Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware manufacturer Canaan Inc is expanding its footprint in Kazakhstan after signing new strategic partnerships with multiple crypto mining firms in the country. The Nasdaq-listed company announced Tuesday that it had deployed 10,300 AvalonMiner units in Kazakhstan as of Dec. 31, 2021, finalizing phase one of its deployment in the central Asian country. Canaan is partnering with local firms as part of its business expansion plans outside of China. However, the company declined to list any of its local partners. Although Canaan is based in Hangzhou, China, the company is eyeing expansion outside of its home country …

The government of Kosovo has ceased crypto mining in the country owing to power constraints during the winter season. Kosovo's minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, has decided to stop crypto mining following a recommendation from the Technical Committee on "Emergency Measures for Energy Supply," according to a report by local outlet Gazeta Express. The report notes that the government made the decision after Kosovo's power supply fell below the stipulated level, and it began to impose electricity cuts during peak usage periods. According to Rizvanolli, the government decided to establish a technical committee to evaluate emergency energy supply strategies in …

As China's central bank steps up its effort to create a digital currency, the country has released a pilot edition of its digital yuan wallet application on mobile phone app stores. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) digital currency research institute developed the "e-CNY (Pilot Version)" app, which was available for download on Chinese Android and Apple app stores on Tuesday in Shanghai. According to a tweet from BlockBeats, a local news source, individual users in China now can download an earlier version of the app to test opening and managing a personal wallet, as well as digital yuan transactions. …

Bitcoin (BTC) bears lost out at the last minute as 2021 came to an end — and consensus is building around China again being the reason for weakness. China "last hammer" could now provide optimism on BTC Hours before the yearly close, BTC/USD dived $2,000 to lows of $45,630 on Bitstamp before a modest recovery drew a line under 2021 at $47,200, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows. While something of an anticlimax and far below many popular projections, the lack of parabolic upside for Bitcoin has recently seen explanations shift to exchanges. Chinese users, following years of …

Shanghai, China's most crowded city, is looking for ways to use metaverse in public services over the next five years. Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology's five-year development plan for the electronic information industry listed four frontiers for exploration, and one of them is metaverse. According to a CNBC report, the paper called for promoting the metaverse's use in public services, business offices, social leisure, industrial manufacturing, production safety, and electronic games. The commission plans to encourage further study and development of underlying technologies, such as sensors, real-time interactions and blockchain technology. China's interest in new technology has …

Retail cryptocurrency mining in Thailand has apparently received a boost due to the capitulation of Chinese miners triggered by the country’s new crypto mega ban enforced in September. Thai entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency businesses have been increasingly capitalizing on Chinese miners getting rid of their crypto mining machines, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday. “The moment China banned crypto, we were ecstatic,” one Thai-based Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiast and turned miner said. The miner, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed to have set up a small solar-powered crypto mining unit for about $30,000. “I made it all back in three months,” he said. Another …

It is that time of the year: Singular events must be abandoned in favor of end-of-year, big-picture narratives and yearly lessons learned. As many governments across the globe finally had to face the rapidly mainstreaming realm of digital finance, the year is packed with developments in crypto policy and regulation that are impossible to fit into a neat little summary. However, it is possible to try and distill several major trends that have come to the fore during the past 12 months, and that will keep shaping the relationship among societies, state power and the crypto space as we roll …

The Chinese internet giant Baidu doesn’t expect to fully launch its XiRang metaverse app soon despite the app’s initial would debut on Monday, according to a senior executive. Baidu vice president Ma Jie believes that it is still “negative six” years to full XiRang’s launch, CNBC reported on Thursday. He noted that the development of the app started in December 2020. Ma spoke of “Create 2021,” Baidu’s upcoming annual developers’ event, which the company promotes as the first Chinese conference to be hosted in a metaverse space through XiRang. The app will reportedly handle up to 100,000 virtual members interacting …

In an announcement made on Wednesday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency will issue its first series of NFT collectibles. The move is a thumbs up to blockchain technology previously shunned by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In an official notice, Xinhua plans to publish 10,000 copies of 11 photos taken by journalists in 2021. The stride into NFTs is puzzling in light of recent events in the world’s second-largest economy. Following a nationwide crypto crackdown where Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) mining was banned, China recently aimed NFTs in the Metaverse and proposed that they should be heavily monitored. …

Despite the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) warning on metaverse and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in November, more than a thousand Chinese companies have submitted thousands of metaverse-related trademark applications. In a summit back in November, Gou Wenjun, the PBOC’s AML and Analysis Center Director, warned about the dangers of digital assets. According to Gou, because virtual assets have no physical basis, they can be used for illegal financial activities. Gou cited activities such as “illegal fundraising, pyramid schemes, and fraud.” However, ignoring the PBOC’s warnings, Chinese companies rushed to register metaverse-related trademarks such as “metaverse satellite” and “metaverse exhibition.” According …

The cryptocurrency and blockchain industry experienced explosive growth in 2021, particularly in its decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) sectors. The year was also marked by continued price volatility, baffling behavior from China, a grand experiment in Central America, escalating institutional interest, and the rise of some faster smart-contract networks — all of which is reflected in this year’s list of industry “winners and losers.” Winners in 2021 Kazakhstan When China effectively banned Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations in May 2021, Kazakhstan rushed in to fill the vacuum, pitching displaced miners and others on its cheap and plentiful coal supply. …

A district court in Beijing has rejected monetary compensation in a Bitcoin (BTC) mining contract plea against a blockchain company. The Chaoyang District People’s Court on Wednesday deemed the Bitcoin mining contract between the plaintiff and the blockchain firm “invalid,” the South China Morning Post reported on Dec. 16. The plaintiff in the case reportedly paid 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) to the blockchain firm for deployment of mining machines, but incurred losses on his investment. The Beiijng based plaintiff claimed he earned only 18.5 Bitcoin on his investment and demanded an additional 217.17 BTC in compensation for his losses. …