Bitcoin (BTC) mining is the backbone of the BTC ecosystem and miners’ returns also provide insight into BTC’s price movements and the health of the wider crypto sector. It is well-documented that Bitcoin miners are struggling in the current bear market. Blockstream, a leading Bitcoin miner recently raised funds at a 70% discount. Current mining activity shares similarities to historic BTC bear markets with a few caveats. Let’s explore what this means for the current Bitcoin cycle. Analysis shows that based on previous cycles the bear market may continue Bitcoin mining profitability can be measured by taking the miner’s revenue …

A hydro-powered crypto mining project based in Africa released an update on its efforts to bring energy developments to rural communities via Bitcoin (BTC). On Dec. 9, Gridless Compute tweeted photos and commentary on how their hydro-power BTC mining rigs are powering an entire rural settlement while also lowering energy rates for 2,000 people, the equivalent to 500 families. According to the tweet, costs decrease from $10 per month to $4. All of this while securing BTC’s underlying blockchain network. Powering a rural Kenya village and securing the #Bitcoin network with excess hydropower, all while lowering rates to 2000 people …

The Russian central bank continues to maintain an extremely negative stance on cryptocurrencies, proposing to ban local miners from selling coins to local people. The Bank of Russia has supported the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia as part of a draft bill introduced in mid-November 2022. However, the Russian central bank wants to allow miners to sell their crypto only on foreign exchanges and to non-residents of Russia, the local news agency Interfax reported on Dec. 7. “We believe that cryptocurrency obtained as a result of mining can be sold exclusively using foreign infrastructure and only to non-residents,” …

The depths of a bear market may not be the best time to raise funds but that is exactly what Blockstream is doing. The crypto infrastructure firm is seeking fresh funding, but at a much lower valuation than previous rounds, according to a Dec. 7 Bloomberg report. Blockstream was valued at $3.2 billion when it held its last Series B funding round raising $210 million in August 2021. Today that valuation may have fallen almost 70% to below $1 billion according to the report. The company, founded in 2014, has raised a total of $299 million in funding over four …

After a whirlwind November for Bitcoin (BTC), certain on-chain and Bitcoin price metrics are suggesting that BTC’s bottom could occur in December. In Capriole Investments' latest report, they provide analysis on Bitcoin finding the bottom. When taking into realized value, miner capitulation, mining electrical costs, downdraw and record hodler numbers, a BTC floor of $16,600 - $16,950 seems formed. Here are five reasons why Edwards believes Bitcoin price is coming closer to a cycle bottom. SLRV Ribbons flash a buy signal The SLRV Ribbons track investment flows by combining the 30-day and 150-day moving averages to the SLRV Ratio which …

Tough market conditions continue to affect the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem as mining difficulty drops by its biggest margin since July 2021. A 7.32% difficulty adjustment took place on Dec. 6 at block height 766,080, marking the sharpest drop in difficulty in over a year. This coincided with a drop in average hashrate from 264.18 EH/s to 245.10 EH/s, according to data from BTC.com. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty automatically adjusts to the amount of hashing power available to the network, essentially controlling the rate at which new Bitcoin blocks are added to the chain to an average of 10 minutes. The difficulty …

Bitcoin (BTC) starts its first full week of December at three-week highs as bulls and bears battle on. After a weekly close just above $17,000, BTC/USD seems determined to make the most of relief on stocks and a weakening U.S. dollar. As the United States gears up to release November inflation data, the dollar looks to be a key item to watch as BTC price action teases a recovery from the pits of the FTX meltdown. All may not be as straightforward as it seems — miners are facing serious hardship, data shows, and opinions on stocks’ own ability to …

United States Senator Ted Cruz wants to make the American state of Texas an oasis for Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit 2022 in late November, the politician empathized how the crypto industry can be strategic for the U.S. energy supply and technological development. Cruz argued that Bitcoin mining could be used to monetize energy created from oil and gas extraction, rather than burning it. In addition, he emphasized how mining activity can be used as an energy storage and supply alternative: "The beauty of it [Bitcoin mining] is when you've got substantial investment, as we …

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

Crypto mining company Genesis Digital Assets was the biggest venture investment made by Alameda Research, FTX's sister company and in the center of the exchange's bankruptcy. Documents disclosed by Bloomberg on Dec. 3 show that Genesis Digital raised $1.15 billion from Alameda in less than nine months. The capital infusion was made before the crypto prices downturn, between August 2021 and April of this year. Genesis Digital is the major United States-based Bitcoin mining company, and it's not related to Genesis Capital, the trading company with $175 million worth of funds locked away in an FTX trading account. Former FTX …

Bitcoin (BTC) is entering a prime “low-risk bottom” zone as sellers finally accept FTX losses. Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that seller exhaustion is reaching ideal levels for a BTC price leg up. Bitcoin sellers face low BTC price volatility Almost one month after the FTX implosion began, Bitcoin investors have either capitulated and sold at a loss or continue to hodl unrealized losses. As Cointelegraph reported, those losses became significant just days after the event, with over 50% of the BTC supply held in the red. Now, another on-chain metric is painting a potentially more bullish picture …

Cryptocurrency miners in Russia appear to be unbothered by the ongoing crisis of crypto mining as the local demand for mining hardware has reportedly been on the surge in Q4 2022. Some crypto mining hardware distributors in Russia have faced a significant spike in demand for mining-designed application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, the local news agency Kommersant reported on Dec. 1. Local dealer Chilkoot reported its ASIC sales in November and October exceeded its entire sales made in Q3. Over the past nine months, the distributor reportedly sold 65% more hardware than in 2021. “We are working with legal entities, …