DeFI News by Thebittimes.Com

Bhutan has emerged as the third-largest government holder of Bitcoin, quietly accumulating 12,062 BTC since 2020, now valued at just under $1.3 billion, as per data from Arkham Intel on June 27. This trove amounts to nearly 40% of the Himalayan kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), making it one of the most crypto-exposed nations on earth. Bhutan’s crypto holdings. Source: Arkham Intel Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings, long kept under wraps, are managed by the state-owned Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), the government’s commercial arm. “For Bhutan, it was quite obvious in a lot of ways,” said Ujjwal Deep Dahal, CEO of DHI, in a rare public comment. Dahal noted that the nation’s abundant hydropower resources provided a clear path to low-cost, sustainable Bitcoin mining, a strategic advantage that few other countries can replicate. Bhutan starts mining Bitcoin in 2020 Bhutan began mining Bitcoin as early as 2020, leveraging its green energy s...

The Bitcoin (BTC) mining race intensified between China and the United States, recently dominated by the former in a shift. AntPool mined nearly one-third of all newly issued BTC in the last 24 hours, concentrating block production and mining rewards. Finbold retrieved data from mempool.space on September 22, accounting for Bitcoin’s daily block discovery among mining companies and pools. By the time of this writing, AntPool had mined 42 blocks out of 135, while Foundry USA discovered 36. Notably, the first two leaders have been dominating the mining race for years, putting a significant distance against their competitors. ViaBTC, for example, mined only 10% of the blocks in this period, while F2Pool and MARA got less than that. Picks for you Solana must break this resistance to avoid a massive price crash ...

According to prominent bank, JPMorgan , US Bitcoin miners have recently hit a record $22.8 billion in market cap in June. Indeed, the figure is the aggregate market value of 14 BTC miners that are listed in the United States, according to the investment bank’s research report issued Monday. The data revealed that nearly all of the 14 miners had performed better than Bitcoin. In the first two weeks of June, Core Scientific was the leader, increasing 117%. Over that same two week span, BTC has dropped more than 3% in value. The leading cryptocurrency is also down more than 6% in the last seven days, according to CoinMarketCap. Source: WazirX Also Read: Bitcoin ETF Figures Overstated, May Face Correction: JPMorgan JPMorgan Reveals Record June for US Bitcoin Miners Through the first six months of 2024, Bitcoin has been one of the most talked about facets of the finance sector. The arrival of a spot ETF in January led the cryptocurrency to a $73,000 all-time high in M...

Bitcoin mining is at the heart of the digital gold rush and it is a critical process that underpins the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem. Bitcoin miners validate transactions, secure the network, and, in the process, earn newly minted Bitcoin. The World Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) stands as a beacon of innovation and collaboration within this dynamic space. The recent World Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) witnessed a groundbreaking moment for the Bitcoin mining industry as Bitmain, a prominent player, unveiled its highly anticipated Antminer S21 and S21 Hydro ASIC miners . These state-of-the-art mining machines have set new industry standards for both performance and energy efficiency . The Antminer S21 boasts an impressive hashrate of 200 TH/s and an extraordinary efficiency rating of 17.5 J/T (joules per terahash), while the S21 Hydro delivers a remarkable hashrate of 335 TH/s with an efficiency of 16 J/T. These statistics mark a significant departure from t...

Bloomberg has reported that clean energy usage by Bitcoin miners officially exceeds the 50% threshold. Specifically, Jamie Coutts of Bloomberg Intelligence has explored the continuously changing energy narrative. Subsequently, noting the “rapid rise of sustainable energy sources” in Bitcoin mining. Alternatively, Elon Musk had previously stated that Tesla would resume its acceptance of Bitcoin payments after miners’ clean energy use exceeds 50%. Eventually, the continued shift toward the use of clean energy by miners could begin to alter the perception of the practice’s energy impact.  JUST IN: #Bitcoin clean energy usage now exceeds 50%, Bloomberg reports. Elon Musk previously said Tesla would once again accept Bitcoin payments when clean energy usage exceeds 50%. pic.twitter.com/0vw4RnyoHW — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) September 14, 2023 Also Read: Is Bitcoin Mining Legit? Bitcoin Miner’s Clean Energy Usage Continues to Grow Fo...

This week, The Market Report discusses Bitcoin’s recent dip below $25,000 and what it means for the near future. Was it a discount or a disaster? In the latest episode of The Market Report , Cointelegraph analyst Marcel Pechman delves into Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest bounce at $25,000, which some analysts and influencers argue represents a short-term buying opportunity. Pechman explains that Bitcoin’s inverse correlation with the U.S. Dollar Index has only held for 40% of the previous 20 months, meaning it is likely not a good metric to anticipate price movements. The show then shifts focus to a recent Glassnode report revealing that the amount of BTC changing hands is at its lowest since October 2020, citing investors’ “apathy” and “exhaustion.” Pechman argues that bulls got tired after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s relentless action to pursue Coinbase and Binance. Ultimately, Pechman disagrees that Bitcoin’s recent movement to $25,000 presents an opportunity for...

1,005 BTC valued at $29 million have been moved from an old Bitcoin wallet after 13 years, drawing parallels to recent dormant BTC movements. A Bitcoin (BTC) wallet containing 1,005 BTC mined in 2010 has reawakened, with an anonymous user moving the long dormant coins to new addresses in a number of different transactions. Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph, blockchain researcher, developer and cryptocurrency trader Kirill Kretov weighed in on the event after initially flagging the movement of the BTC which was mined just a year after Bitcoin’s inception. Cointelegraph independently verified the details of the wallet using blockchain data from Blockchair. According to the wallet statement, the 1,005 BTC was valued at just $328 when it was received on 2010. The coins are valued at over $29 million at the time of publication.  The wider cryptocurrency community also took note of the BTC awakening, with some questioning whether Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto was mov...

Analysts are speculating that the Bitcoin hash rate has seen a big spike recently as miners come back online to reap the rewards of the BTC price hike. Bitcoin's (BTC) hash rate spiked to all-time highs of 398 exahash on March 23, and analysts have been speculating miners are starting to turn their rigs back on as the Bitcoin price rises. According to data aggregator YCharts the Bitcoin network hash rate has dropped to 344.63 as of March 27, an increase from 335.32 on March 26 but it is still up from 178.77 one year ago. In a March 26 post, Sam Wouters, a research analyst at Bitcoin (BTC) financial service provider River Financial, speculated the spike in hash rate is connected to unused mining inventory coming online, new facilities going live, and entrepreneurs finding cheap sources of mining. Bitcoin's hashrate touched 400 Exahash. At the current growth rate in 2023, we'd reach a Zettahash by the end of 2025. I'm getting questions and concerns from people. Where i...

It is understood that BlockFi wants to get bids in quickly as possible to make the most of the current market conditions. Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi has been granted court approval to sell off its crypto mining equipment as part of ongoing efforts to  repay its creditors. A court document filed on Jan. 30 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey stated that the approval for BlockFi to sell its assets was on the grounds that it was “fair, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.” The court acknowledged the sale of the assets is “designed” to maximize the recovery and “realizable value” of the company. With the court giving BlockFi the green light, more bids are now expected to roll in for the crypto lender's crypto mining assets. The document stated “all qualified bids” must be sent to the parties specified in the bidding procedures by the Feb. 20 deadline. The bids must be filed with the court by Mar. 2 and the creditor's representat...

The lawsuit escalates a months-long dispute between the crypto miner and one of its energy suppliers in Canada. Canada-based Bitcoin (BTC) miner Hut 8 Mining Corporation has ramped up its ongoing fight with its power supplier for one of its mining sites, filing a lawsuit in a Canadian court. Hut 8 said on Jan. 26 it filed a Statement of Claim in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario against Validus Power, an energy supplier for a Hut 8 mining facility in North Bay, Ontario. The firms have been in an ongoing dispute since early November 2022 due to what Hut 8 alleges is a failure by Validus to “meet its contractual obligations” for the power purchase agreement (PPA). In its new lawsuit, Hut 8 is seeking “monetary damages incurred as a result of the dispute” and enforcement of certain provisions as per the agreement signed by the two companies. Hut 8 and Validus started working together in late 2021 with Validus initially providing 35 megawatts (MW) of power to North Bay, but was sl...

The Bitcoin mining community took up massive loans during the 2021 bull market, negatively impacting their bottom lines during a subsequent bear market. 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 $1.3 billion in liabilities on its balance sheet...

Bitfarms has an initial period of 180 calendar days to have its shares trading above $1 for at least 10 days before June 12, 2023. The Canadian Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Bitfarms is facing compliance challenges over its listing on Nasdaq due to the ongoing cryptocurrency winter. Bitfarms received a warning notification from Nasdaq on Dec. 13 because the company’s share price has stayed below $1 for 30 consecutive working days. Announcing the news on Dec. 14, Bitfarms said that it has an initial period of 180 calendar days to regain compliance with the requirements from Nasdaq. In order to regain compliance, Bitfarms’ shares should close at $1 per share for a minimum period of 10 consecutive days at any time before June 12, 2023. In such an event the Nasdaq staff will provide a written notification to Bitfarms that it has achieved compliance, the announcement notes. The 180-day period is not the final limit, however. Bitfarms noted that it will have a chance to extend the compliance pe...

Texas combines plentiful and relatively low-energy prices with free enterprise, according to the lawmaker. United States Senator Ted Cruz wants to make the American state of Texas an oasis for Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit 2022 in late November, the politician empathized how the crypto industry can be strategic for the U.S. energy supply and technological development.  Cruz argued that Bitcoin Mining could be used to monetize energy created from oil and gas extraction, rather than burning it. In addition, he emphasized how Mining activity can be used as an energy storage and supply alternative: "The beauty of it [Bitcoin mining] is when you've got substantial investment, as we do in Texas and Bitcoin mining, when you have an extreme weather event, either extreme heat, which is frequent in the state of Texas or extreme cold, which sometimes happens here, Bitcoin mining can be shut off in a fraction of a second. Making that electri...

Answering the question 'Who has/had the oldest mined Bitcoin?' an anonymous member shared a signature dating back to January 2009, just a week after Bitcoin came into existence. Online forums are integral to the Bitcoin origin story, where Satoshi Nakamoto and early contributors collaborated to discuss and create a disruptive financial system from scratch. One of the oldest Bitcoin forums — bitcointalk.org — still preserves historical discussions around creating the Bitcoin (BTC) logo and the payment system. A curious member of the bitcointalk.org forum recently sought to identify Bitcoin miners from the early days. To their surprise, an anonymous member shared a signature dating back to January 2009, just a week after Bitcoin came into existence. The oldest known Bitcoin signature shared by OneSignature. Source: bitcointalk.org “Maybe OP is inviting Satoshi?” questioned another member after confirming the legitimacy of “the oldest signature” found to date. Adding to the myste...

On October 19, Bitcoin price remained in a narrow trading range of $19,000 to $19,400, and the breakout of this range will determine future price action. Ethereum, on the other hand, has dropped more than 1% to $1,302 during the early Asian session.  Major cryptocurrencies were trading in the negative zone today, with the global crypto market capitalization falling 0.7% to $927 billion on the previous day. In contrast, the total crypto market volume grew over 7% in the last 24 hours to $0.7 million. DeFi had a total volume of $3.6 billion, while the total volume of stablecoins was $50 billion. Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers The top performers in the Asian session were Aave (AAVE), Monero (XMR), and Maker (MKR). The Aave (AAVE) gain more than 4% to $82, while XMR price has risen by over 1.5% to $146. Moreover, MKR's price rose over 2% to $1,111. Cryptocurrency Market Heatmap | Source: Coin360 The EthereumPoW (ETHW) price has fallen by more than 1...

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has created a loan scheme through its mining pool to assist cryptocurrency miners. The coin trading platform announced the endeavor this week and also revealed that Binance Pool plans to introduce cloud mining solutions. Biggest Exchange Binance Looking to Aid Bitcoin Miners amid Hard Times for the Crypto Industry The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, Binance, has revealed plans to offer financial assistance to businesses engaged in cryptocurrency extraction. The platform’s mining pool recently launched the lending project. As part of initiatives to support the mining industry, the program will assist infrastructure providers and bitcoin mining. The exchange stated: “Binance Pool has a responsibility to help maintain a healthy digital asset ecosystem as one of the world’s top crypto mining pools.” Binance Pool i...

A number of Democratic U.S. policymakers have written a letter to the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in order to inquire about the cryptocurrency mining operations in the state. The letter that stems from senator Elizabeth Warren’s office says that the lawmakers are concerned with the so-called climate crisis, and the politicians are seeking information on crypto miners “using substantial amounts of electricity” Elizabeth Warren’s Office Sends Letter to ERCOT’s Chief Executive Over Crypto Mining and Its Effects on Climate Change A handful of U.S. bureaucrats have sent a letter to Pablo Vegas, the chief executive officer of the Texas grid called ERCOT. The joint letter is seeking information tied to crypto mining operations and the lawmakers say they are very concerned about the effects of mining on climate change. The letter stems from senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) office and it includes the senators and congres...