Category: Blockchain

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Australia Bitcoin Mining Blockchain

Bitcoin May Consume More Power Than Australia in 2021

The amount of electricity needed to power Bitcoin increases every year. And a recent study has shown that Bitcoin network may soon consume up over 200 Terrawat hours (TWh) every year. To put that into perspective, The entirety of Australia consumed around 192 TWh worth of power in 2020.

Currently the Bitcoin network consumes 83 TWh of electrical energy, with this number suggested to continue increasing as calculated by the University of Cambridge’s model, setting the average electricity cost to 7 cents per kWh, would put the upper bound of Bitcoins annualised consumption up to 272 TWh.

Bitcoin electricity consumption (TWh annualised) – University of Cambridge

Environmental Impact

Most cryptocurrencies are now mined on huge “mining farms”, where racks and racks of specialized mining devices, high-end GPUs and the like run all day solving the complex equations that allow Bitcoins to be mined.

Concerns regarding the environmental impact of using this much power are not new. Neither are concerns regarding the amount of energy siphoned off of the power grid, to the point where some regions in China, for instance, have stopped providing power to crypto farmers.

According to a study carried out at Cambridge University, around 61% of Bitcoins are mined using petrol and other non-replenishable sources of fuel. The remaining 39%, however, are mined using renewable energy.

It seems this segment is even being advertised by certain companies. Daniel Roberts – the co-founder of an Australian firm involved with crypto mining named Iris Energy – stated that investors may be creating a market for “renewably-mined Bitcoins.”

“Our unique energy strategy and ESG (environmental, social and governance) overlay mean that we also satisfy investors with green and climate-related commitments. All of our operations today are powered by excess renewable energy.”

The power consumption rate of Bitcoin mining will only become thornier as the difficulty of mining increases – so a push for the use of green energy now may save the industry more trouble than if it were to be implemented later.

Bitcoin Cryptojacking

One unintended positive affect that has arisen due to the increase in power, it the decrease in the unauthorised Bitcoin mining on peoples computers – known as cryptojacking.

Although the number of complaints regarding cryptojacking software running in the background on your PC has gone down, that’s mostly due to the fact that the ever-increasing complexity of mining Bitcoins requires more and more power, making methods not worth the effort.

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Binance Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Records New ATH 3 Million in Daily Transaction Volume

Binance Lists Coinbase (COIN) Stock Market Token For Trading

The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has reached another all-time high in daily transaction volume. 

Over the recent weeks, the transaction volume on Binance Smart Chain has increased significantly as many people and projects are switching to the centralized network for cheaper and faster transactions. This comes amid the congestion on Ethereum, which has caused slower and expensive transaction fees for the second-largest blockchain network.

BSC Topped 3 Million in Daily Transaction Volume

Following the BSC Scan data, a total of 3,726,576 transactions were made on the network as of March 16, which is the highest number of daily transactions on BSC since its inception. This is not surprising as many projects are increasingly being developed on the network. Additionally, some other projects have migrated from the Ethereum blockchain to the BSC network for cheaper and faster transactions. 

Early this month, SushiSwap launched on the Binance Smart Chain and a few other blockchain networks, including Fantom, in a bid to escape the expensive transaction fees plaguing the root network, Ethereum. Meanwhile, the decentralized exchange (DEX) is currently the largest in the DeFi market, with about US$4.59 billion in assets locked. 

On March 16, Ethereum recorded about 1.3 million in daily transaction volume. 

What is Killing Ethereum?

The activities on the Ethereum blockchain increased significantly, probably due to the boom in the decentralized finance industry and the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market. However, the increased usage of Ethereum resulted in network congestion, making it very expensive to use. 

The developers are looking to resolve this scalability issue through the Serenity upgrade, also known as Ethereum 2.0. This major upgrade is expected to be completed and deployed in the next two to three years, hence, many Ethereum users fear that the network might continue to lose more projects and users if no immediate action was taken by the developers to solve the issue. 

As a temporary solution, however, Ethereum developers are planning to deploy rollups, which is a layer-two solution that will scale the current Ethereum network by 100x, according to Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum. He added that the planned solution would address the congestion issue on the network until Ethereum 2.0. 

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Bitcoin Blockchain Crypto News

Bitcoin Still Only Does 5 Transactions Per Second vs VISA’s 3,900 Per Second

While Bitcoin remains the leading crypto in the market by adoption, some issues remain with it’s scalability and use as a medium of exchange. With the question being asked, is it just a store of value?

If it is to ever be used for payments globally it will have to solve this issue. Otherwise it could just be a store of value and other cryptocurrencies with much lower fees such as Litecoin may take over the payments sector.

On a typical day, on average Bitcoin only does 4-5 TPS vs VISA’s 3,900 TPS which is a considerable difference. The fee structure is different with VISA charging a percentage of the transaction amount and BTC having a fixed rate for any amount. This may make BTC cheaper for large transactions but way more expensive for small transactions.

Average TransactionsVISABitcoin (BTC)EtherLitecoin
Avg Transactions per second3,9004-51556
Avg Total Transactions per day84 Million350,0001.3 Million110,000
Avg Price per Transaction0.5-2%US $20US $20$0.036
Daily Transaction Volume$31 Billion$12 Billion$7 Billion$1.5 Billion
Bitcoin vs VISA transactions data as at 17 March 2021

VISA TPS data is calculated from Q4 2020 data (3 months) showing 30,676 Million VISA (and related VISA) network transactions. VISA Daily Volume is calculated by 11.6 Trillion per year recorded in 2019 Annual report.

Useful data links:

Bitcoin’s Long Road for Mainstream Integration

Data shows that companies globally have spent $2B to research and integrate blockchain technology, being Bitcoin’s network the most popular option for businesses.

This year, Bitcoin’s network shows between 2-6 TPS (Transactions Per Second)

TPS from January to March, 2021. Source: Blockchain.com
TPS since 2013

The problem is Bitcoin has a limited rate for transaction processes. The network can only handle block sizes of 1-4 MB. At a maximum, that would still only be 5-7 TPS.

Number of transactions per month. Source: Wikipedia

Developers need to address scalability issues even before traditional institutions in the industry start implementing blockchain technology.

Ethereum 2.0 Blockchain Technology

Since blockchain technology emerged, the scalability issue has been a long discussion. Developers are currently exploring new ways to improve the overall ecosystem for blockchains.

Moreover, developers from other protocols, like Ethereum, are taking important steps to improve blockchain technology. Such as implementing new consensus protocols to enhance issues like scalability, speed, and interoperability.

For instance, ETH 2.0 seeks at least 100,000 TPS, compared to the 30 TPS of Ethereum.

Is Bitcoin Just a Store of Value?

Despite acting poorly as a medium of exchange, Bitcoin is considered as one of the greatest stores of values against declining fiat. According to Bloomberg, investors are replacing gold with Bitcoin as a better store of value.

Naturally, investors will always seek to add new products to their portfolios. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for an alternative hedge against declining fiat, and a bearish stock market heavily affected by the virus.

Likewise, since the pandemic started, the numbers of Aussies using SMSF to invest in crypto increased. As Bitcoin started its institutional-driven bull run, many investors and traders flock to popular exchanges, like Binance Australia or CoinSpot.

Aussie investors are even choosing crypto over gold. At least 12% of investors are adding Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Ripple’s XRP to their portfolio instead of gold.

As reported, 45% of citizens are investing in crypto for the increase in price, and at least 12% considering digital assets as a better store of value.

Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies in general) have the potential to reshape the financial aspects of the world. While its crypto-technology brings several advantages, it still has a long road to becoming a part of businesses globally.

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Blockchain Crypto News NFTs

Google Searches for NFTs Surpass Other Crypto-related Terms

Google Searches for NFTs Surpass Other Crypto-related Terms

Interesting stories of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) selling for millions of dollars have been making rounds across multiple crypto publications. It’s no doubt that interest in the NFT markets has gone up significantly since the beginning of 2021. 

Although the rate of Google searches for other popular cryptocurrency terms has also increased this year – which indicates a growing level of interest in the cryptocurrency industry in general – NFTs have the most searches amongst them.

Google Searches for NFTs Spikes

According to data from Google trends, the search interest for NFTs has surpassed that of Blockchain, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and Cryptocurrency. 

There was almost no search interest for non-fungible tokens throughout the past year. However, a massive number of people have begun showing interest in the market since the beginning of the year. Interest over time for non-fungible tokens has also reached 100 this week, which represents another peak of popularity for the crypto term, as per Google trends. 

As seen in the chart above, there isn’t any noticeable growth in Google searches for DeFi, an industry with more than US$42 billion in assets. Interest in the market has remained relatively since 2021, and the year before. 

Elon Musk Joins the NFTs Market

The founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, is also interested in the NFT market. On Monday, he posted a techno track about non-fungible tokens on Twitter, which he intends to sell as an NFT. This attracted the likes of Justin Sun, the CEO of Tron blockchain, and Beeple, a popular digital artist, who were offering to buy the techno track NFT for about US$69 million.

In response to Beeple, however, the billionaire said he wanted about 420 million DOGE (about US$25 million)  in exchange for his NFT.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News

Australia’s Government Allocates AU$6.9 million to Two Blockchain Pilot Projects

As part of Australia’s Blockchain Roadmap they have allocated AU$6.9 million over the next two years to support industry-led pilots to demonstrate the application of blockchain technology and reduce regulatory compliance costs to encourage broader take-up of blockchain by Australian businesses.

The investment was handed to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources to explore the feasibility of blockchain, specifically in the area of regulation. They’ll create two pilot projects with the purpose of demonstrating to the industry how blockchain can reduce the cost of regulatory compliance.

Canberra Digital Business Plan

This investment is part of the Canberra Digital Business Plan which stated:

The aim is to implement blockchain technology where there are issues of security, provenance, traceability, and verification. Most of these issues are prominent in the financial sector.

Tim Bradley, General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption

Bradley also pointed out that they aim to follow the Australia Blockchain Roadmap which was made available in February 2020. This 52-page document outlines how to progress to a blockchain-empowered future, and focuses on key areas: Regulation and standards; skills, capability, and innovation; international investment and collaboration; and sectoral opportunities.

INDUSTRY.GOV.AU/BLOCKCHAIN

Meanwhile, the Australian Public Sector (APS) Blockchain network has been established, and is open to any APS staff be they federal, state, or local that are interested in contributing to the Australian blockchain industry.

There are about 70 representatives from across the blockchain industry who are very actively engaged in looking for further opportunities for where the technology can be deployed, both in government and elsewhere.

Tim Bradley, General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption

Growing Support For Blockchain in Australia

It seems there are increasing prospects for the use of blockchain by the Australian government after Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas called for more support from government and regulators in order for Australia to become a front-runner and not be “underdeveloped” in this regard.

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Australia Blockchain Industries

DISER To Receive AUD 6.9 Million In Blockchain Funding

Aside from reportedly forming a working group that will be comprised of more than 70 people actively involved in the blockchain sphere – whose identities have not been revealed – DISER will be receiving $6.9 Million in funding from the Australian Government to fuel 2 blockchain pilot projects focusing on regulatory compliance.

Focusing On Food And Rare Minerals

The  Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources stated that for now, the 2 blockchain pilot projects that are being bankrolled by the state will be focusing on the mining and agricultural sectors.

According to Tim Bradley – the general manager of DISER’s Emerging Technologies and Adoption branch – the move will hopefully show the public sector how much blockchain can help. This is not the first time the government has funded research in this sector – but generally the funding wasn’t as extensive.

We’re developing the guidelines for those now, but, of the two pilots, one will be around the issue of critical minerals and the other will be designed around food and beverage provenance. This is very much an initiative to advance technology to demonstrate the use of the technology across the [Australian Public Service] and with regulators. It is designed to demonstrate the benefits that technology can bring and help bring along changes amongst regulatory culture.”

Tim Bradley went on to say that the advances in other sectors made using blockchain technology have already showed the greater public – as well as government representatives from all echelons – that the implementation of blockchain technology has garnered positive feedback nearly everywhere it was implemented.

Although the exact details of the two blockchain pilot projects have not been laid out yet, they should follow soon – hopefully with a widespread implementation across all sectors.

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Blockchain Crypto News NFTs

NFT: Beeple Sells his 5,000-day Digital Art Collection for US$60 Million

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming the next-big trend in the cryptocurrency space. In recent days, many digital art collections were issued in the NFT marketplaces, netting fortunes for the owners and artists. Today, a popular digital artist, Beeple, bagged over US$60 million from the sales of his 5,000-day digital art collection – a figure that is way greater than what Anthony Pompliano predicted some weeks ago.

Beeple’s 5,000-day Art Sells for Over $60 Million

Beeple’s art sales marked the first time non-fungible token (NFT) collections were sold at an auction house, and also one of the highest art collections ever sold via auction. As reported, the 5,000-day collection went for a total value of US$69,346,250. However, the collections were sold for $60.25 million, with about $9 million premium, i.e., a percentage of the final price. The art was sold at Christie’s, a British auction house, with 353 bids in total.

Beeple (b. 1981) EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS

The digital artist began making the art collection daily in May 2007, which lasted for 5,000 days straight, and of course, led to the title, “EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS.” The collection is thought to be the most unique bodies of work to emerge in the history of digital art. It initially consisted of basic drawings, but took on abstract themes, color, and form, as Beeple began working in 3D. He wrote:

“I almost look at it now like I’m a political cartoonist. Except instead of doing sketches, I’m using the most advanced 3D tools to make comments on current events, almost in real-time.”

WarNymph Sold for US$5.8 Million

On Wednesday, Crypto News Australia reported another digital art collection from Grimes dubbed “WarNymph,” which was sold as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain for about US$5.8 million.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Mining

Ethereum 2.0 is Greener and Better For the Environment

Crypto mining is an environmentally costly process with Bitcoin mining alone using more power than the entire country of Argentina. Using blockchain technology may be revolutionary, but at what cost?

Ethereum moved from mining to staking and it’s 99% greener!

Ethereum moves from PoW to PoS

PoS (Proof-of-Stake) was developed as an energy-saving alternative to PoW (Proof-of-Work). PoS using electricity to process blockchain transactions whereas PoW uses staking of ETH instead with minimal electricity required.

Ethereum moved to PoS at the end of 2020 as part of its Eth 2.0 Ecosystem update. And according to some Ethereum proponents this change could make mining of Ethereum significantly more sustainable, some even argue 99% more sustainable.

Ethereum’s eth2 upgrade – an overhaul of Ethereum’s core consensus to provide a more sustainable, secure, and scalable home for Ethereum and its community. […] to move from the energy-hungry, inefficient proof-of-work to a more sustainable, scalable proof-of-stake.

The State of Eth2 – ethereum.org

As it stands, there are currently approximately 414 PoW cryptocurrencies and 324 PoS cryptocurrencies in existence. Could we see more make the switch?

Bitcoin’s Proof of Work Is Bad For the Environment

The main issue with PoW is that it is extremely resource-intensive, and lots of energy is required to run the protocol. In addition, as many more people are joining the mining process, the difficulty increases in order to keep the mining time the same.

The mining done for Bitcoin has risen its annual carbon footprint equalling that of Argentina. Issues like these raise an environmental concern to such a magnitude that a major Bitcoin mining hub in Mongolia has been shut down recently due to massive power consumption.

Computer in the woods! flickr.com

The environmental impact of miners might make Bitcoin and other PoW protocols unattractive to environmentally conscious investors. Since the world is slowly on its way to going green, blockchain companies should consider the impact that they have on the environment.

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Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies New Zealand Scams

Qoin Going For New Zealand Market Following Controversy With Blockchain Australia

Qoin is reportedly making a marketing push in New Zealand, following it’s rather sudden removal from Blockchain Australia.

Apparently, the reason for the removal from Blockchain Australia is the lack of transparency regarding the companies dealings, and the very limited ways you can cash out. This is due to the fact that the BPS Financial Limited company in is control of QOIN, and also owns the only crypto exchange where it can be traded, namely Block Chain Trade Exchange.

Discussions Over Legitimacy Ongoing

BlockchainNZ has stated they are looking into Qoin and the accuracy of complaints levelled against it – as well as the reasons why it may or may not be a scam.

Stephen Macaskill – an executive member of BlockchainNZ – stated that although they are not endorsing Qoin, they will be looking into the matter before giving their verdict. He also added that in his opinion, Qoin was not necessarily illegitimate, and that the view that it is may stem from the fact that unlike most cryptocurrencies it is not open source or decentralized. However, they are by no means the first nor the last crypto-related firm to stray from the transparent model.

“We’re not endorsing this business by any means, but there’s an international exchange that has their own digital asset and initially when they launched you could only buy their own digital asset on their own exchange, and there are a few of them out there like that. Over time those assets were listed on other trading platforms.”

Stephen Macaskill – an executive member of BlockchainNZ 

Macaskill also added that building a new cryptocurrency from scratch took a lot of work, and it takes a while for any new token to be listed on other trading platforms – a potential reason for the seemingly closed-circuit model adopted by Qoin.

Whether Qoin takes root in New Zealand or is eyed suspiciously there as well will be something to watch for, as this could set a precedent for other companies who take a rather unorthodox approach to cryptocurrencies.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Gas

Ethereum’s New Transaction Pricing Mechanism ‘EIP 1559’ Good for Users, Bad for Miners

Ethereum are introducing Improvement Proposal EIP 1559 to help address issues with high transaction fees (known as “gas price”) and improve user experience. The update is scheduled to be included in the London hard fork in July or August 2021.

EIP 1559 is probably one of the biggest milestones we’ve seen recently […] Now, they’re actually controlling inflation on Ethereum

Eric Turner, Director of Research at Messari

Users traditionally have to set the Gasprice for a transaction, which is part of an auction process that allows miners to select transactions to process. With a higher than average Gasprice the user has an increased likelihood of their transaction to be processed faster. This mechanism can lead to:

  • Mismatch between volatility of transaction fee levels and social cost of transactions
  • Needless delays for users
  • Inefficiencies of first price auctions
  • Instability of blockchains with no block reward

How are miners affected by the hard fork?

Ethereum mining revenue grew 65.1% from January to February, and transaction fees grew with 122.1% this lead to a total mining revenue of over $1.3 billion. Users have been up in arms about fees as well as some users having to play many times the value of the transaction in Gasfees.

This means that miners have the most to lose from the proposal being implemented since transaction fees will be limited to a smaller range and also gradually increasing the difficulty of mining on the network. Thereby decreasing the reward and frequency of rewards. A community survey conducted on EIP 1559 included eight of the nine mining projects, and resulted in seven of the eight refusing to implement the IEP.

Additionally, 60% of Ethereum network’s hash power is against the proposal, however developers are going through with it regardless of the discontent shown by miners.

Why is this good for users?

Due to the reduced supply of Ether as a result of the burning process the value of Ether may increase because of the scarcity of the token. The update also helps reduce inconsistency in the price of fees stopping the guesswork needed to process a transaction or the reliance on sites like ETHGasStation. This will also allow wallets and users to auto-set the gas fees and inclusion fees.