Bitcoin’s total estimated annual electricity consumption has plummeted nearly 60%, falling from the all-time peak above 143 terawatt-hours (TWh) in May to as low as 62 TWh in early July, according to data from Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI). This is the lowest energy consumption rate recorded since early November 2020. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s annualized electricity consumption is estimated at 67 TWh, while the upper bound consumption, or the absolute maximum total electricity expenditure based on the worst case assumption, stands at 162 TWh, down from 520 TWh in mid-May. The lower bound estimate, which corresponds …

Iran’s challenge with the ever-increasing electricity consumption has reached new heights, leading the country to halt electricity exports. Abuzer Salihi, general manager of Iran’s electricity distribution company Tevanir, announced on state television that it has reduced electricity exports to zero “so that there is no problem in electricity supply in the country.” He said that the electricity supply to Afghanistan’s Herat province, which imported 70% of its electricity from Iran, completely stopped in order to meet domestic needs. According to the numbers shared by Tevanir, the daily electricity demand reached over 65,000 megawatts, while production is around 54,000 megawatts. Aside …

Bitcoin (BTC) miner revenue jumped after the network saw its biggest-ever difficulty drop, data shows. According to figures from monitoring resource Blockchain.com, daily revenues have surged by over 50%. “Interesting dynamic” hits Bitcoin mining Bitcoin mining is currently in a unique state of flux — around half of the hashing power is offline as miners relocate from China, and it remains unknown how quickly they will be able to come back online. At the same time, those miners unaffected by the Chinese rout have seen half their competitors disappear overnight, and profitability has gone up as a result. With data …

Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran under Hassan Rouhani, has called on all legally operating crypto miners in the country to stop producing coins. According to a Wednesday report from the Tasnim News Agency, Jahangiri said at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Energy that the electricity restrictions for Iranians were likely to continue until early August, purportedly in line with Rouhani’s previously announced prohibition on crypto mining. The president said in May that crypto mining would be banned in the country until September in an attempt to conserve power during the summer months. “We will …

Financial regulators in China have shut down a Beijing-based software company they suspect of providing services to crypto traders. In a Tuesday joint statement, the Beijing Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau and the Business Administration Department of the People's Bank of China issued a warning to all financial institutions and payment service providers to not provide any crypto-related services to customers. This includes not permitting businesses to advertise or provide office space for any “virtual currency-related business activities.” As part of a regulatory crackdown, the two groups announced they had ordered the shutdown of Beijing Tongdao Cultural Development, a company …

China’s crackdown on Bitcoin (BTC) mining continues to face determined responses across the crypto ecosystem. One of the first BTC exchange operators and co-founder of Zap Protocol, Nick Spanos, said that the crackdown only proves Bitcoin is an unstoppable machine “if the world’s second-biggest economy can’t crush, devalue and manipulate Bitcoin.” Noting that the crackdown is increasing scarcity due to there being fewer miners relative to the transaction volume, Spanos underscored the increase in miners’ profits while the mining difficulty continues to decrease. He explained: “Bitcoin’s algorithm adjusts roughly every two weeks to allow one block of transactions to be …

Argo Blockchain, a publicly traded blockchain technology company focused on cryptocurrency mining, is looking at a potential secondary listing on the Nasdaq exchange. On Tuesday, the company announced that it is now exploring the possibility of a secondary listing on the Nasdaq as part of its operational and strategic update for June 2021. Argo Blockchain said that the firm has not yet reached a decision on the timing of the secondary listing, noting that “There is no guarantee that the listing will be finalized,” and, “Any proposed listing is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no …

New York locals are accusing Greenidge Generation’s gas-fired Bitcoin mining plant of heating Seneca Lake in upstate New York. On a daily basis, the Greenidge plant is permitted to withdraw 139 million gallons of water from the lake and discharge 134 million gallons of water. The plant is also allowed to discharge water with a temperature of up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in the winter, and up to 86F in the summer. The residents of Dresden have expressed concern over the rising temperatures of the lake. The sustainability of trout species that populate the lake is a key concern …

China’s regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies continues to alienate major miners. Dubai-based investment company IBC Group reportedly plans to end Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) mining operations in China following ban announcements from the different provinces across the country. The group has major mining operations in China and plans to distribute its operations to the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United States, Kazakhstan, Iceland and various South American countries, according to sources. IBC Group recently relocated its headquarters to Toronto, Canada. Commenting on the crackdown on crypto with a focus on mining activities, IBC Group chairman and iMining CEO Khurram Shroff …

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in familiar territory after a weekend of solid gains ended in a drawdown — what’s in store? With another rally to near $36,000 under its belt, the largest cryptocurrency is showing signs of strength, but old resistance levels remain in place. The conditions are complex — the ongoing miner migration and associated price action have alarmed many, and Bitcoin’s most accurate forecasting tools are seeing a real test. With fundamentals finally showing signs of life, however, bulls may finally have something to celebrate. Cointelegraph considers five factors at play when it comes to BTC/USD …

Bitcoin (BTC) has recorded its biggest mining difficulty drop of nearly 28% on July 3, but one model suggests that the BTC price will not bottom until October. In a series of tweets on July 2, investment manager Timothy Peterson flagged the relationship between Bitcoin price and hash rate as arguable evidence that the dip is not over. Hash rate model: Long road ahead to Bitcoin bottom Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped by an estimated 27.94% on Saturday at block height 689,472, the biggest in its history. As Cointelegraph previously explained, the drop is in response to the ongoing miner migration …

Bitcoin mining company Greenidge Generation announced it would be starting operations in South Carolina as early as this year. In a Friday announcement, Greenidge said it would be operating in a carbon neutral crypto mining facility in the city of Spartanburg. The company said it had signed a letter of intent for a 10-year lease with printing firm LSC Communications’ location on the outskirts of the South Carolina city, where it plans to start mining crypto “in late 2021 or early 2022.” According to Greenidge, the location has been capable of drawing 80 megawatts (MW) of power, two thirds of …