technologies is planning to expand its mining operations to Bhutan and raise up to US$500 million for a fund through a new partnership with the Himalayan kingdom’s state-owned investment company Druk Holding and Investments.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is campaigning for a tax on cryptocurrency miners equal to 30% of the cost of the power they use, citing what it calls “negative spillovers” from the industry.

Russia is now the second largest Bitcoin miner after the U.S., according to a report by Russian media Kommersant. 

Mempool congestion issues subsided after the Bitcoin network surpassed 1 million Ordinals inscriptions.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 1.72% on Thursday to a record high, while the network’s hashrate increased, showing miners are applying more computing power.

Critics have long slammed Bitcoin mining for its enormous carbon footprint. But what if all the heat that miners emit can be sustainably powered and reused?

Shares of Singapore-based cryptocurrency miner Bitdeer have slid more than 35% since their Nasdaq debut on April 14, and were trading at US$6.41 at closing on Wednesday.

Intel has announced it would shut down its Bitcoin mining chip production a year after launch.

China has fined Bitmain, one of the world’s biggest producers of cryptocurrency mining rigs, nearly US$3.6 million for alleged tax violations, according to the Beijing tax authorities.

Singapore-headquartered crypto mining firm Bitdeer Technologies is set to go public on Nasdaq on April 14 via a SPAC merger following multiple delays in closing the US$4 billion deal.

Adam Sullivan, whose most recent role was managing director of XMS Capital Partners, will will work on financial and strategic matters while assisting with the negotiation of a reorganization plan.

Arkansas has joined Montana and Texas this year in proposing legislation to offer legal protections to companies operating crypto mining sites.

U.S.-based Bitcoin miner TeraWulf, which started operations in March last year, reported a 146% surge in revenue in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter, citing expanded mining capacity. 

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 7.56% on Friday, hitting an all-time high along with the network’s hashrate, showing miners are applying more computing power.

The U.S. has proposed an excise tax on cryptocurrency miners equal to 30 percent of the cost of the electricity they use.

Canaan’s shares on Nasdaq closed 3.83% lower at US$2.51 on Wednesday after the cryptocurrency mining rig maker reported an 82% year-on-year drop in revenue on Tuesday for the fourth quarter of last year, citing “lackluster market demand” for mining machines as the price of Bitcoin fell.

Officials at Bitcoin mining companies say the rebound in prices so far this year for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has thrown a lifeline to the industry after some miners sought protection from creditors last year amid the slump in the token’s price.

Vancouver-based cryptocurrency mining firm Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. reported bigger losses in its latest quarterly earnings report published Tuesday, mainly due to Ethereum’s Merge and lower Bitcoin prices.  See related article: Bitcoin mining difficulty dips 0.5% over two weeks after hitting record high Fast facts See related article: Bitcoin miner Greenidge Generation cuts NYDIG debt […]

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level edged down 0.5% in the two weeks through Sunday after hitting an all-time high in the previous adjustment, according to data from BTC.com.

Top blockchain and crypto news: BTC mining ETF outperforms. SBF under pressure as accusations mount. ‘China’s Instagram’ embraces NFTs.

Troubled U.S.-based Bitcoin mining firm Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. has restructured more of its debt to investment management service provider NYDIG and investment bank B. Riley Commercial Capital, the company announced on Tuesday.

Valkyrie’s Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin Miners exchange-traded fund (ETF), WGMI, has been the best-performing fund of 2023 so far, rising over 105% throughout January.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty level rose 4.68% on Sunday, hitting an all-time high, as the networks’ hashrate also continued to increase.

Blockchain infrastructure firm Blockstream Corporation Inc. on Tuesday said it raised US$125 million from convertible note and secured loan financing to expand its Bitcoin mining operations and meet strong demand for what it called “institutional hosting services.”

The U.S. will open its first nuclear-powered data center offering Bitcoin mining in the first quarter of the year.

The Bitcoin mining difficulty level jumped 10.26% on Monday morning in Hong Kong, hitting an all-time high reading of 37.59 trillion, as several U.S-based miners came back online from recent winter storms that forced them to unplug, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Bitcoin hashrate drops nearly 40% as deadly U.S. storm unplugs […]

The Bitcoin mining difficulty level fell 3.59% on Tuesday morning in Asia, after some U.S. mining firms unplugged due to deadly winter storms over the holiday season on top of continued cash shortages mainly caused by low Bitcoin prices and high energy costs. 

Blockchain browser and mining pool BTC.com said on Monday that it got hacked earlier this month, and lost around US$2.3 million of its own assets and US$700,000 of clients’ assets.

The Bitcoin network hashrate has dropped by more than 38.8% from its peak on Wednesday, as many U.S.-based miners have been forced to switch down their facilities due to deadly blizzards. See related article: British Columbia suspends new electricity connections for crypto miners Fast facts See related article: Bitcoin mining difficulty rises 3.27% in latest […]

British Columbia has paused new electricity connection requests from crypto miners for 18 months to support the province’s climate action.

Core Scientific said it may sell some of its mining facilities under development that could be worth up to a gigawatt of power after it filed for bankruptcy protection.

Core Scientific, one of the largest publicly traded crypto mining firms in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the state of Texas on Wednesday.

Troubled U.S.-based Bitcoin mining firm Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. has entered a debt restructuring agreement with NYDIG, a cryptocurrency service provider to which Greenidge owes US$74 million.

The latest Bitcoin mining difficulty level rose 3.27%, as miners continue to face cash shortages due to low Bitcoin prices and high energy costs.

U.S. cryptocurrency miners would be required to report greenhouse gas emissions under a new bill submitted to the Senate, reflecting criticism the industry is adding to use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming.

Miners face a liquidity crunch as cryptocurrency prices slide, with the world’s largest publicly-listed miner, Core Scientific, saying it may run down its cash reserves by the end of this year.

Crypto mining firm Foundry Digital LLC plans to acquire two turnkey crypto mining facilities in the U.S. from troubled Compute North.

New York became the first U.S. state to enact a temporary ban on new cryptocurrency mining permits at fossil fuel plants, despite lobbying against the measure. 

Cryptocurrency mining rig maker Canaan posted shrinking revenues and profits in the third quarter of this year, as the crypto bear market continued to plague the mining industry.

Stocks of Nasdaq-listed Riot fell 4.87% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after U.S. Bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain on Monday reported weaker revenues in the third quarter of this year.

Bitcoin mining difficulty nudged down 0.2% in Monday’s biweekly adjustment, according to data from BTC.com.

The Bitcoin white paper, published 14 years ago this day, launched an industry that is now subsidizing clean energy and turning waste into digital gold, writes Will Szamosszegi of Sazmining.

The Nasdaq-listed company expects to deplete its cash resources by the end of this year.

Bitcoin mining difficulty has reached a new high after a 3.44% increase in Monday’s biweekly adjustment, according to data from BTC.com.

Hong Kong-based digital asset management firm JKL Group will set up a US$50 million fund to buy more mining machines to further expand its mining facilities, despite the current crypto winter.

This isn’t the first time the bloc has examined cracking down on Bitcoin mining, and it comes amid a growing push from regulators to examine the industry’s carbon footprint.

Bitcoin and Ether both fell in Wednesday morning trading in Asia amid news the European Union is considering a bill to restrict the mining of energy-intensive cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Most of the rest of the cryptocurrency top 10 by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, also declined, with the exception of Polygon. See related article: Bitcoin, […]

Tianjin is the latest Chinese city to announce higher differential electricity rates in an effort to further discourage energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining, which the country banned in September 2021 but continues to exist in some pockets. See related article: Beijing banned crypto mining, so China miners went underground  Fast facts See related article: China takes aim […]

About thirty investors in India have been allegedly duped of US$54,653 through a crypto cloud mining app, local media reported.   See related article: India financial crime unit cites ‘Chinese-controlled entities’ in alleged crypto fraud Fast facts Investors from Solapur city in India’s Maharashtra state were allegedly duped by fraudsters who lured them to download the […]

Bitcoin mining difficulty climbed to a record high on Monday, a large part of which is attributed to Ethereum’s “Merge” upgrade freeing up more room for Bitcoin miners, according to Bloomberg. See related article: Brazil police bust crypto group led by ‘Bitcoin Sheikh’ Fast facts Bitcoin mining difficulty, a measure of the amount of work […]

Bitcoin miner reserves are at their lowest level since February 2010, showing miners offloading their holdings, according to data from IntoTheBlock. See related article: Bitcoin mining difficulty drops 2% after reaching all-time high in last adjustment Fast facts There were 1,908,672 BTC in miners’ reserves on Friday, down from 2,030,434 BTC at the end of […]

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has launched its mining pool service for Ethereum Proof-of-Work (ETHW), a forked version of Ethereum. See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast facts Binance Pool said on Thursday that it offers zero pool fees for the ETHW pool during a promotion period until […]

Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped 2.14% on Wednesday, after reaching an all-time high in the previous adjustment on Sept. 14, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Bitdeer leads US$250 mln fund to acquire assets from distressed miners: report Fast facts The mining difficulty reading, which marked the first decline in about two months, was […]

Crypto tycoon Jihan Wu’s crypto mining firm Bitdeer Technology Holdings is leading a US$250 million fund to acquire mining rigs from distressed miners amid the cryptocurrency bear market, according to Bloomberg. See related article: China mining rig maker Canaan expands despite crypto winter  Fast facts See related article: Bitmain cuts mining rig price amid crypto […]

The World Economic Forum is launching a new Crypto Sustainability Coalition, consisting of 30 partners within the intersection of sustainable development and web3, crypto, and blockchain technologies, the international non-government organization (NGO) announced in a Webinar on Wednesday in New York, U.S.

The Chinese province of Gansu says that it will “strictly prohibit crypto mining” in the server rooms for China’s mega digital Eastern Data and Western Computing infrastructure project, according to a policy document. See related article: GBA among regions for China’s blockchain-powered data hubs  Fast facts See related article: China’s Zhejiang busts state-owned entities on […]

Bitmain announced on Tuesday that it is cutting the price of one of its latest mining rig models, the S19 Pro, to US$19 per terahash (TH), which is 41% less than the price index shown on the mining rig data website Hashrate Index. See related article: US raises red flag on crypto mining, concern over […]

Mining pools F2Pool, Poolin and Antpool have launched their ETHW (EthereumPoW) mining pools, according to their respective websites, while a few other large mining pools have also said they would support the mining of the fork token. See related article: Ethereum says Merge upgrade successfully completed, more to come Fast facts F2Pool said on Thursday […]

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose by 3.45% on Wednesday, reaching an all-time high, according to data from BTC.com. See related article: Argentinian tax agency conducts first-ever raids on illegal crypto mining farms Fast facts The mining difficulty reading was at 32.05 trillion, as of block height 753,984, the data showed. The difficulty level, which changes about […]

Argentina’s tax collection agency (AFIP) has concluded its first-ever operations against illegal and “clandestine” crypto mining farms operating within the country, the agency announced last week. See related article: Crypto miners should disclose energy data, US lawmakers say Fast facts The AFIP conducted four raids on crypto farms that were under the guise of other […]

The most critical upgrade in Ethereum’s history is just around the corner, so what will it mean for prices of cryptocurrency?