Monday, February 28, 2022

How NFTs and the Metaverse Can Help Save the Planet

The head of a leading South Korean cryptocurrency exchange has recently promised that its non-fungible tokens featuring the world-famous K-pop band BTS will be minted by “low carbon, eco-friendly” technology after receiving backlash from environmentally conscious young fans about the energy use of NFTs. Wait a minute, environmentally conscious people. NFTs and the metaverse are not environmentally unfriendly technologies. To the contrary, they can save the planet and bring humankind a much greener future.

The Crypto Mining Required for Minting Supports the Development of Green Energy

South Korea is not only among the leaders of the global cryptocurrency and blockchain race — the fans of South Korea’s most successful, world-famous K-pop band BTS are also very educated on the subject. When Hybe, the entertainment company that manages BTS, announced that they would issue BTS-themed NFTs that will play music, the reaction of the fans was not “what is an NFT,” but rather “NFTs are not eco-friendly.” Sirgoo Lee, CEO of Upbit’s operator Dunamu which is in a joint venture with Hybe, had to promise in response that Hybe would use “low carbon, eco-friendly” technology to mint the NFTs.

The controversy surrounding the environmental impact of crypto mining and minting NFTs is mainly centered on energy consumption. But in fact, many crypto mining farms tend to be located in low-temperature, high-latitude countries where electricity is much cheaper and is generated from renewable sources such as geothermal or hydroelectric power. Even energy from volcanoes is being developed for crypto mining. The recently formed Bitcoin Mining Council calculated 56% of the industry uses sustainable energy resources.

Although some industry experts do argue about the calculation, it’s undeniable that seeing cryptocurrency and NFTs as environmentally unfriendly technologies demonstrates an isolated and narrow view of what cryptocurrency and NFTs can actually do for mankind and the environment.

Instead of Purchasing Physical Commodities and Luxury Goods, Buy More NFTs

Gift boxes, plastic and nylon wrappings, holiday décor, limited editions, special collections, you get the idea. The human desire for purchasing and owning essentially unnecessary things has been around for centuries. In order to fuel this consumerism, merchants and brands do their best to make additional items that hold special value throughout time. Killing or suffocating this century-old consumption desire would be hard, but there are also alternatives.

Instead of purchasing, owning, and later discarding and littering physical objects everywhere — which are totally not biodegradable and would end up floating on or sinking deep into the oceans — why not migrate this desire to the metaverse and keep it digital?

Minting NFTs is not an add-on to the already existing human footprint on the fragile environment. Hopefully, once more and more people migrate their consumption from our current world to the blockchain-based metaverse, the physical consumption of commodities and the massive amount of junk generated through this process will also be largely replaced by the virtual and more eco-friendly NFT.

In the past six months, an increasing number of artists, celebrities, and even politicians have released their NFT collections on the blockchain. It is amazing that people of social influence are leading the way, issuing digital limited editions and special collections, instead of printing cards, molding plastics, manufacturing chemicals, and polluting the environment when the items are no longer viewed as valuable.

Instead of Accumulating Mileage, Let’s Meet in the Metaverse

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people around the world noticed how nature somewhat returned to its life and vibrancy with humans not transgressing against it. Wild flowers were blossoming, blue skies were back, valleys filled with cheerful water, and the fields turned green again.

Although it’s sad that BTS fans were not able to fly all the way to Europe or the West Coast of the U.S. to attend the concerts, and people were forced to do all the meetings on Zoom, the saved mileage and the reduced CO2 emissions were a great blessing to the environment. So why not keep it this way?

The Snoop Dogg concert inside The Sandbox, one of the leading metaverse experiences, was a very successful experiment. It shows us the possibility of creating exciting meetups and large events inside the metaverse without the need to fly people around, drive people across the city, and pack people into a physical location with a limited number of overpriced tickets.

Maybe the United Nations Climate Change Conference should consider having a metaverse-based conference to empower attendees to cut their environmental footprint?

If you were a K-pop fan, would you choose to support your band by purchasing an eco-friendly non-fungible token?



via Neomi

Ukraine Asks Crypto Exchanges to Freeze Accounts of All Russian Users — Major Exchanges Deny Request

Ukraine Asks Crypto Exchanges to Freeze Accounts of All Russian Users — Major Exchanges Decline Request

The vice prime minister of Ukraine has asked all major cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze accounts of all Russian users. However, some crypto exchanges have already denied the request. Binance confirmed it is “not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts” while Kraken says it is “not really a viable business option for us.”

Ukraine Wants Accounts of All Russian Crypto Users Frozen

Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister of Ukraine, tweeted Sunday asking all major cryptocurrency exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. “It’s crucial to freeze not only addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians but also to sabotage ordinary users,” he tweeted.

His tweet has been widely criticized in the crypto community. One person said the request “Totally violates the foundations and very basis of cryptocurrency.”

Another pointed out: “A lot of people in Russia donate money to Ukraine, condemn the war, and crypto is one of few safe spaces for them to operate and not get jailed by own government.” Many advised, “Get your money out of exchanges,” emphasizing, “not your keys, not your coins.”

Crypto Exchanges Respond to Request to Freeze Russian Users’ Accounts

Two major cryptocurrency exchange platforms have responded to the Ukrainian vice prime minister’s request to freeze accounts of all Russian users at press time.

Binance told CNBC Monday, “We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts,” adding:

Crypto is meant to provide greater financial freedom for people across the globe. To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists.

However, the cryptocurrency exchange clarified that it would block the accounts of any individuals on sanctions lists, noting that it is “taking the steps necessary” to minimize the “impact to innocent users.”

Jesse Powell, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, also replied to the vice prime minister in a series of tweets Sunday evening. He wrote:

I understand the rationale for this request but, despite my deep respect for the Ukrainian people, Kraken cannot freeze the accounts of our Russian clients without a legal requirement to do so.

The CEO explained: “That requirement could come from your own government, as we have seen in Canada, in response to protests, bank runs, and attempts to flee the country. It could come from foreign states, like the U.S., as a weapon to turn the Russian populace against its government’s policies.”

Recently, Powell spoke up about the Canadian government’s request for crypto exchanges to freeze accounts tied to the Freedom Convoy protest. He advised anyone who is worried about their accounts being frozen to take their coins off exchanges and self-custody them instead. His advice was red-flagged by Canada’s securities regulator.

Powell proceeded to outline Kraken’s mission is to bring individuals into “the world of crypto, where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter, where they don’t have to worry about being caught in broad, indiscriminate wealth confiscation.”

The Kraken CEO opined:

Our mission is better served by focusing on individual needs above those of any government or political faction. The People’s Money is an exit strategy for humans, a weapon for peace, not for war.

He concluded: “Besides, if we were going to voluntarily freeze financial accounts of residents of countries unjustly attacking and provoking violence around the world, step 1 would be to freeze all U.S. accounts. As a practical matter, that’s not really a viable business option for us.”

What do you think about the Ukrainian vice prime minister’s request for crypto exchanges to freeze accounts of all Russian users? Let us know in the comments section below.



via Kevin Helms

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: ETH, BTC Rebound After Weekend Selloff

Bitcoin and ethereum prices rebounded on Monday, after declining throughout the weekend. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine heightened, crypto traders appeared to take a risk-off approach this weekend, however some bulls seemed to return to start the week.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin ended two consecutive sessions of decline to start the week, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency seemed to have found its price floor.

BTC/USD hit an intraday low of $37,268.98 earlier in today’s session, with prices now climbing towards resistance above $40,000.

This rebound comes after prices found support at $37,000 on Sunday, which was the lowest level BTC had hit since Friday.

Looking at the chart, Monday’s move comes just as the 14-day RSI has marginally broken past its own ceiling at 46, and is currently tracking at 47.84.

In addition to this, the momentum of the 10-day moving average (red) is now moving in a sideways path, which could set the floor for a potential upward change in direction.

With BTC now hovering on the periphery of $40,000, history does show that price uncertainty heightens here.

Bulls will look to evade these bears which typically live in this zone.

Ethereum

The price of ETH was also higher to start the week, with a support level also being established within the world’s second largest cryptocurrency.

Although higher today, ETH/USD is trading 2.92% lower than at the same point yesterday, when prices fell to an intraday day low of $2,581.62.

This low was close to ETH’s long-term floor of $2,550, and as we neared this floor, bulls pushed prices up away from these levels.

As such, ETH/USD hit an intraday high of $2,748.15 to start the week, as some hope that we may soon recapture the $2,900 resistance.

One of the only hurdles that could prevent this from happening is the fact that the 14-day RSI has now hit its ceiling of 48.

Can bulls push price strength beyond this point? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.



via Eliman Dambell

Data Shows Ruble-Denominated BTC Volume Rising, BTC-RUB Prices Jump as High as $46K

Data Shows Ruble-Denominated BTC Volume Rising, BTC-RUB Prices Jump as High as $46K

Amid the conflict in Ukraine with Russia, bitcoin trade volumes tied to Russian ruble pairs have surged in recent days. Metrics recorded by the crypto analytics provider Kaiko indicate that ruble (RUB)-denominated bitcoin volume reached close to 1.5 billion rubles four days ago, on February 24. Data also shows that bitcoin-ruble pairs saw a significant premium on February 28, jumping 16% higher than the global average.

Russian Demand for Bitcoin Surges Causing BTC-RUB Premiums

Statistics show that there’s been a lot of demand for bitcoin (BTC) stemming from Russia during the last 96 hours. It started almost immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine’s borders and while the warfare between the two countries escalated.

Data Shows Ruble-Denominated BTC Volume Rising, BTC-RUB Prices Jump as High as $46K

Data from the crypto analytics provider Kaiko shared with the crypto-journalist Omkar Godbole shows that ruble-denominated BTC trade volume has spiked a great deal. Kaiko’s data showed that ruble-denominated BTC volume tapped a nine-month high reaching nearly 1.5 billion rubles on Thursday.

“The activity was concentrated on Binance,” Kaiko analyst Clara Medalie told the reporter. “Bitcoin-Ukrainian hryvnia volume has also spiked, but not as high as October levels. BTC-UAH only trades on [two] exchanges – Binance and Localbitcoin.com,” Medalie added.

In addition to the BTC-RUB volume increase, bitcoin has seen a premium in contrast to the recorded global average prices. Currently, via Sberbank transfers, Localbitcoins.com traders are selling bitcoin (BTC) for 3.69 million rubles ($39,656) or $1,206 above the current $38,450 global average. Data derived from Coingecko.com indicates that BTC-RUB prices went as high as 4.33 million rubles ($46,453) on Monday.

The all-time high premium was $7,853 higher than the global average on Monday and BTC-RUB premiums are $6,797 lower, but still higher than the global average at the time of writing. Bitcoin.com News reported on February 26 that Kuna, a cryptocurrency exchange that provides trades in hryvnia, has also seen significant premiums and higher trade volumes.

Data from Kuna shows premiums still exist for hryvnia trading pairs with BTC, USDT, and ETH. Kuna recently told the publication Forklog that ruble (RUB) pairs have been closed and data shows there have been zero RUB swaps in the last 48 hours. In terms of the Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH), however, tether (USDT) is trading for $1.10 per unit. BTC-UAH is trading at $42,026 per unit and ETH-UAH is $2,903 per ether.

What do you think about the trading activity taking place in Russia and Ukraine during the wartime conflict? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.



via Jamie Redman

Cryptowisser: Top 100 Crypto Coins Ranked by Carbon Footprint – Algorand Leads the Way

PRESS RELEASE. February 2022: Leading Crypto service comparison site Cryptowisser, announces its Crypto Carbon Footprint list. The list ranks how sustainable the top 100 cryptocurrencies are and is based on the research of a Swedish team of sustainability experts.

The list ranks each coin of how a typical transaction affects the environment through its carbon footprint. The list uses a color scheme to display different levels of energy efficiency and carbon footprint, with dark green being the cleanest by carbon neutral or negative, and medium green being equivalent to a VISA transaction.

“We are excited to release the world’s first comprehensive ranking of carbon footprints of Cryptos and we hope to give more clarity in the market regarding how green different cryptos are. Based on our research, we can also give a positive outlook for the sustainability of Crypto”

Richard Ramberg, CEO of Dgtl Assets Group AB

How Does Crypto Have a Carbon Footprint?

The carbon footprint of cryptocurrency is based on the energy consumption from the daily operations, for example the process of mining or running of nodes in combination with how clean the energy is. Miners powered by renewables or based in a clean electricity grid will have a significantly lower carbon footprint than if powered by fossil fuels.

How many Cryptocurrencies are carbon neutral or negative?

According to the list, 12 of the cryptocurrencies are self-defined as carbon neutral or negative with Algorand taking the top spot as the greenest cryptocurrency on the market.

The vast majority of the coins have been ranked in the Light Green category, which means that most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies do have a relatively low carbon footprint.

From the data found, there are only a minority of coins that have a high carbon footprint, a positive outlook for the sustainable future of crypto, further reinforced by the current trend of even greener cryptos.

Proof of Stake or Proof of Work?

The energy consumption of the Cryptos depends primarily on the mechanism/consensus algorithm used for a block of transactions to be added to a Cryptocurrency’s digital ledger, so called blockchain, in combination with the energy efficiency of the equipment that is performing the algorithms.

The most common types are either Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS), while they have similarities, they differ in how they execute a transaction, where typically a Proof of Work transaction consumes about 1000 times the energy compared to a Proof of Stake transaction. As shown in the list, the coins associated with Proof of Stake occupy the top of the list being more carbon friendly, while most Proof of Work coins are less carbon friendly, but exceptions do exist.

Concluding Remarks

A carbon neutral or negative crypto world does not seem unachievable at all, even if the process of third party verification and “Proof of Green” need to accelerate. Most cryptocurrency transactions are similar to a VISA transaction in terms of carbon emissions; however, the two top cryptocurrencies (BTC and ETH) do have work to do to become more energy efficient and sustainable.

For more information, please contact press@cryptowisser.com

Cryptowisser is a cryptocurrency services comparison site with the world’s largest, most frequently updated and most trusted lists of cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, debit cards and merchants with more than 1000 reviews. We help you make all your purchasing decisions and service choices in the crypto world.

 

 


This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.



via Bitcoin.com Media

Valve CEO Gabe Newell Praises NFT Technology, Criticizes Bad Actors

valve

Gabe Newell, founder and CEO of Valve, a popular company in the PC gaming market, has revealed his take on crypto and NFTs when applied to games. In an interview with gaming media, Newell validated the NFT technology that makes it possible to create these digital representations. However, he also stated that the actors in the sector tend to be involved in criminal activities.

Valve CEO Talks About NFTs, State of the Industry

Gabe Newell, CEO and founder of Valve, owners of Steam, one of the largest digital distribution markets in the PC industry, offered his thoughts regarding the NFT phenomenon and the people behind it. In an interview offered to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Newell made a clear distinction between the technology that powers NFTs and the people that are currently in the industry promoting it.

To validate the technology behind NFTs, Newell stated:

You have to separate the underlying technology versus which actors are utilizing that technology. It’s like if you’re a chemist, and you’re looking at nitrocellulose, you’re like ‘Oh, yeah, we can do some really interesting stuff with that’ … The underlying technology of distributed ledgers, and the notion of digital ownership, and shared universes, are all pretty reasonable.

However, this seems to conflict with opinions some in the gaming community hold about the use of NFTs, and the stance Steam has taken regarding games built on these technologies. Some in the industry have attributed the backlash as part of a general lack of knowledge about these tools. This is the case with an executive of Ubisoft, who stated he believes gamers don’t understand the benefits of adopting NFTs.

The vision that Newell has about the people currently in the NFT industry is less positive. On this matter, Newell stated:

The people in the space, though, tend to be involved in a lot of criminal activity and a lot of sketchy behaviors. So it’s much more about the actors than it is about the underlying technology or the rationale for what we’re doing.

Crypto, Volatility, and Fraud

Newell also talked about the issue of Steam accepting crypto payments for its services. It was one of the first to include bitcoin as a payment method, but it suspended this option back in 2017 due to the rise in fees and the volatility of the price of bitcoin. Newell also touched on this subject, stating:

At one point Steam was accepting cryptocurrencies for payments. And it turned out that it just made customers super mad. There was the issue of volatility. Volatility is a bad thing in a medium of exchange.

Also, Valve’s CEO concluded by saying that the “vast majority” of the transactions made with cryptocurrency on Steam were fraudulent, with people using “illegal sources of funds.”

What do you think about Gabe Newell’s take on crypto, NFTs, and the people in the industry? Tell us in the comments section below.



via Sergio Goschenko

Hack VC Launches $200 Million Crypto Seed Fund

hack VC

Hack VC, a crypto investment firm, has launched a new $200 million crypto-based seed fund. The venture capital company, which is behind the hack.summit() event, one of the biggest blockchain programming events in the world, aims to invest in early stage Web3-based teams. The idea behind this fund is to accompany these teams each step of the way, instead of just providing funding as with other, similar proposals.

Hack VC Launches $200 Million Fund Backed by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity

Hack VC, a crypto-led venture capital group behind the hack.summit() blockchain programming event, announced it is launching a new $200 million crypto seed fund, that aims to invest in early-stage cryptocurrency and Web3 teams. The funds come from several VC companies in the field and include investments from Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, A16z’s Marc Andreessen, and Digital Currency Group, among others.

The fund aims to implement a different approach when it comes to incubating these early-stage ventures focused on DAOs, NFTs, and defi. Alex Pack, one of the managers of the fund and founder of Dragonfly Capital, stated:

While we came from venture backgrounds, our goal is not to just build another venture fund. For the first time ever, crypto breaks down the divide between investors and users. That’s why we aim to be both the earliest investor, first user, and foundational community-member in all the crypto projects we back.

Hack VC wants to differentiate itself from other, similar funds by offering full support for the incubated teams, and not just funding their activities.

A Complete Support Stack

Managing partner Ed Roman elaborated on the support the fund plans to offer to teams involved in the crypto fund. Roman presented the different ways in which the fund can help these teams to grow, including hiring, advertising, and creating early communities.

Using hackjobs.org, hacksummit.org, and Hack Labs — three different tools that the company features — will allow them to give the required attention and grow these teams and their projects, according to Roman.

The fund is already active and is currently backing a number of projects, including known names in the decentralized finance and NFT ecosystem. These projects include Goldfinch Finance, NFT identity platform Yat, Web3 provider Mysten Labs, the defi protocol Element.fi, and the metaverse game Syncity.

What do you think about Hack VC’s new $200 million crypto seed fund? Tell us in the comments section below.



via Sergio Goschenko

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Value Locked in Defi Rebounds — Smart Contract Tokens CPH, LUNA, XCP Lead the Pack

Value Locked in Defi Rebounds — Smart Contract Tokens CPH, LUNA, XCP Lead the Pack

The total value locked in decentralized finance (defi) has managed to jump above the $200 billion zone, as crypto markets have rebounded from the market downturn last week. A number of native assets from the $611 billion worth of smart contract protocols have seen double-digit gains with cypherium (CPH), counterparty (XCP), and terra (LUNA) leading the pack.

TVL in Defi Jumps Back Above $200 Billion — Cypherium, Counterparty, Terra Rise

Crypto markets have recovered after initially dropping after Russia invaded Ukraine three days ago and the rebound has pushed defi value up as well. After falling beneath the $200 billion mark, the total value locked (TVL) in defi has jumped back above the zone to $200.94 billion on February 27.

The TVL in defi across all the top blockchains hit a low of $185.9 billion on January 28 and it’s up 10.61% since that day. Curve dominance is 8.68% on Sunday with $17.86 billion total value locked but the defi protocol’s TVL is down 5.61% since last week.

Ethereum dominance, in terms of the TVL in defi today, is 55.94% with the current $112.36 billion TVL. Terra’s the second-largest blockchain TVL in defi on Sunday with $20.17 billion which is 10.04% of the TVL in defi.

The third-largest blockchain TVL in defi is Binance Smart Chain (BSC) with $12.13 billion locked. Defillama.com metrics show Chainlink is the largest defi oracle today securing 138 protocols with $52.66 billion locked.

In terms of smart contract coins, cypherium (CPH) was this week’s biggest gainer with a 330% gain. The smart contract coin, in terms of this week’s second-largest gains, is the old-school token counterparty (XCP). Counterparty has jumped 54% higher in value against the U.S. dollar during the last seven days.

Terra (LUNA) managed to spike by 52% this past week as the coin is the third-largest smart contract token gainer this week. At the time of writing, the aggregate value of all the smart contract platform native tokens in existence is $611 billion down 0.3% in the last day.

Presently, there’s $23.63 billion TVL across cross-chain bridge platforms today up 16.6% since last week. The count of unique bridge deposit addresses during the last month is 57,911 addresses.

The top five blockchains in terms of cross-chain bridge TVL on Sunday, February 27 include Avalanche, Polygon, Fantom, Ronin, and Arbitrum. Moreover, data collected by Coin98 Analytics from Santiment indicates that Solana has the most active developer count as of February 19, 2022. Solana’s developer count is followed by Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, Cosmos, and Terra.

What do you think about this week’s decentralized finance action? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.



via Jamie Redman

Elon Musk Hears Kyiv’s Call, Activates Starlink Service in Ukraine

Elon Musk Hears Kyiv’s Call, Activates Starlink Service in Ukraine

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced that the Starlink satellite internet service has been enabled for Ukraine. The move comes in response to a request from the government in Kyiv which is trying to halt a Russian military assault that may disrupt communications, among other threats.

Elon Musk Provides Ukrainians With Access to Starlink

U.S. billionaire and crypto influencer Elon Musk revealed on social media the activation of Starlink for Ukraine. The satellite internet constellation is operated by Spacex, the aerospace manufacturer and provider of space transportation services founded and managed by Musk.

The entrepreneur also tweeted that the company is sending Ukrainians the necessary equipment. Starlink’s low-orbit satellites provide high-speed broadband internet across the globe but access to the network requires the installation of a special antenna and modem.

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov took to Twitter to address Musk directly:

Elon Musk Hears Kyiv’s Call, Activates Starlink Service in Ukraine

Following President Putin’s order, Russia launched a military assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, Russian forces have been advancing, encircling major Ukrainian cities. Authorities, citizens and members of the crypto community fear the country’s communications with the world may be affected.Internet monitor Netblocks has registered “a series of significant disruptions to internet service” since the beginning of the Russian military operations in the country, AFP reported. While Starlink operates more than 2,000 satellites, it was initially unclear if Ukrainians would be able to use the service.

“Starlink terminals are coming to Ukraine! Thank you @elonmusk, thank you everyone, who supported Ukraine!” Fedorov tweeted following Musk’s reaction. The government official also expressed his gratitude to Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova for the “swift decisions related to authorization and certification that allowed us to activate the Starlink.”

Ukraine, which was on the verge of regulating digital assets when the Russian military offensive started, has also sought assistance for its defense effort in the form of crypto donations. One of the largest NGOs involved in supporting the country’s military, Come Back Alive, has already received millions of dollars in bitcoin.

Do you think Elon Musk’s help will allow Ukraine to maintain internet communications with the world? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.



via Lubomir Tassev

Bitcoin’s Hashpower Drops, BTC Mining Difficulty Expected to Jump Higher in 4 Days

Bitcoin's Hashpower Drops, BTC Mining Difficulty Expected to Jump Higher in 4 Days

The processing power behind the Bitcoin network has dropped 30% since the hashrate’s all-time high (ATH) on February 15, sliding from 249 exahash per second (EH/s) to 169 EH/s. Furthermore, four days from now, the network’s mining difficulty is expected to increase following the 4.78% epoch change on February 17.

Bitcoin Hashrate Drops From 249 Exahash per Second to 169 EH/S in 12 Days

From January 13 to February 15, Bitcoin’s hashrate was coasting along at record highs for roughly 33 consecutive days. This weekend, on Sunday, February 27, 2022, the hashrate has dropped 30% from the 249 EH/s ATH captured on February 15. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s (BTC) network hashrate is around 168.14 EH/s or 168,144,793,932,750,200,000 hashes per second (H/s).

Meanwhile, bitcoin’s price has been lower than usual but 30-day statistics show the price per BTC is up 4.4%. Although, bitcoin mining monthly revenue and 7DMA revenue mining stats are down according to onchain metrics. The drop in processing power speed may help drop the next difficulty change, as it’s expected to increase by 1.18% in four days to 27.64 trillion. If the difficulty does increase in four days, it will be the seventh consecutive difficulty increase since November 28, 2021.

Currently, the top bitcoin mining pool during the last three days is Foundry USA with 20.52% of the global hashrate (38.85 EH/s) and finding 79 block rewards within that time frame. Foundry USA is followed by Antpool’s 30.49 EH/s or 16.10% of the global hashrate. At the time of writing, three-day metrics indicate that there’s 11 known bitcoin mining pools today. Unknown hashrate or stealth miners command 1.3% of the global hashrate or 2.46 EH/s of hashpower capturing five block rewards in three days.

Presently, the most-profitable SHA256-based application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining device is the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro 110 terahash per second (TH/s) machine. Using today’s BTC exchange rate and $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), the Antminer S19 Pro makes just over $10 per day. The Microbt Whatsminer M30S++ (112 TH/s) makes $9.82 per day in bitcoin profits.

What do you think about the hashrate dropping after it hit an ATH on February 15? What do you think about the next estimated difficulty drop expected in four days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.



via Jamie Redman

Crypto Donations Pour in After Ukraine Government Asks for Bitcoin and Ether — $17 Million Raised so Far

Crypto Donations Pour in After Ukraine Government Asks for Bitcoin and Ether — $17 Million Raised so Far

Ukraine has raised more than $17 million in cryptocurrency donations since Russia began its invasion. Over $10 million were donated directly to the crypto wallets posted by the Ukrainian government about 24 hours after the government solicited donations in bitcoin, ether, and tether.

Crypto Community Responds to Ukrainian Government’s Plea for Cryptocurrency Donations

The Ukrainian government began soliciting cryptocurrency donations Saturday morning. The official Twitter account for Ukraine tweeted: “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, ethereum, and USDT.” The tweet also includes a BTC address and an address for ETH and USDT donations. Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister of Ukraine, also tweeted a similar message.

Following the Ukrainian government’s solicitation of crypto donations, blockchain data analytics firm Elliptic said Sunday:

The Ukrainian government and NGOs providing support to the military have raised $17.2 million through thousands of cryptocurrency donations since the start of the invasion.

“Twitter accounts belonging to the Ukrainian government have posted pleas for cryptocurrency donations. The addresses mentioned in the tweets have already received $10.6 million across 13,670 transactions,” Elliptic detailed. “This includes a single donation worth $1.86 million, which appears to have originated from the sale of NFTs [non-fungible tokens] originally intended to raise funds for Julian Assange.”

The blockchain analytics firm continued:

The majority of donations received to date have been in bitcoin and ether, although US dollar stablecoins contribute a significant proportion.

Elliptic further pointed out that crypto supporters are not just donating cryptocurrencies to the Ukrainian government. “People are also sending NFTs to the Ukrainian government’s Ethereum account. One such NFT has a value of approximately $300,” the firm wrote.

Olexander Scherba, Ukraine’s ambassador to Austria between 2014 and 2021, commented on the Ukrainian government soliciting crypto donations. He tweeted:

To those who want to help in bitcoin. Bitcoin is officially legit in Ukraine.

Besides donations to the Ukrainian government, one non-governmental organization (NGO) has received a substantial amount of cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin.com News reported Friday that “Come Back Alive” had raised more than $5 million in bitcoin. At the time of writing, the organization has received 170.05722596 BTC, worth about $6.6 million at the current bitcoin price.

What do you think about the Ukrainian government asking for crypto donations? Let us know in the comments section below.



via Kevin Helms

Russia May ‘Nationalize’ Foreign Assets in Response to Western Sanctions, Medvedev Says

Russia May ‘Nationalize’ Foreign Assets in Response to Western Sanctions, Medvedev Says

Authorities in Russia may begin to seize funds of foreign nationals and companies that are in the country, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has indicated. His warning comes as the West continues to expend penalties imposed on Moscow over its military invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Medvedev Warns Persons and Entities From ‘Hostile’ Nations May Lose Their Assets in Russia

The nationalization of Russian-based assets belonging to foreigners and businesses registered in “hostile jurisdictions” is a possible response to the potential seizure of funds of Russian citizens and companies abroad. That’s according to a recent statement by the Deputy Chair of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on social media.

Following President Putin’s decision to launch a military operation in Ukraine, the United States and European allies introduced a wide range of sanctions on Russia, Russian banks, its political and business elites. On Saturday, Medvedev took to Facebook to comment on the measures that are targeting the members of the council as well.

“Naturally, these wonderful bans won’t change anything… As a reference: my family members and I had no – and have no – either bank accounts or property abroad,” said the high-ranking official who was Russia’s head of state between 2008 and 2012.

Dmitry Medvedev remarked that western leaders are threatening to block the accounts of Russian citizens and companies that are not on the sanctions list and emphasized that Moscow’s response should be symmetrical. He suggested that Russia should freeze the financial funds of foreign citizens and companies or maybe even “nationalize the property of those registered in unfriendly jurisdictions.”

While Medvedev did not specify the different kinds of assets he meant, the lower house of parliament, the Duma, recently adopted a law allowing the Russian state to seek seizure of digital currencies through courts, along with property and traditional financial assets.

While this legislation is targeting corrupt government officials, in particular, the Russian authorities are also actively working to comprehensively regulate all transactions in the crypto space. Media reports have suggested that Russian elites and the country can use cryptocurrencies to evade western sanctions.

Do you expect Russia to start seizing financial funds, including digital assets, and property belonging to foreign nationals and companies? Tell us in the comments section below.



via Lubomir Tassev

Private Banks Propose to Help Design Digital Currency in Mexico

Mexico

Private banks in Mexico want to join efforts with the central bank of the country in the creation of a new digital currency. The president of the Mexican Bank Association (ABM) met with the governor of the Bank of Mexico to offer the help of the group of private banks for the creation of a national digital currency in the future.

Private Banks Want to Be Involved in Potential CBDC

Members of the Mexican Bank Association have stated their intention of helping the central bank of the country in the design and issuance of a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC). The president of the association, Daniel Becker, met with the governor of the Bank of Mexico, Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, to review some important factors related to making banks more accessible for Mexican citizens.

About the meeting, Becker stated:

If Banxico determines that the banking opinion can help build better elements or a cryptocurrency, count on us and the best banking opinion so that it is something that provokes and has a more efficient and robust financial system that reaches more Mexicans as a consequence.

Becker also welcomed the introduction of a digital currency to lower the cost of transactions and achieve better interoperability using blockchain.

Mexico and Crypto

Mexico is one of the countries with less banking penetration in its community, according to several reports. Many believe that cryptocurrencies and their introduction in the country might improve financial inclusion, but the Bank of Mexico has not made a direct statement on the potential issuance of such a national digital currency.

However, the official account of the presidency of Mexico did announce the creation of a digital version of the peso back in January. At that time, the institution stated the bank had plans to issue this currency and mentioned 2024 as the target date for this development to be ready. This is why private banks are approaching the Central Bank of Mexico to be included in the planning phase of this hypothetical upcoming digital currency.

This would put Mexico in a group of countries that are currently planning or already developing their own digital currencies, including China and the Bahamas. the European Union is also studying to launch its own digital euro, with the European Commission planning to launch consultations for the currency in March.

What do you think about the possible involvement of private banks in the issuance of a digital peso in Mexico? Tell us in the comments section below.



via Sergio Goschenko

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Technical Analysis: Cosmos, Harmony Prices Surge on Saturday

Technical Analysis: Cosmos, Harmony Prices Surge on Saturday

Cosmos (ATOM) and harmony (ONE) were some of today’s big gainers, as the global crypto market cap was up 1.23% to start the weekend. Terra (LUNA) was also higher, extending its recent gains to a sixth consecutive trading session.

Cosmos (ATOM)

Cosmos (ATOM) is currently trading over 13% higher in today’s session, climbing to its highest level since February 17.

Saturday’s rally in ATOM/USD saw prices briefly breakout of the $29.10 resistance level, hitting an intraday high of $29.36 in the process.

This surge comes as the 14-day RSI climbed to a five-week high, and is currently tracking at 52.09, following a break above 50.40.

Today’s high comes less than 24-hours after ATOM was trading at a low of $25.27, as prices rallied back to support of $26.10.

Despite the recent descending triangle on this chart, price momentum has slowly begun to stabilize, with the moving averages trending sideways.

Many see this as a sign of a longer-term reversal, with some already targeting the $30.00 point.

Harmony (ONE)

The biggest gainer today was undoubtedly harmony (ONE), which has risen by nearly 20% in the 24-hours of trading.

As of writing, ONE/USD rose to a high of $0.1612 on Saturday, following a second consecutive day of strong gains.

ONE was trading at a low of $0.1314 yesterday, which came as prices moved away from the long-term floor of $0.1249.

This was close to the lowest level for ONE since late September, and was followed by a surge to resistance at $0.1650.

The 14-day RSI is also currently tracking at its highest point in ten days, following a break from the 41.70 resistance level.

Should this momentum continue in this current direction, many bulls will likely be targeting exits at $0.2000.

Could we see this happen in the upcoming week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.



via Eliman Dambell

Adult Film Star Lana Rhoades Deletes Twitter Account After NFT Project Was Criticized

Adult Film Star Lana Rhoades Deletes Twitter Account After Her NFT Project Was Criticized

Adult film star Lana Rhoades is being criticized for her non-fungible token (NFT) project called “Cryptosis,” after $1.5 million of ethereum from the mint was withdrawn from the project’s wallet. The crypto withdrawal took place after Rhoades told her fans that the NFTs would be a “lucrative investment for holders,” and following the community disapproval, the porn star deleted her official Twitter account.

Lana Rhoades Is Being Accused of Rug Pulling Her NFT Project, Porn Star Deletes Twitter Account

Lana Rhoades is being condemned by people in the crypto industry for her role in an NFT project called Cryptosis, which features 6,069 NFT cartoon images of the adult film star. Rhoades is accused of withdrawing a large sum of ethereum (ETH) from the project, according to a video published by Coffeezilla.

The claim is that Rhoades touted her NFT collection as a “lucrative investment,” but after the withdrawal and myriad statements stemming from the project’s Discord channel, belief in the Cryptosis NFT project has plummeted.

Coffeezilla and others have called the move a “rug pull,” which is a term widely used in the crypto industry to describe a project that raises a large sum of value, but then the creator abandons the project and takes the initial funds raised as well.

In another video, the Youtuber Coffeezilla’s video description says that “Rhoades is not new to crypto, she has done several tokens in the past, [as] Lana has even helped with other NFT project rug pulls such as Stickdix, Titscoin, and Pawgcoin.”

Rhoades is apparently upset about the accusations, and she published a few tweets about the Youtuber after the video had been published. “Youtubers are f***ing sickos, diseases of the internet who will do anything and say anything for views,” the adult film star said. Rhoades added:

I have a 1-month-old baby to take care of, just what I wanted to do was scam ppl, get the f*** out of here with this bullsh**. Just bc a project does not go as planned does not mean there was any ill intent behind it. Ppl are sick trying to cause trouble for views.

At the time of writing, the porn star’s official Twitter account is gone, as it’s been deleted. However, a large portion of Rhoades’ social media account on Twitter has been saved on archive.org.

Currently, people are still buying Cryptosis NFTs and on Opensea, Rhoades’ NFT collection has a floor price of 0.018 ether or $50.23. One specific listing is attempting to get $3.1 million for the Cryptosis NFT #5795.

There are many others seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Rhoades NFTs. Although, these hopeful Cryptosis NFT sellers don’t seem to be selling at all. Cryptosis sales activity has plummeted since February 22, when the average sales price was 0.1624 ether or $453.20 per Cryptosis NFT.

What do you think about the accusations against adult film star Lana Rhoades? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.



via Jamie Redman

Ethereum After 1559: Network Nears 2 Million ETH Burned Worth Over $6.9 Billion

Approximately 205 days ago, the Ethereum network upgraded via the London hard fork which implemented the packaged Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559. Since then, the EIP-1559 upgrade made it so a fraction of gas is destroyed during the transaction process and to date, 1,915,220 ether has been burned worth over $6.9 billion using today’s exchange rates.

Ethereum Burn Rate Inches Closer to 2 Million Burned, 3.57 Ether Is Burned Every Minute

The Ethereum (ETH) network has burned approximately 1,915,220 ethereum and the metric is nearing the two million mark. Since the EIP-1559 improvement was added on August 5, 2021, the community has been observing how much ether is being burned on a daily basis. At the time of writing, the 24-hour burn rate is 3.57 ether per minute or around $9,809.16 every 60 seconds.

EIP-1559 essentially changes the algorithm tethered to the base fee per gas in the protocol and it burns the base fee per gas. Ethereum advocates have been fans of the idea because it makes ethereum (ETH) deflationary over time. When the London hard fork was implemented, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin told Bloomberg that EIP-1559 was the most important part of London.

“Now it gets much easier to send a transaction that will get included in the next block and that’s very important to user experience,” Buterin explained at the time.

Gas Fees Remain Dynamic, Opensea the Largest Ether Burning Entity

Weeks after the London upgrade, EIP-1559 did not seem to affect the high gas fees users dealt with while trying to send on-chain (layer one) transactions. In fact, the very next month after the London upgrade, ETH’s average gas fees skyrocketed to $59 per transaction. The average gas fee to push an ethereum (ETH) transfer today is much lower, at 0.006 ETH ($16.61) per transaction or 31.3 gwei.

Meanwhile, as the network has destroyed $6.9 billion in ether via EIP-1559, the biggest on-chain gas burner is the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Opensea. At the time of writing, the leading NFT market has burned approximately 229,916 ether worth $790,499,348 across 14,635,232 ETH transfers.

Ordinary ethereum transactions make up the second-largest gas-burning entity with 178,166 ether destroyed to date. Large ETH-burning entities following Opensea and ordinary ethereum transfers include protocols and platforms like Uniswap v2, Tether (USDT), Swaprouter 2, Uniswap v3, and Metamask.

What do you think about the Ethereum network steadily approaching 2 million ether burned? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.



via Jamie Redman

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Climbs to $40,000 on Saturday

Bitcoin and ethereum were both higher to start the weekend, as markets seem to have discounted recent volatility. BTC momentarily passed the $40,000 level, with ETH moving towards $2,800.

Bitcoin

As of writing, cryptocurrency markets are up by over 3% on Saturday, with bitcoin trading close to 1% higher to start the weekend.

This comes following a low of $38,416.53 yesterday, with BTC/USD hitting an intraday high of $40,005.35 earlier in today’s session.

Saturday’s move sees BTC break beyond the key $40,000 level, however the move did not last, as profit takers likely closed their positions due to the current market risk.

Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI currently hovers above its long-term ceiling of 44, and is approaching the 45 level.

BTC now trades below its recent resistance point of $39,500, as the momentum of the 10-day moving average continues to tumble.

However, should price strength remain above resistance, bulls may be targeting an exit at $41,500.

Ethereum

The price of ETH was also higher to start the weekend, with markets nearing long-term resistance of $2,900.

As of writing, ETH/USD is trading 2.16% higher, after rising to a peak of $2,835.66, following Friday’s intraday low of $2,664.45.

Similar to BTC, once prices neared resistance, we saw a selloff, which was likely caused by profit takers liquidating their positions.

Following the downturn at its ceiling, ethereum is now trading around $2,760, with some targeting the floor of $2,550.

The downside momentum of the short-term 10-day moving average (red), will likely be one of the main indicators to keep some traders bearish in ETH.

Could we potentially see this level hit by Sunday? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.



via Eliman Dambell

European Parliament to Cancel Vote on Crypto Assets Framework

European Parliament to Cancel Vote on Crypto Assets Framework

The European Parliament will not hold a planned vote on crypto regulations after texts that can be interpreted as an attempt to ban coins with energy-intensive mining sparked negative reactions. The lawmaker leading the legislative effort says the matter needs clarification before MEPs can have a say, but the head of the ECB has insisted that Europe should move quickly to prevent Russia from evading sanctions.

European Parliament Postpones Crypto Legislation to Address Concerns Over Possible Proof-of-Work Ban

The vote on Europe’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) proposal will not take place in the European Parliament as scheduled, on Feb. 28. Stefan Berger, the rapporteur for the legislative package, took to social media to announce it will be postponed on his request.

The move comes after a draft leaked to the press was found to contain provisions prohibiting the offering of services related to cryptocurrencies relying on “environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms.” These raised concerns that coins based on proof-of-work (PoW) mining, like bitcoin, would be banned from Jan. 1, 2025.

On Friday, Berger revealed the debate around MiCA has indicated that certain texts in the draft can be misinterpreted and understood as a PoW ban. He acknowledged that the European Parliament could send the wrong signal if it approves them as they are.

“In this context, I see the urgent need to resume talks and negotiations with the parliamentary groups on this topic and to establish clear facts on the #PoW question,” the lawmaker tweeted in German. He promised to try to reach a compromise with all stakeholders that would provide crypto assets with a proper legal framework without challenging the proof-of-work concept.

Members of the European parliament (MEPs) from the left, Greens and officials from several member states such as Germany and Sweden, have called for imposing a union-wide ban on PoW mining, citing its increasing use of renewable energy at the expense of the transition towards climate neutrality in other sectors.

In January, the idea was backed by the vice-chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Erik Thedéen, who stated that European regulators should try to steer the crypto industry towards less energy-hungry mining methods.

Meanwhile, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde has urged the EU to quickly approve the regulation that would prevent Russia from using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions imposed following its military invasion of Ukraine. Quoted by Bloomberg, Lagarde elaborated:

There are always criminal ways to try to circumvent a prohibition, which is why it’s so critically important that MiCA is pushed through as quickly as possible so we have a regulatory framework.

If MiCA is approved, the European Parliament will have to win the support of individual member states and the European Commission, which will be tasked to evaluate the proposal. A final decision on the package is expected later this year. Several EU members, led by Germany, insist that a new anti-money laundering agency should take responsibility for crypto oversight in the bloc.

Do you expect the European Parliament to drop the MiCA provisions banning proof-of-work mining? Tell us in the comments section below.



via Lubomir Tassev

Coinbase’s Trading Volume Grew 8.5 Times in 2021 — With 89 Million Verified Users

Coinbase's Trading Volume Grew 8.5x in 2021 — Number of Verified Users Rises to 89 Million

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase says the number of monthly transacting users on its platform rose to 11.4 million at the end of 2021, which was more than four times the previous year. In addition, Coinbase’s trading volume grew more than 8.5 times from the previous year, and the number of verified users has risen to 89 million.

A Good Year for Coinbase

The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings report Thursday.

“2021 was a year of tremendous growth and development in the cryptoeconomy, as well as for Coinbase. We ended 2021 with strong performance across our key metrics that were within our outlook,” the company wrote, adding:

We ended the year with 11.4 million Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs).

Coinbase noted that the number of MTUs at the end of 2021 was “over 4x compared to 2020.” In addition, the number of verified users on its platform has grown to 89 million.

During the year, Coinbase expanded its business a number of ways, including adding the “trading and custody support for 95 and 72 new crypto assets, respectively.” The company also “more than doubled the number of countries where users can buy and sell crypto via fiat rails to 90+, and added Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Paypal as payment methods.”

Moreover, Coinbase said:

In 2021, our trading volume grew more than 8.5x compared to 2020, and our market share of trading volume increased in virtually all assets.

The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange also grew its institutional customer base by over 50% last year. “On the institutional side, a major theme throughout 2021 was adoption by a broader range of clients seeking to engage with crypto — beyond asset managers and financial services firms to corporate treasuries and institutional allocators,” the company noted, elaborating:

In 2021, we generated $3.6 billion in net income, up 11x compared to 2020.

What do you think about Coinbase’s 2021 performance? Let us know in the comments section below.



via Kevin Helms

Friday, February 25, 2022

Russian Bitcoin Mining Assessed Amid Conflict With Ukraine, Large ETH Pool Cancels Service to Russia

With the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, many observers are curious about the large quantity of hashrate located in Russia, as the region reportedly controls the third-largest sum of SHA256 hashpower worldwide. Furthermore, on February 24, the ethereum mining operation Flexpool announced it has halted services to Russia entirely. “We apologize to our Russian miners; many of you do not support the war — However, it is you who are supporting your nation,” Flexpool told its customers.

Russia Faces a Wave of Economic Sanctions, SWIFT Still Accessible

All eyes are focused on the battle between Russia and Ukraine this week and after Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, a large swathe of countries have started to impose and threaten economic sanctions. The Russian ruble has been feeling the wrath of volatile markets, Russia’s stock market shuddered and UBS cut Russia’s bond market down to zero.

The European Union handed down economic sanctions against Russia, and U.S. president Joe Biden revealed America would sanction the country as well. Despite the U.K. begging the SWIFT payment network to ban Russia, the country is still allowed to leverage the financial system. Crypto advocate and Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees made fun of the fact that Russia was still allowed to transact with SWIFT.

“Apparently Russia’s actions are so egregious that the West has decided to permit Russia to continue using the SWIFT Network,” Voorhees tweeted.

Russia Commands a Significant Portion of Hashrate, Putin Claims Region Has ‘Competitive Advantages,’ Compass Mining Says Team’s Operators ‘Isolated From Geopolitical Unrest’

Furthermore, cryptocurrency advocates have been discussing Russia’s hashpower as the country reportedly holds the third largest quantity of hashrate worldwide. That statistic stems from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) data that was published in July. A myriad of mining operations mine cryptocurrencies from Russia, as electricity is very cheap. For instance, Bitcluster has operated in Russia since 2017 with over 20,000 mining devices and it offers hosting at $0.062 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

A mining operation called Vekus leverages the Russian oil drilling subsidiary Gazpromneft in order to mine bitcoin. At the end of last month, Russian president Vladimir Putin explained that Russia has “competitive advantages” when it comes to cryptocurrency mining. The mining operation Compass Mining also hosts bitcoin miners in the Siberian region. On Thursday, Whit Gibbs from Compass Mining explained on Twitter that the company’s facilities in Siberia were “well isolated from any geopolitical unrest.” Gibbs added:

Compass has confirmed with our partners that all miners are safe and will continue running as normal.

The media is already talking about Russia leveraging cryptocurrencies and crypto asset mining to avoid sanctions. According to the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, Iran utilized bitcoin mining to avoid economic sanctions. Last week, the Biden administration told semiconductor manufacturers that they should “diversify their supply chain” and at the same time, the California-based technology company Intel announced the launch of bitcoin mining chips.

Large Ethereum Mining Pool Bans All Russian IPs

Amid the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Bitcoin’s hashrate has dropped a hair since reaching an all-time high on February 15, 2022. On that day, six-month charts show the hashrate tapped 249.75 exahash per second (EH/s) and today it is down 26% since that high, at 182 EH/s. While bitcoin miners seem to be unaffected by the situation in Ukraine, on Thursday the ethereum mining operation Flexpool announced it will be cutting off Russian ethereum miners. Flexpool is currently the fifth-largest ethereum miner in terms of ETH hashrate.

“While there is little we can do, it would be wrong to profit off of it or fund it indirectly. We are canceling service to all Russian IPs and paying out outstanding balances,” Flexpool’s announcement notes. “We apologize to our Russian miners; many of you do not support the war. However, it is you who are supporting your nation. Without the people, Russia cannot operate. It is only through reducing the economic power of its people that we have a chance of affecting this war. We thank you for your loyalty, and I hope you understand that we do not make this decision lightly.”

What do you think about the conflict in Ukraine and the possibility of Russia avoiding sanctions with cryptocurrencies? What do you think about the issue affecting crypto miners operating in Russia? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.



via Jamie Redman

Sanctions May Not Affect Russia’s Access to Crypto, Reports Claim

Sanctions May Not Affect Russia’s Access to Crypto, Reports Claim

As sanctions rain on Russia, following the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine, media reports have suggested that they are unlikely to limit the country’s access to crypto assets. While the Russian elite may use them to circumvent restrictions, ordinary Russians are also likely to keep trading digital coins on foreign platforms.

Cryptocurrencies Deemed Potential Tool for Russian Billionaires Bypassing Sanctions

U.S. and EU sanctions, imposed in response to Moscow’s military assault on Ukraine, are threatening the ability of Russia, and its elites, to do businesses in dollars and euros. However, as the country has recently chosen a path towards regulating cryptocurrencies, the penalties might carry less weight, Bloomberg noted in a report.

Digital currencies such as bitcoin, often traded on decentralized platforms, could become an effective instrument to circumvent the restrictions. According to Matthew Sigel who heads digital assets research at investment manager Vaneck, “neither dictators nor human rights activists will encounter any censor on the Bitcoin network.”

Russian billionaires, those who have been targeted already, can potentially utilize cryptocurrency to evade the sanctions, the article remarks. Through anonymous transactions, digital coins can offer them opportunities to purchase goods and services and even invest in assets outside of the Russian Federation and avoid banks. Mati Greenspan, CEO of financial advisory firm Quantum Economics, said:

If a wealthy individual is concerned that their accounts may be frozen due to sanctions, they can simply hold their wealth in Bitcoin in order to be protected from such actions.

Besides the option to spend and send coins directly, crypto holders can also transfer funds through multiple wallets and use exchanges based in jurisdictions that are not backing the restrictions. The same applies to businesses in sanctioned nations. For example, Iran has been considering allowing the use of cryptocurrencies in international settlements for similar reasons.

Exchanges Are Not Denying Russians Access to Crypto, Russian Media Says

One of the proposed measures is to cut Russia off from Swift, the global interbank payments system. According to Artem Deev, head of the analytical department at Amarkets, such a move is unlikely to affect individual cryptocurrency users. Commenting for RBC Crypto, he expressed his opinion that Russia’s regulatory decisions will have a bigger impact.

In another report, the news outlet quotes an unnamed representative of an international crypto exchange who said that the digital asset trading platforms were unlikely to impose restrictions on their Russian users as a result of the tightening sanctions against Russia. The source elaborated:

It will not affect individuals, it will be negative for businesses, especially for exporters and importers.

“Crypto exchanges are decentralized organizations, so they do not comply with the sanctions requirements of the United States and the European Union,” added Tatiana Kosykh, a lawyer at the Advocate Premium law firm.

Meanwhile, representatives of Currency.com, the crypto exchange founded by Belarusian tech entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya, told RBC that the platform does not plan to ban customers from Russia or other countries, despite the current conflict in Ukraine. They believe that most other exchanges, except those based in the U.S., will follow the same route.

Do you think Russia and its citizens will maintain access to the global crypto market after the Russian military invasion of Ukraine? Share your expectations in the comments section below.



via Lubomir Tassev

GAIMIN Extends Its Active User Base Through the Success of Gaimin’s Esports Team – GAIMIN Gladiators

PRESS RELEASE. Zug, Switzerland, 25th February 2022: GAIMIN Gladiators is pleased to announce its recently acquired DOTA 2 esports team has won the DOTA2 WEU Regional Finals, beating teams including Team Liquid, Nigma, Tundra and OG. The success of GAIMIN’s esports team generates significant awareness of the GAIMIN brand and directs more potential users towards GAIMIN and the application.

These high profile events are promoted worldwide to their followers and achieve significant viewing figures. The Regional Finals achieved peak viewing of 160,000 and a total of 650,000 video views. In winning the event, GAIMIN’s brand has been promoted across all output media and increased the following and global reach of the Gladiator’s DOTA 2 team. The Gladiator’s currently have over 83,000 followers across all platforms, 2 million follower impressions and monthly profile visits of 150,000+.

GAIMIN’s business model is designed around gamers downloading the GAIMIN application and enabling GAIMIN to access the high performance GPUs found in gaming PCs. Gamers generate passive rewards, paid in GAIMIN’s soon to be listed GMRX crypto currency when running the application and enabling its monetisation features.

Joseph Turner, Chief Gaming Officer for GAIMIN stated, “In January 2022, GAIMIN acquired esports team GAIMIN Gladiators with the objective of creating the leading global esports team, focussing on specific genres and games within the esports community. The quick success of our DOTA2 team has been amazing and motivates us to identify more teams to join GAIMIN Gladiators.”

Nick Cuccovillo, President GAIMIN Gladiators explained, “Our DOTA2 team has exceeded expectations with their early success, and spearheaded our plans to extend into Pokemon Unite, Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six: Siege. We intend on creating the largest esports community across a number of different games and genres. DOTA2 is only the beginning”.

Martin Speight, CEO of GAIMIN confirmed, “Our decision to invest in esports is already paying off. The number of followers the DOTA2 team has, combined with the followers of the other teams we are looking at incorporating into the GAIMIN Gladiators, will give us access to a worldwide audience of potential GAIMIN application users, exceeding our active user forecasts, building a much larger community of users generating their own GMRX rewards and building the GAIMIN brand into a worldwide community of gamers.”

About GAIMIN Gladiators

GAIMIN Gladiators were formed from the OCG Esports Club; a Canadian Esports organisation established in 2019 by brothers Nick and Alex Cuccovillo and Shawn Porter. Their aim was to conquer their chosen esports and since 2019 they have achieved significant success winning major events such as Dreamhack Canada for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and successfully competing in the highest pro-amateur league in North America.

The Club expanded into Warcraft 3 in Europe and North America, competing in the most prestigious leagues and tournaments with the strongest lineup and players in the game. In support of their aspirations for growth, the Club moved into new and emerging verticals, participating in Rainbow Six Siege and playing in the Challengers League for two years. OCG’s focused on the semi-professional esports pro scene and its surrounding ecology – building a platform and ecosystem for gamers.

OCG has some of the best talent in Canada in its gaming roster, representing Canada at national level across tournaments in North America. Through constant innovation, community-driven goals and working with top talent, OCG has striven to create an inclusive, respected and distinguished brand for gamers.

The OCG philosophy fully aligns with the GAIMIN principle of “No Gamer Left Behind” and makes OCG the perfect fit for GAIMIN. Based on their gaming successes and principles, OCG is now part of GAIMIN and have re-branded as GAIMIN Gladiators.

GAIMIN Gladiators will represent GAIMIN in the global esports arena and build on their past successes and growth by participating in current and new esports verticals.

About GAIMIN

GAIMIN.IO Ltd (GAIMIN) is a UK and Swiss based gaming company focused on helping the gaming community monetise the computational power of their gaming PC. GAIMIN has created a decentralised data processing network harnessing under utilised processing power typically found in gaming PC’s to create a world-wide decentralised data processing network, delivering “supercomputer” performance.

With a free to download PC-based application GAIMIN monetises the under utilised performance through innovative approaches to delivering “supercomputer” level data processing performance from a world-wide network of independent processing devices. Focusing initially on the powering of blockchain computations, the GAIMIN data processing network also supports a number of different large scale data processing applications, including video rendering.

GAIMIN pays users in its own crypto currency, GMRX which can then be used for purchases on the GAIMIN Marketplace for NFTs, in-game assets, accessories and merchandise, or it can be converted to fiat or a different crypto currency.

For further information, please contact:

The Americas, Middle East and Australian Pacific – Andrew Faridani, Chief Marketing Officer for GAIMIN (based in Toronto, Canada): andrew@gaimin.io

UK and Europe – Marc Bray, Director of Communications for GAIMIN (based in Manchester, UK): marc @gaimin.io

 

 


This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.



via Bitcoin.com Media

Reported First Real Estate Purchase Made With Bitcoin in Chile

chile

Yuval Ben Haym, regional manager of Remax, a real estate firm that operates worldwide, has announced that the “first” real estate purchase with cryptocurrencies has already occurred in Chile. The purchase, that was made using bitcoin, happened last year. Such purchases have also already happened in other countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Remax Announces ‘First’ Real Estate Transaction With Cryptocurrency in Chile

The reported first real estate purchase made with cryptocurrency has happened in Chile. The announcement was made last week by Yuval Ben Haym, who is the regional manager of Remax, a real estate operator with activities at a worldwide level. Ben Haym informed that this purchase was completed last year, during November, and that the transaction secured a plot of land in Temuco, a southern city of Chile, for a customer.

Ben Haym was optimistic about the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment options in real estate, and announced they are open to accepting these kinds of currencies. He stated:

From this time to the future several properties will be able to be paid with this new means of payment.

Bitcoin and Real Estate in Latam

Chile is just one of the Latam countries that has debuted bitcoin as a payment option available for properties and land. Prior to this report, several purchases of the same kind have been made in countries of the region. The first purchase was reported in Venezuela in August when an apartment was purchased with $12,000 worth of USDT.

Then, La Haus, a proptech company, informed of a real estate transaction in Colombia made with bitcoin earlier this month. In this purchase, the buyer used Lightning Network to pay for part of the property, which was a luxury apartment in a complex located in Santa Marta. The same company had already registered a sale of this kind in Mexico, where a buyer located in Peru made a remote purchase.

Analysts state that sales of this kind are likely to become more common in time. Guillermo Torrealba, General Manager of Buda, a regional exchange, stated:

It is normal that we are seeing the beginning of this business of cryptocurrencies with properties, because Bitcoin can be seen as an investment.

Nicolas Herrera, studies submanager at Toctoc, another proptech firm, also states that with their new restrictions, banks are making the task of acquiring a house difficult for most people.

What do you think about the reported first real estate purchase made with bitcoin in Chile? Tell us in the comments section below.



via Sergio Goschenko