Category: Bitcoin Mining

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto News

Australian-Based Company Now Owns 90% of Major US Bitcoin Mining Group

An Australian-based digital infrastructure provider and crypto mining firm, Mawson Infrastructure Group Inc, now holds the majority stake (90 percent) in Luna Squares. According to the recent announcement, Mawson also plans to fully acquire the company over time. 

Mawson Cements Ownership of US-based Mining Facility

Based in Georgia, US, Luna Squares is described by Mawson as a “high-quality hosting and proprietary bitcoin mining facility“. It recorded a significant increase in hash power within the past six months, growing from 3MW to more than  12MW. 

Previously, Mawson had a 50 percent stake in the US mining firm. However, according to the announcement, the Australian company has acquired an additional 40 percent stake in the company, raising its majority ownership to 90 percent. 

Mawson further noted that the remaining 10 percent is subject to the company’s performance hurdles.

The Mawson team has built Luna Squares LLC from the ground up. It is a high-quality and rapidly expanding facility and is the cornerstone of our business today. We are working closely with our local partners to expand the site and look forward to updating shareholders on this front in due course.

James Manning, CEO/founder, Mawson Infrastructure Group

Amid the development, Mawson is planning to leverage Luna Squares’ mining site with up to “100MW of future power capacity“ to debut its proprietary bitcoin mining third-party hosting services. 

Miners Benefit as China Bans Mining

The Bitcoin mining space has been under fire since China decided to ban crypto mining in the country. The development led to a sharp decline in BTC mining hashrate, and some blamed the ban for the drop in Bitcoin’s value.

On the other hand, the prohibition of mining in China spurred bullish and positive sentiment as it opens up mining BTC with green energy. 

Also, as Crypto News Australia reported last month, it would cause the redistribution of miners to other jurisdictions. This will essentially decentralise Bitcoin mining as no single country will be the central point – ie, accounting for more than 50 percent of the total Bitcoin hashrate. 

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto News

Bitcoin Volcano Mining Could Earn El Salvador 20,000 Bitcoin a Year

El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender has undoubtedly been one of crypto’s top stories in 2021. Following the historic move, President Nayib Bukele has shifted his focus on unleashing the nation’s abundant geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin, which, based on its current price, could return over A$1 billion per year.

100% Green Energy Bitcoin Mining

Source: Pinterest

In early June, Bukele announced his intention to mine 100 percent eco-friendly Bitcoin, signalling that plans were afoot:

While the latest details remain unclear, the President recently took the opportunity to discuss the matter with Peter McCormack of the What Bitcoin Did podcast:

Volcanoes – An Economic Windfall?

So-called volcano mining (correctly referred to as mining using geothermal energy) has captured the imagination of the crypto community. Since the announcement, various analysts have estimated the potential financial impact of mining Bitcoin using the country’s geothermal energy resources.

Conservative estimates suggest that El Salvador could generate approximately 20,000 BTC per year, with some suggesting it may indeed prove to be one of the most profitable projects on record:

If El Salvador is successful in its effort and if the price of BTC reaches US$100,000, El Salvador may be able to increase its GDP by almost 10 percent. As always, the devil is in the detail and for the time being at least, we will need to wait and see how things play out.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto News Mining

25+ Bitcoin Mining Companies Join Forces To Make Bitcoin Greener

More than 25 Bitcoin mining companies have joined forces to make Bitcoin greener thanks to the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC), founded by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor and backed by high-profile members including Galaxy Digital and Hive Blockchain.

In its first voluntary survey, the BMC has revealed information about Bitcoin’s sustainable energy use from over 32 percent of the current global Bitcoin network. The results show that the global mining sector uses electricity with a 67 percent sustainable power mix, representing a 56 percent growth spurt during Q2 2021.

The results of this survey show that the members of the BMC and participants in the survey are currently utilising electricity with a 67 percent sustainable power mix. Based on this data, it is estimated that the global mining industry’s sustainable electricity mix had grown to approximately 56 percent during Q2 2021, making it one of the most sustainable industries globally.

BMC report

An Attempt to Demystify the Bitcoin Mining Industry

Bitcoin’s energy usage has been the primary topic for its detractors, highlighting environmental concerns in the long term. A new wave of criticism came with Elon Musk’s decision to reverse bitcoin payments for Tesla vehicles, causing the price of Bitcoin to drop even further. 

However, recent investigations have shown that banks and gold consume more energy than Bitcoin, and most miners are moving to clean power using hydrothermal and geothermal wasted energy in countries such as Iceland and Norway. 

A recent example of clean, renewable energy is El Salvador’s plan to build a huge mining operation using its geothermal excess.

Some Pundits Are Not Convinced

It seems this report is backed by the BMC’s own analysis, assumptions and methodologies, and the validity of the data appears unclear as most responses were from a subset of the network.

During a live virtual briefing, Nic Carter, a general partner of Castle Island Ventures, asked Saylor how the Council came to these figures. Saylor said the report was based on an estimate of off-grid and unsustainable power.

Then we allocated another portion that we applied to our BMC sample in order to get a blend. The blend ended up being slightly more than the electricity grid.

I think if you back into it and take the 56 percent and then look at the 67 or 68 percent that we don’t have, that’s the out-of-sample and then you know that number is … 50 percent sustainable … so … generally it works out that the out-of-sample mix is … assumed to be about 50 percent sustainable power and we tested that with a variety of analysts.

Michael Saylor on Bitcoin’s Sustainable Energy Mix

But some people were not convinced, knowing that the responses were from mostly mining companies that worked together to “provide critical information to the general public”.

Categories
Bitcoin Mining Cryptocurrency Law Digital Asset Mining

Iran Authorises 30 Mining Facilities Following Mass Seizure of Mining Rigs

Last week, Iranian authorities seized 7000 mining rigs located in the vicinity of capital city Tehran, citing unauthorised energy consumption and illegal operations.

Now, Iran seems to be clarifying that it does not want to follow China’s lead and ban crypto mining altogether – rather, the Iranian government wants to ensure crypto miners abide by the rules and do not cause undue stress to the power grid.

Limiting Consumption During Peak Hours

The abundance of crypto mining farms in Iran – and their associated intensive use of the power grid – is the result of financial sanctions imposed on the country by the US. Since Iran is forbidden from using US dollars and partially restricted from using SWIFT, the government has looked to cryptocurrencies for alternative payment methods.

In order to help local entrepreneurs find their footing, miners were offered a discount of nearly 50% on their electricity bills if they could prove the power was being used for crypto mining.

However, it appears this measure was a little too successful.

Energy Utility Threatens Shutdowns

Government research has revealed authorised crypto mining farms in Iran consume around 300 megawatts each day. However, according to Tavanir – the company that operates Iran’s power grid – illegal mining operations consume an additional 2000 megawatts a day. As a result, Tavanir has announced it will cut off power to mining facilities when the power grid is under stress.

Following crackdowns on illegal operations, 30 mining facilities have been authorised by the government as of June 27. Six of these are in Semnan province. Alborz, Zanjan, Mazandaran and East Azerbaijan provinces are also home to mining operations.

Tehran is home to one newly licensed crypto mining operation – in stark contrast to more than 180 unauthorised operations in the capital region that have been shut down during the past year.

Iran is not the only country to crack down on unauthorised mining. China – a close economic partner of Iran – has also recently called a halt.

Categories
Bitcoin Mining Crypto Exchange

Gemini Exchange to Offset Bitcoin Carbon Emissions with Gemini Green

The Winklevoss-led Gemini Exchange has launched Gemini Green, a long-term initiative with Climate Vault that aims to remove 350,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions caused by Bitcoin mining.

This initiative is a part of a long-term strategy with Climate Vault, a non-profit founded at the University of Chicago to help decarbonise Bitcoin. As part of the plan, Gemini is buying carbon permits directly from government-regulated cap-and-trade markets to shorten the supply and remove them from circulation to prevent miners from using these permits to emit CO2. 

As Bitcoin emerges as a dominant store of value, it’s imperative that we incorporate sustainability for future generations. We are proud to team up with Climate Vault to offset our exposure to non-renewable mining and contribute to the decarbonising of Bitcoin.

Tyler Winklevoss

The Carbon Equivalent of a Billion Driving Miles

The amount of CO2 that Gemini plans to buy equals roughly a billion miles driven by an ordinary passenger automobile. Speaking about Bitcoin environmental effects, Michael Greenstone, co-founder of Climate Vault, said:

Slowing and ultimately reversing the total amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere is vital to preventing disruptive climate change. Climate Vault is providing a simpler, faster, and more reliable path to net-zero emissions, not just for traditional businesses, but now – thanks to Gemini – for the innovative world of cryptocurrency.

More crypto exchanges are vowing to go carbon neutral following environmental debates, largely initiated by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. After that, two leading crypto exchanges announced they would become carbon neutral, starting with the San Francisco-based FTX, stating that while there are bigger energy consumers, it is committed to reducing Bitcoin’s CO2 emissions.

BitMEX followed suit shortly after, announcing it would begin searching for organisations to partner. The company’s first step would be to donate US$0.0026 for every US$1 of blockchain fees its clients pay.

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining China Crypto News

Chinese Mining Businesses Migrate to Kazakhstan Amid the Crypto Crackdown

Canaan, a major ASIC miner manufacturer, and BTC.com, the fifth-largest Bitcoin miner group, are moving into China’s backyard, with particular focus on the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan.

As the crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China continues, so does the migration of miners looking to other parts of the world where they can set up shop. Today, political stability, regulatory clarity and respect for private property rights are the most important criteria for miners.

Miners Look to New Options

With confirmed bans in multiple regions including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Yunnan, miners are looking for new options. One of BIT Mining’s data centres (part of the BTC.com mining pool) received a notice from the Sichuan State Grid informing it that the grid would cut its power supply by June 19. In response, the company expects to have 2600 Bitcoin miners shipped to Kazakhstan by the start of July.

Over the coming quarters, it plans to ship its remaining mining machines to other data centres outside of China. BIT Mining has also invested US$25 million in a new mining centre in Texas.

Following our investments in cryptocurrency mining data centres in Texas and Kazakhstan, we are accelerating our overseas development for alternative high-quality mining resources.

Xianfeng Yang, CEO of BIT Mining

Canaan the Latest Mover

Chinese ASIC manufacturer Canaan has also decided to set up a base in Kazakhstan, where it plans to diversify its mining operations.

One of the main considerations for these businesses moving from China is the high cost of transporting equipment halfway across the world. Miners need a place with existing infrastructure capable of supporting the needs of these types of businesses.

Some Operators Are More Cautious

Besides the country’s relative proximity, this is a contributing factor in moving to Kazakhstan as it is expected to host several other crypto mining firms in the future. Some operators, however, are more cautious.

I think Kazakhstan has already hit a sort of ceiling as to how many miners can move into the country.

Alejandro De La Torre,  Poolin vice-president

The US is a second option for miners who can afford it. States such as Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida have already indicated their openness to migratory miners. 

Categories
Bitcoin Mining Crypto News

Iran Seizes 7,000 Crypto Miners After Banning Mining Operations Due to Power Blackouts

A worker inspects hardware devices as illuminated mining rigs operate inside racks at the CryptoUniverse cryptocurrency mining farm in Nadvoitsy, Russia, on Thursday, March 18, 2021. The rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has prompted the greatest push yet among central banks to develop their own digital currencies. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Iranian officers have seized 7,000 Bitcoin mining machines operating at an illegal cryptocurrency farm located in an abandoned factory in the west of Tehran.

Temporary Halt Called on Crypto Mining

Iran has been a crypto-friendly country in recent years, mostly to outlook US sanctions and to pay for imports using cryptocurrencies. But recent power outages have pushed the government to place a temporary halt on all crypto mining until September.

In January, Iran confiscated over 1500 unlicensed crypto mining farms, seizing 45,000 mining rigs. But this latest is the largest haul in a country where cryptocurrency mining is banned temporarily due to high energy consumption causing power outages. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, at least 4.5% of all BTC mining takes place in Iran due to its cheap electricity. 

Could China’s Continuous Crackdown Benefit Crypto in the Long Run?

While some countries and states are banning crypto mining, others are incentivising Bitcoin mining companies. This is a consequence of the rolling Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrencies, which has pushed miners overseas. Latin America has so far been the most welcoming continent to miners looking for alternatives.

As China accounts for 65% of the Bitcoin hashrate, miners would set up shop there due to its competitive hardware price and cheap energy. This lasted a couple of years until unclear regulatory weather set in and shook the crypto market in 2021 with China shutting down crypto mining farms in the country.

The benefit of the Chinese government shutting down mining farms is the redistributed hashrate. Bitcoin mining could become more decentralised as miners look to countries and states that can meet their conditions to mine. Mining companies are now looking to North America, Latin America and Central Asia to set up shop and pick up some of the slack.

Ending the ‘China FUD’

Other important and positive aspects of this situation are that it will end the classic “China FUD” – that China controls Bitcoin, or that miners use dirty energy to mine – and it can alleviate the market as it will discourage media channels from promoting fear and uncertainty.

El Salvador, despite international criticism from regulatory and financial models, is proceeding with its plan to develop a huge mining operation centre using the country’s geothermal energy excess.

Categories
Bitcoin Mining China Crypto News Regulation

Why China Closing Bitcoin Mining Operations is a Good Thing

Various factors have been impacting Bitcoin, some of which are due to the ripple effects caused by negative press, heavy regulation, and bans implemented by China.

Bitcoin’s hashrate is one of its most important metrics. Essentially, it is an indication of the processing power of the Bitcoin network. The higher the hashrate, the faster transactions are verified and blocks can be created.

China’s Continual Crackdowns

China currently accounts for roughly 65% of the Bitcoin hashrate. Previously many miners set up shop there because of cheap energy and hardware prices. Additionally, the ability to use excess energy from sustainable sources like hydro power in Sichuan was a positive reason to mine there.

However, during 2021 there have been multiple instances where Bitcoin (BTC) and the crypto market at large have been affected by uncertain regulatory conditions in China. Just last week, the Bitcoin hashrate dropped nearly 17% after a crackdown in Sichuan where power was cut to 26 mining farms.

In April, outages in Xinjiang cut Bitcoin’s hashrate by 30% and contributed to a US$10,000 decline in Bitcoin’s price. But since Xinjiang ordered several crypto mining farms to shut down on June 9 -one of several shutdown orders across the country – it now seems that China is intent on shooing miners out of the country.

Why Redistributed Hashrate is Good News

Firstly, mining difficulty automatically adjusts as per protocol adjustments in the code, which neutralises the effects of less (or more) mining rigs coming on/off-line. This means that the network won’t be heavily affected by the hashrate drop for long.

While there will be a rough patch as Bitcoin re-establishes the lost hashrate out of China, once that is rebuilt there will be many positives to come from this.

Bitcoin mining will become more decentralised, since China holds the majority of the hashrate. Heavily adopting South American countries like El Salvador could pick up some of the slack, along with the increase of sustainable mining operations in the US. This will also lead to Bitcoin miners in other countries becoming more profitable, as they will be able to buy mining rigs from China since there is a worldwide shortage, and because Chinese miners will no longer be using them.

Bitcoin miners around the world could get cheap mining rigs from China sellers if they decide not to relocate. If China ends up completely banning crypto, it will end the continual FUD regarding China’s centralisation of Bitcoin; China using dirty energy to mine; and China’s continual threats to ban Bitcoin, which affects the market.

Miami Enticing Banned Bitcoin Miners

As the government crackdown heats up, Chinese Bitcoin miners are looking for a new home. Places like Texas and Miami, Florida in the US have been shaping up in order to cater for Bitcoin miners by adjusting their laws and regulations around crypto.

Miners want to set up in places with zero regulatory/political uncertainty. As Wayne Lin, founder of Chinese venture capitalist Axia8 Ventures, has stated: “I wouldn’t want to spend millions of dollars setting up my facility if the policies could change suddenly.”

We want to make sure that our city has an opportunity to compete […] We’re talking to a lot of companies and just telling them, ‘Hey, we want you to be here.

Francis Suarez, Miami Mayor

Suarez is promising near-limitless supplies of cheap nuclear energy and a stable home. He told CNBC: “We understand how important this is […] miners want to get to a certain kilowatt price per hour. And so we’re working with them on that.”

Categories
Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining China Crypto News

Nvidia GPU Prices in China Fall Amid Bitcoin Mining Crackdown

Mining rigs of a super computer are pictured inside the bitcoin factory 'Genesis Farming' near Reykjavik, on March 16, 2018. - At the heart of Iceland's breathtaking lava fields stands one of the world's largest bitcoin factories at a secret location rich in renewable energy which runs the computers creating the virtual currency. (Photo by Halldor KOLBEINS / AFP)

Nvidia graphic card prices in China have fallen as much as two-thirds on Chinese e-commerce websites following the government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency mining.

As per a June 21 report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), medium to advanced card prices fell on various e-commerce websites after Sichuan officials ordered the shutdown of several crypto mining facilities. The Nvidia Quadro P1000 model, an entry-level graphics card, was priced at 2,429 yuan (US$376) on JD.com, a popular online retailer in China.

The Asus RTX3060, which is a more advanced card, dropped from 13,499 yuan to 4,699 on June 21 on JD.com-operated online retailer site Tmall.

Mining Companies Pushed Overseas

Some miners plan to relocate from Guangzhou to US state Maryland, moving three tonnes of Bitcoin mining machines, according to a tweet from CNBC representative Eunice Yoon.

Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Sichuan were the three biggest provinces for crypto miners thanks to cheap electricity. But these areas have become hostile environments despite miners using hydroelectric energy instead of coal. This has pushed BTC mining companies overseas, some now looking at North America, Central Asia or South America.

One of the most attractive alternatives for miners is South America, which is becoming a mining hub as more countries follow El Salvador’s decision to make Bitcoin legal tender and facilitate BTC mining with wasted geothermal energy.

Categories
Bitcoin Mining China Ethereum

Sichuan Officials Order Shutdown of Crypto Mining Facilities

According to Chinese media reports, the government of Ya’an – a city in the Sichuan region – has started shutting down crypto mining operations by force and redeploying the hydroelectric plants used to power them.

The news follows that of the China crackdown on Bitcoin mining we reported on a few weeks ago.

Ethereum Hashrate Down By 7%

The government order has apparently caused Ethereum’s hashrate to drop by 7%. It’s safe to assume the hashrate of Bitcoin has also gone down – although at the time of writing, there was no data to back this up.

The cease-and-desist orders started going out on June 18 as the local Ya’an government decided that the hydroelectric power being used to fuel these mining farms could be put to better use elsewhere.

A total of 26 big-league mining plants were identified and shut down. Although lesser mining farms seem to have been passed up by the order, it’s unclear whether these smaller operations will be allowed to remain open.

There are many small and medium-sized hydropower stations in Yunnan, Sichuan, and it may be difficult for them to receive government supervision. However, large-scale projects will be shut down in the short term.

PANews, China

Hydropower Means Green Energy is Not an Issue

This isn’t about green energy, either – according to Jiang Zhuoer, the founder of mining pool BTC.Top, all crypto miners in Sichuan are running their operations off hydropower. This mirrors the overall situation across China, where up to 90% of mining operations allegedly run on hydropower as well.

Following the document served on June 18, law enforcement agencies immediately began to shut down the identified mining operations. Furthermore, a report to local government authorities is due on June 25 regarding the success of the operation.

This could mean one of two things:

  • First, it could mean the government simply wants to see the exact impact of large-scale mining operations on the local power grid, after which a more permanent decision can be taken
  • However, this could also mean the mining operations have shut for good – and that the requested report is merely a formality.

With China shutting down its mining operations, we may see other countries such as the US and El Salvador take up the hashpower by running eco-friendly crypto mining operations.