As the headlines pile up about Bitcoin’s calamitous environmental impact, one group of investors and supporters have stepped up to the plate to defend the world’s largest digital asset with the help of a crowdfunded, FUD-fighting documentary film. First announced by investor, podcast host, and Bitcoin fanatic Brad Mills on Twitter, the goal of the film is to act as a “definitive” argument for “why Bitcoin will transition the world to renewable energy faster than governments.” I found the filmmaker (@jamie_jk) to make the definitive short film on why Bitcoin will transition the world to renewable energy faster than governments. …

Kazakhstan’s government is forming a roadmap to stimulate the development of the cryptocurrency industry and blockchain technology in the country. State authorities have reviewed proposals to address the crypto industry’s development and reconsider the state’s approach to regulating crypto operations, according to a Tuesday announcement on the website of the prime minister of Kazakhstan. Officials have proposed to run crypto exchanges via a major national financial hub, the Astana International Financial Centre. The government also suggested establishing standards, by which crypto exchanges can interact with local banks and clients. The new initiative aims to provide transparency and organization for the …

Crypto mining firm HIVE Blockchain Technologies sold one of its data centers in the Norwegian municipality of Narvik, which it previously held since 2018. In an announcement on Monday, HIVE said it had transferred all shares of the firm’s local subsidiary Kolos Norway AS to Narvik, in addition to a $200,000 payment. The move came after the Norwegian Parliament approved a bill in December 2018 that would not provide relief to crypto miners on power consumption. The mining firm said it was “no longer probable that [HIVE] will be able to meet the development conditions” given the legislation, which has …

Ninepoint Partners LP, one of Canada’s Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund issuers, has announced plans to offset the carbon footprint of its BTC ETF product. According to a release issued on Monday, Ninepoint has inked a partnership with carbon offsetting service provider CarbonX. As part of the partnership, Ninepoint will dedicate an undisclosed portion of its management fees to purchase carbon credits to neutralize the environmental impact of the Bitcoin mining process of the BTC held in its fund. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Ninepoint announced plans to convert its Bitcoin trust to an ETF back in March, with the fund’s …

In a broader effort to circumvent the effects of sanctions, Iran may be attempting one of the first instances of digital currency protectionism. According to a Tweet from news outlet Iran International, The Central Bank of Iran announced a decision from the Cabinet on Wednesday decreeing that digital currencies traded in the country must have been mined, or “extracted” there as well, barring the exchange of digital assets mined abroad. While many observers have pointed out that enforcement would be nearly impossible, blockchain lawyer and advisor Fatemeh Fannizadeh noted that the ban may be aimed primarily at banks and forex …

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. Will DOGEmania ever stop? Dogecoin has officially flipped Bitcoin in a few categories here in China, with DOGE trading volume on leading Chinese exchange Huobi surpassing that of leading assets ETH and BTC. On May 6th, according to CoinGecko, DOGE volume made up more than 15% of total exchange volume, whereas BTC and ETH were around 8% each. Searches for ‘Dogecoin’ on WeChat surpassed searches for Bitcoin, with …

Crypto investors involved in cryptocurrency mining may enjoy a significant tax break when the country’s digital currency tax regime commences in 2022. According to a report by Pulse News, South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday announced additional details of the country’s impending crypto tax law, which included a provision for crypto miners to report operating expenses as tax deductibles. These expenses cover electricity bills, with miners needing to prove how much electricity they utilize in their operations. While South Korea is not a major crypto mining hub, there have been reports of a significant uptick in cryptocurrency …

A high-frequency trading company has launched liquidity mining for holders of its native token. The new service is hosted on Uniswap, meaning users can still take advantage of the familiar, simple interface that this decentralized exchange provides. Black Ocean’s CEO, Andrei Grachev, says this feature gives users a chance to provide liquidity to decentralized markets — unlocking a wealth of new opportunities. Co-founder Vladimir Demin added: “Liquidity mining for FLy is a very important step on the development roadmap. As the FLy ecosystem is growing, we wish to give more benefits for early contributors. We also believe that taking a …

Bitcoin (BTC) miners collected $60 million on a thirty-day average time frame as of May 5, showing the first signs of recovery after last month's severe revenue drop that followed mass miner outages in China's energy-rich provinces. In April, coal mining accidents and subsequent inspections in Xinjiang lacerated energy supply to the regional cryptocurrency mining industry. That forced miners to turn off their ASIC hardware, which exclusively generates computing power to secure and put the "work" into Bitcoin's proof-of-work. According to data from Blockchain.com, Bitcoin mining revenue fell from its 30-day average peak of $60 million — recorded on April …

Crypto miners in New York may be subject to a forced three-year hiatus if the latest environmentally-focused bill passes in the state senate. The New York Senate Bill 6486 was proposed by Democrat senator Kevin S. Parker, the Chairman of Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, and co-sponsored by fellow Democrat senator Rachel May, the Chair of Committee on Aging, Chair of Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. The bill is yet to receive widespread backing from other senators, however the Democrats do control the lower house and senate. The bill seeks to “establish a moratorium on the operation of cryptocurrency mining …

The road to the Taproot upgrade finally coming in 2021 is already underway, with major Bitcoin (BTC) mining pools already signaling support. According to data from Taproot.watch, a webpage created by Bitcoin developer Hampus Sjöberg, Taproot signaling now accounts for about 44% of the total Bitcoin hashing power as of the time of writing. AntPool and F2Pool — the two largest Bitcoin mining pools by hash rate — are among the earliest supporters of the Taproot activation in the mining arena. Other pools in support are Foundry USA and Slush Pool, with the latter responsible for mining the first signaling …

One of the largest crypto mining firms in North America said that it has acquired an additional 8,000 rigs and has begun mining other cryptocurrencies. In an announcement from Blockcap on Monday, the mining firm said it planned to have more than 50,000 mining rigs online by the end of 2022. Blockcap now controls more than 12,000 mining rigs, generating more than 6.6 Bitcoin (BTC) daily — roughly $380,000 at the time of publication. The firm added that it was accelerating its move to mine other cryptocurrencies including Ether (ETH). According to the firm, the addition of the ETH mining …