Toronto-based crypto mining firm Hut 8 said it plans to increase its self-mined Bitcoin holdings based on its expectation it will be able to expand its hashrate by 400%. According to a Monday announcement, Hut 8 said it expects to hold 5,000 self-mined Bitcoin (BTC) — roughly $172 million — by the end of 2021, a more than 31% increase over its current 3,806 BTC. The company said the anticipated crypto holdings were based on it being able to increase its hashrate to “2.5 – 3.0 EH by the end of 2021 and to approximately 6 EH by mid-2022” — …

Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade issued operating licenses for 30 crypto mining centers in the country, the country's Financial Tribue reported last Wednesday. Citing data from the ministry’s website, the report says that Iran’s Semnan Province received the most licenses, with six crypto mining farms now authorized to operate in the region. Alborz Province secured four such licenses, followed by Mazandaran, East Azarbaijan and Zanjan Provinces. Tehran Province, which houses the country’s capital, reportedly received only one license to operate a crypto mining center. The ministry also issued 2,579 establishment permits for new industrial crypto mining units across …

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week with a key weekly close under its belt and everything to play for — can it hold higher? After the weekend saw moderate volatility, including a retest of $30,000 support, BTC/USD is back above $35,000. Despite the negative press, FUD and miner shake-up from China, the latest BTC price action shows that the largest cryptocurrency still has energy left to fight. Nonetheless, the risk of a further downturn remains, and by no means is everyone convinced that the market has truly bottomed. Cointelegraph considers five factors at play when determining where Bitcoin is headed …

China’s crackdown on Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations has led to a significant drop in the network’s hash rate, but industry participants believe it presents an incredible opportunity for the wider mining ecosystem. China has long been a major contributor to the Bitcoin mining space, at times accounting for more than 70% of the global hash rate of the world’s preeminent cryptocurrency. That was up until June 2021, when the Chinese government moved to shutter a number of the world’s biggest mining centers. The Chinese southwestern province of Sichuan has an abundance of hydroelectric power, which is fed by Asia’s largest …

Digital currencies are quickly becoming more mainstream within the Canadian financial landscape. Alongside this increased adoption, Canada has been relatively successful at creating a stable regulatory environment. In 2014, Canada established itself as a leader in the global digital asset space when the Canadian Parliament became the first government in the world to pass a national law on digital currencies. Since then, Canadian regulators have remained fairly proactive in their approach toward cryptocurrency, taking a cautious-yet-optimistic stance in an attempt to promote innovation while still protecting investor interests. Regulatory support for digital asset innovation Especially in comparison to other international …

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. So low you've got to reach up to touch the bottom This week in China felt like one giant mining-farm sized pile of FUD. This is usually a pretty good indication that a bottom is close to being in, but one can never be too sure when it comes to downwards volatility in cryptocurrency. Canaan, one of the largest mining companies in China, announced it was setting up …

Bitmain, the cryptocurrency infrastructure company behind the Antminer brand, will temporarily halt the sale of mining machines to help secondary sellers offload their supplies following China’s wholesale ban on Bitcoin (BTC) mining. The suspension of new Antminer sales will begin immediately, Bitmain announced Thursday via WeChat. By suspending the sale of new mining devices, companies must resort to buying secondhand miners that previously belonged to Chinese mining rigs. The “second-hand market is under great pressure,” Bitmain said, according to a Google translation of the announcement. “In order to help the industry transition smoothly, [Antminer] decided to temporarily suspend the global …

Gemini, a major cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is responding to Bitcoin’s (BTC) environmental issue by purchasing carbon credits. On Thursday, the company announced its long-term initiative to incorporate climate-conscious measures into its business, launching a collaboration with Climate Vault, a nonprofit founded at the University of Chicago. Through the initiative, Gemini plans to purchase carbon credits for nearly 350,000 metric tons of carbon to offset non-renewable energy consumed by Bitcoin miners and help decarbonize Bitcoin on the Bitcoin network. According to the announcement, the partnership will have Gemini purchase carbon permits directly from government-related cap-and-trade markets …

Jax.Network is a sharded proof-of-work blockchain anchored to the Bitcoin network on which two coins are mined: JAX and JAXNET (JXN). JXN is mined on the Jax.Network beacon chain, whereas JAX is mined on its shard chains. JXN coin mining produces a fixed number of reward coins (20 coins per block), making it a speculative asset that reflects the value of the Jax.Network payments ecosystem. It is used to incentivize Bitcoin miners to merge mine Jax.Network and defend the beacon chain, to pay for gas fees for decentralized exchange agent listings and other transactions, and more broadly to serve as …

Chinese mining giant Bitmain is reportedly scrambling to respond to market conditions amid a major crackdown on crypto mining activity by local authorities. According to a Wednesday report by Chinese news agency Sina Finance, Bitmain has halted global spot sales for its new Bitcoin (BTC) mining devices in order to avoid losses by customers amid massive selling on the secondary market. By postponing the sales, Bitmain intends to help miners exiting the industry get better prices for mining equipment and protect the firm from further price declines over the longer term, Bloomberg reported. A Bitmain spokesperson said that the company …

Major Chinese cryptocurrency miner provider Canaan has posted an update on its crypto mining business in Kazakhstan amid an ongoing crackdown on Bitcoin (BTC) mining in China. Canaan announced Monday that the company has rolled out its own crypto mining business in Kazakhstan using its latest Avalon Miner units. The firm’s move to Kazakhstan comes as part of the company’s broader strategic plans in the country. Canaan previously opened its first overseas service center in Kazakhstan earlier this month to provide local customers with after-sales services like machine testing, warranty services, maintenance and technical consultations. Canaan chairman and CEO Nangeng …

China, once home to about 65% of the total Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash power, has given the boot to several miners in the country. The country’s Bitcoin mining ban means miners have been forced to shut down their operations with some establishments already moving hardware overseas. Tweeting on Wednesday, Kevin Zhang, vice president of crypto mining advisory outfit Foundry, said the mood among Chinese miners has grown sour, adding: “Sentiment is obviously quite dreary and the reality is setting in that it’s GG for mining in China. Some mining friends have stuck around Sichuan since the Bitmain conference to drink …