A new bill drafted by the Iranian Parliament Commission on Economy aims to restrict the use of cryptocurrencies within the country while providing a clearer legal framework for miners. According to a Friday report from the Tasnim News Agency, lawmakers drafted a bill titled “Support for cryptocurrency mining and organizing the domestic market for exchanges,” which the country’s parliament first announced on June 23. If passed, the legislation would make Iran’s central bank the regulatory authority for the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country. Under the bill, all cryptocurrencies could be prohibited within Iran for payments except for a "national" …

The global Bitcoin mining sector has reached a 56% sustainable power mix in Q2, according to estimates from a Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) report. “Bitcoin mining uses a negligible amount of energy, is rapidly becoming more efficient, and is powered by a higher mix of sustainable energy than any major country or industry,” a July 1 press release from the council stated. The estimate was based on a three question survey of just 32% of the miners on the network. It found respondents “are currently utilizing electricity with a 67% sustainable power mix” which it used as the basis for …

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations. Flags and celebrations were the order of the day as the Chinese Communist Party celebrated its 100th birthday on July 1. Many had pinpointed this event as part of the motivation behind the recent crypto crackdowns, as prominent holidays prompt leaders to clean up their jurisdictions so that societal issues don’t distract from the celebrations. A strong and uniform financial system is certainly one of the areas that …

Blockware announced Thursday that they have raised $25M in a second oversubscribed fundraising round. They plan to use the funds to expand their bitcoin mining operations in Kentucky, and will also install 8,000 more bitcoin mining rigs on its Paducah campus, where it recently purchased 5 acres of land. The company has already purchased the necessary rigs, and 6,000 more that it has slotted for resale operations to other miners. Funds from previous seed rounds paid for the purchase of all 14,000 rigs. “Currently, only an estimated 10% of the hash rate worldwide is generated in the U.S. By providing …

As Kazakhstan becomes increasingly popular for cryptocurrency mining, the country’s president has signed a new law introducing an extra levy for crypto miners. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently signed last a new law that imposes an additional tax fee for energy utilized by crypto miners operating in the country. The new fees will take effect starting in January 2022. According to local news agency Kursiv, the new law introduces an additional fee of 1 Kazakhstan tenge ($0.00233) per kilowatt-hour used by cryptocurrency miners. The additional tax levy is part of a series of legislative amendments to …

Reports alleged that cryptocurrency miners in China’s Yunnan province may be out of commission for a day if not longer due to the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary celebration this week. According to Kevin Zhang, the vice president of mining infrastructure company Foundry Services, all major Bitcoin (BTC) mining farms in Yunnan have been shut down as of today. Zhang said he personally knew of at least two crypto mining sites in the southwestern region that had received orders to cut power. The shutdowns are purportedly due to the impending Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, celebrations, which occur every year …

Over the years, Bitcoin has been able to overcome naysayers by frequently reinventing its narrative. Because Bitcoin (BTC) is multifaceted, it is able to quickly change to confront new criticism. We have seen this over the years. For example, Bitcoin used to be frequently assailed by the media for its volatility — many articles pushed the notion that Bitcoin was too volatile to ever succeed as a currency. We do not hear too much about Bitcoin’s volatility today, in part because observers have been accustomed to its frequent price swings, but mostly because “Bitcoiners” have coalesced around the notion of …

Bitcoin’s reliance on large-scale mining infrastructure and geographic concentration has been thrown into sharp relief by China’s recent mining crackdown. In May, China announced that it would be getting tough on crypto mining and trading as a response to financial risks. The nation’s crackdown on crypto is not new, rather it's a reiteration of previous standings on the risks of digital currency to economic stability, in response to recent price fluctuations. For the first time, cryptocurrency miners are being targeted to enforce the existing guidelines. Mining hardware still presents a potential risk, even if mining moves to other locations. This …

Galaxy Digital has issued a $20 million loan to United Kingdom-based crypto mining company Argo Blockchain for building a data center in West Texas. In a Tuesday announcement from Argo, the firm said it secured 14 million euros — roughly $19.4 million at the time of publication — in a six-month loan agreement from Galaxy Digital using a portion of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings as collateral. According to Argo, the proceeds of the loans, along with cash raised from previous funding rounds, would be used to expand its mining operations in Texas and meet current operating costs. “This agreement allows …

Small-scale hydroelectric plants in China are reportedly looking for new customers as crypto miners go abroad amid a nationwide crackdown on mining activity. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), advertisements for small-scale hydro plants with 50-megawatt capacity have surged on Chinese secondhand e-commerce platforms such as Xianyu. According to the SCMP, some sellers claimed that their listings were unrelated to the cryptocurrency mining industry, while others said that their bids came as a result of the recent crackdown on crypto mining. One seller reportedly said that small dams rely on crypto miners for a customer base because they …

Bitcoin (BTC) miners are “unlikely” to pressure BTC price by selling coins in the coming weeks, new data says. As part of its latest weekly report, “The Week On-chain,” analytics resource Glassnode sought to allay fears of another large miner sell-off. Difficulty drop a gift to remaining miners Amid the ongoing transfer of mining equipment — and, therefore, Bitcoin’s hash rate — out of China, fears have emerged over miners selling BTC to cover costs and liquidations. Given the magnitude of the geographical changes — the China rout marks the largest hash rate shake-up in history — miners could compound …

The cryptocurrency market found itself in a state of cautious optimism on Monday after Bitcoin’s (BTC) price briefly spiked above $35,500, renewing hopes that the bull trend will resume shortly. Despite the bullish move, some analysts have warned that the failure to secure a daily close above the $35,000 resistance level is a sign that traders are simply closing positions at each breakout to resistance — a hint that further downside could be in store. According to David Puell, on-chain analyst and creator of the Puell Multiple, the indicator has just given its fifth Bitcoin buy signal in history. $BTC: …