Mining news-Page 29
Monero community concerned as leading mining pool nears 51% of ecosystem's total hash rate
On Tuesday privacy coin Monero (XMR) mining pool MineXMR's hash rate surpassed over 1.4 GH/s, accounting for 44% of the hash rate of the XMR network. MineXMR has about 13,000 miners and charges a 1% pool fee. According to a screenshot from Archive.org, last August, the pool only contributed to 34% of the hash rate of the XMR network. The rapid rise in hash rate network has spooked some XMR enthusiasts, with Reddit user u/vscmm writing: "We need to talk with MineXMR to take some action right now! Please send an email for [email protected] to MineXMR admins to take action; …
Technology / Feb. 15, 2022
Russian Ministry wants to legalize Bitcoin mining in specific areas
Amid the Russian government continuing working hard to come up with cryptocurrency regulations, a federal ministry has made another proposal regarding the crypto mining industry. Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has greenlighted the concept of crypto mining regulation in the country, proposing to allow mining operations in areas with “sustainable surplus in electricity generation,” local news agency Izvestia reported Tuesday. As part of the proposal, the ministry suggested introducing lower fees for setting up mining farms and data centers in specific Russia’s areas as well as offering reduced energy rates for such facilities. The ministry also wants to establish a …
Bitcoin / Feb. 15, 2022
4 factors to consider when choosing an industrial-scale Bitcoin mining location
Large-scale miners are the dominant players in Bitcoin (BTC) mining — we should know because we are one. Having scaled up from a set of mining rigs in my dorm room, our team at Genesis Digital Assets has grown to over twenty industrial-scale mining farms across the globe in just eight years. Every quarter, we continue to scale and build more. You may think that because mining happens digitally, you can plant a farm anywhere in the world. And while you can mine Bitcoin from anywhere, having on-the-ground operations takes more thought than just setting up shop wherever you like. …
Blockchain / Feb. 13, 2022
Bitcoin network hash rate explodes to a new all-time high of 248.11 EH/s
The Bitcoin (BTC) network has recorded a new hash rate all-time high of 248.11M TH/s as of Feb. 12, 2022, further securing the decentralized ecosystem through a growing network of global BTC miners. The hash rate correlates to the computing power required by a miner’s computer equipment to confirm a transaction. The recent spike in BTC’s network hash rate ensures further security against attacks by deterring bad actors from confirming fraudulent transactions. As evidenced by the above screenshot, the network hash rate jumped 31.69% — from 188.40 EH/s to 248.11 EH/s — in just one day. Moreover, the Bitcoin network’s …
Adoption / Feb. 13, 2022
What is the Ethereum Arrow Glacier upgrade?
What should you mine after ETH goes PoS? After Ethereum switches to the PoS consensus method, mining will be split into smaller, less well-known coins. Just a few examples include Ravencoin and Ethereum Classic. Neither of the coins mentioned above is well-known or widely used in the Ethereum blockchain, but it makes no difference. What is important is that, like Ethereum, their tokens can be mined using graphics processing units-based mining equipment. Additionally, miners frequently migrate from one coin to another based on the economics of mining; for this, they need to gauge various coins every day and mine profitable …
Blockchain / Feb. 11, 2022
Intel to enter crypto space with blockchain accelerator shipping later this year
On Friday, Raja M. Koduri, senior VP of accelerated computing systems and graphics group at Intel, declared their intent to contribute to the development of blockchain technologies. This begins with introducing energy-efficient crypto mining accelerators to be released this year. Previously, Intel had announced it would unveil the next generation of Application-Specific Integrated Circuit mining machines at the next International Solid-State Circuits Conference later this month. The company would also form a new International Solid-State Circuits Conference within Koduri's division. It would be responsible for building custom silicon platforms for optimizing blockchain mining performance and for the design of supercomputers …
Adoption / Feb. 11, 2022
The world's first and oldest Bitcoin mining pool has mined nearly 1.3 million BTC since inception
All things have their humble beginnings; in 2010, the first Bitcoin (BTC) mining project was created in Prague, Czechia, and was simply called Bitcoin.cz. Soon afterward, founder Mark "Slush" Palatinus decided to move on to other ventures, such as creating the world's first cryptocurrency hard wallet, Trezor. As a result, Braiins, a company doing embedded Linux development and research, took over the mining pool and renamed it accordingly. Fast forward to today, Braiins (Slush Pool) has grown to become one of the biggest Bitcoin mining pools. There are now over 15,000 users in the space, with its total hash rate …
Technology / Feb. 11, 2022
Bitmain signs 500MW joint venture with sustainable BTC miner Merkle Standard
Beijing-based Bitmain has partnered with a United States-based sustainable Bitcoin miner, Merkle Standard, contributing capital investment, expertise and parts. As part of the joint venture, Bitmain will contribute to the development of up to 500 MW of clean digital mining infrastructure at Merkle Standard's hydro-powered facilities in Eastern Washington. Bitmain is a household name in the Bitcoin ecosystem, famed for the Antminer brand, the name behind popular Bitcoin ASIC miners the S9 and S19. Merkle Standard claims to be a carbon-conscious BTC miner, keen to become net carbon negative by year-end. Merkle Standard will install up to 150,000 Bitmain mining …
Adoption / Feb. 11, 2022
Sustainable Bitcoin miner uses waste heat to dry wood
Norway is a bastion for renewable energy management in Europe. As much as 99% of Norway’s energy derives from hydropower while the grid often enjoys a green energy surplus. But for Norway’s largest data center and Bitcoin (BTC) miner, Kryptovault, using regenerative hydropower to attempt to solve valid Bitcoin blocks was not enough. At the Hønefoss Bitcoin mining operation, which employees have aptly named “the Cathedral” due to its vast and cavernous expanse, the hot air generated by Bitcoin mining rigs is recycled and used to dry out chopped logs. Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO of Kryptovault, told Cointelegraph that Norway …
Adoption / Feb. 11, 2022
Living on a volcano: The outlook of El Salvador’s crypto mining industry
El Salvador, the first nation to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, has recently announced the relaunch of its wallet app Chivo, which is supposed to patch the previous version’s stability and scalability issues. The update is welcomed news for the Central American country’s crypto experiment, which faced some hurdles and harsh criticism over the last few months. While much of the observers’ attention has been focused on aspects such as retail adoption of crypto and geopolitical implications of Bitcoin’s legal status in El Salvador, the progress of the nation’s mining industry toward achieving President Bukele’s moonshot vision has been …
Bitcoin / Feb. 10, 2022
No precedent: IRS court settlement doesn't clarify crypto staking taxes
In May 2021, a Nashville couple known as the Jarretts filed a lawsuit against the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over taxes they had paid on unclaimed and unsold Tezos (XTZ) staking rewards. At the beginning of February, news broke that the lawsuit filed by the Jarretts had come to an end, resulting in the IRS issuing the couple a tax refund for $3,793. Confusion among crypto holders Not long after this news made headlines, confusion among the crypto community piqued. One crypto media publication sent a tweet from its official account on Feb. 2, 2022, saying, “BREAKING: IRS …
Bitcoin / Feb. 8, 2022
Google Cloud to detect crypto-mining malware on virtual machines
It’s a shot in the arm for Google Cloud users at risk of cryptocurrency mining attacks. The Google Cybersecurity Action Team (GCAT) has created a threat detection service to shield “poorly configured” accounts that attackers use to mine cryptocurrency. In a blog post, Google Cloud announced the Virtual Machine Threat Detection (VMTD) release in its Security Command Center (SCC) area. A means of scanning compute engines in Google Cloud, the VMTD successfully detects threats, including crypto-mining malware used inside virtual machines. Crypto-mining malware attacks, sometimes called “cryptojacking,” are an ongoing nuisance in the industry. While browser-based cryptojacking activity spiked in …
Blockchain / Feb. 7, 2022