Who would have thought that a small country in the Caucasus Mountains could become one of the world’s leaders in cryptocurrency mining? Despite its small size and population, Georgia has become a popular spot for cryptocurrency mining thanks to its cheap electricity, the absence of legislative restrictions and attractive tax incentives. This combination of factors has engaged not only Georgian citizens but also foreigners who want to try their hand at cryptocurrency mining. Oasis for miners Georgia’s economy is actively developing, but it has not yet grown up to the level of other developed countries. In 2015, in order to …

At first glance, the pint-sized Republic of Georgia is an unlikely suspect for Bitcoin (BTC) mining activity. An underdog for mining, the country boasts abundant hydropower while ranked seventh worldwide for the World Bank's ease of doing business index –ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany. Nestled on the Black Sea at the intersection of Europe and Asia, Georgia hosts Bitfury’s industrial mining operations as well as smaller, solo miners that tap into enormous amounts of hydroelectric power. The country packs a punch for Bitcoin mining. While the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption index puts Georgia’s hash rate at 0.18%, a …

On Dec. 8, top executives from six major crypto companies faced the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee during a special hearing on digital assets. While the tone of the conversation was largely proclaimatory, the industry reacted with an optimistic buzz — it seems that crypto is bound to become a hot topic on the Hill for years to come. The meeting that took place in Congress also garnered much attention from mainstream media. What’s notable is the fact that this hearing is the first time that the industry’s senior leaders (aka “crypto moguls”) directly expressed the fears …

Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, has announced several chief executive officers at major crypto firms in the United States will speak at a hearing to discuss digital assets and the future of finance. According to a Wednesday announcement, Waters said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Alesia Haas, the CEO of Coinbase Inc. and the CFO of Coinbase Global, will be witnesses at a full House committee hearing held on Dec. 8. The hearing, named Digital Assets …

Former Comptroller of the Currency and Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks has been announced as the new CEO of crypto (BTC) mining firm BitFury. According to a Nov. 4 announcement from Bitfury, Brooks was appointed last Friday and he will lead the firm as it prepares for a new funding round. Bitfury founder and former CEO Valery Vavilov will serve as Chief Vision Officer and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Mr. Brooks will lead the 10-year-old crypto unicorn as it launches a new funding round, increases the growth of its mining business with a revolutionary new microchip design and …

Bitfury, one of the world’s largest companies in the blockchain industry, is mulling a potential initial public offering, or IPO, as part of the company’s global growth plans, the company’s CEO confirmed to Cointelegraph. “As Bitfury and its portfolio of companies continue their global expansion in the digital assets space, Bitfury will be considering an IPO as part of its broader expansion and growth plans,” Bitfury co-founder and CEO Valery Vavilov said. According to the executive, Bitfury has not yet determined when and on what exchange the company is willing to proceed with an IPO. The company’s last funding round …

According to a Form 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Cipher Mining will purchase 28,000 to 56,000 next-generation Bitcoin mining hardware from Bitfury at a cost of $6,250 per rig. At a maximum cost of $6,250 per machine, Cipher’s Bitcoin mining hardware outlay could go between $175 million and $350 million, depending on whether the company elects to receive all 56,000 rigs as stated in the purchase agreement. The total inventory order will be delivered in seven batches on a monthly basis beginning in the summer of 2022 until December 2022. As part …

Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. a subsidiary of blockchain development firm Bitfury has inked a $2 billion merger deal with Nasdaq-listed Good Works Acquisition Corp — a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Both companies have entered into a business combination agreement. According to a press release issued on Friday the merger will see Bitfury’s U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) mining enterprise become a publicly-listed company under the banner Cipher Mining Inc. In addition to the combined $2 billion valuation for Cipher, investors like Morgan Stanley-backed Counterpoint Group and Fidelity Management and Research company will also lead a $425 million funding round. This …

Crypto mining firm Bitfury has formed a partnership with a private equity firm allowing it to upgrade its existing $35 million blockchain infrastructure in Norway. According to a Nov. 2 announcement from the Luxembourg-based LIAN Group, the firm has launched crypto mining as a service, or MaaS, by partnering with Bitfury. As part of the arrangement, the LIAN Group will contribute to a full upgrade of Bitfury’s existing blockchain infrastructure, consisting of a large data center in Norway. Bitfury opened crypto mining operations near the town of Mo i Rana in 2018. The 42-megawatt data center is reportedly already powered …

The Ministry for Digital Transformation of Ukraine, a major government authority behind local crypto regulation, will be implementing Bitfury’s crypto analytics tool to track crypto transactions. As officially announced on July 23, the Ministry has signed an agreement with Birfury’s crypto compliance product known as Crystal. Bitfury’s Crystal to provide crypto analytics expertise to the Ukraininan government Launched by Bitfury in early 2018, Crystal is a software stack that is designed to fight crimes involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). Crystal employees will now provide the Ministry with crypto analytics expertise, Crystal elaborated on its website. The executives at the Ministry …

From June 25 to July 1, the Russian government held a public vote with the goal of finding out whether the country’s constitution should be amended. Part of the vote was held on blockchain to “ensure security and transparency,” according to the government, making it the country’s most extensive DLT project to date. But this didn’t stop independent researchers from registering over 20 million “abnormal” votes and arguing that it was one of the most falsified voting events in the modern history of Russia. So what was blockchain’s role in all of this, exactly? What was the referendum all about? …

Personal data for over a million Russian nationals has reportedly been leaked. The data allegedly belongs to some of the citizens who participated in the recent blockchain-based e-vote on Constitutional amendments. The archive was reportedly available for everyone to download According to an investigation published by Russian language media outlet Meduza, an archive titled “degvoter.zip”, which contains said data, was publicly available for download for at least several hours on July 1 via a government website. The file has since been distributed through various Telegram groups and channels. The archive was password protected. According to the publication, however, it could …