Surging Bitcoin (BTC) network hash rates are causing problems for mining companies but might be rolling out the red carpet for energy giants. The Bitcoin hash rate, the amount of computing power given to the blockchain through mining, has reached another record peak. According to Blockchain.com, the metric hit an all-time high of 267 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Nov. 1 after increasing almost 60% since the beginning of the year. Commenting on the new peak, Capriole Fund founder Charles Edwards speculated that highly efficient government and oil company enterprises were entering the mining game at scale. New Bitcoin hash …

The electricity mix of Bitcoin (BTC) has drastically changed over the past few years, with nuclear energy and natural gas becoming the fastest growing energy sources powering Bitcoin mining, according to new data. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) on Tuesday released a major update to its Bitcoin mining-dedicated data source, the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI). According to the data from Cambridge, fossil fuels like coal and natural gas made up almost two-thirds of Bitcoin’s total electricity mix as of January 2022, accounting for more than 62%. As such, the share of sustainable energy sources in the …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) and Ether’s (ETH) agonizing 60% and 66% respective drop in price is drawing a lot of criticism from crypto critics and perhaps this is deserved, but there are also plenty of stocks with similar, if not worse performances. The sharp volatility witnessed in crypto prices is partially driven by major centralized yield and lending platforms becoming insolvent, Three Arrows Capital’s bankruptcy and a handful of exchanges and mining pools facing liquidity issues. For cryptocurrencies, 2022 has definitely not been a good year, and even Tesla sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings in Q2 at a loss. The quasi-trillion …

Bitcoin (BTC) crashed below $19,000 on Sept. 6, driving the price to its lowest level in 80 days. The movement not only completely erased the entirety of the 32% gains accrued from July until Aug. 15, it also wiped out $246 million worth of leverage long (buy) futures contracts. Bitcoin price is down for the year but it’s important to also compare its price action against other assets. Oil prices are currently down 23.5% since July, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has dropped 36.4% in 30 days and Moderna (MRNA), a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, is down 30.4% in the same period. …

Bitcoin (BTC) provided a long awaited breakout into Sept. 7 as BTC price action dashed bulls’ hopes of a recovery. $23,000 relief bounce "still likely" says trader Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView captured snap losses for BTC/USD later on Sept. 6, with overnight lows coming in at $18,540 on Bitstamp. The pair put in its lowest levels since June 30, taking liquidity from the July floor and only marginally recovering on the day. Downside price action followed almost a week of sideways movements and volatility was nowhere to be seen as market participants gritted their teeth hoping for …

August marks the ninth consecutive month of rising inflation for the Eurozone at 9.1%. In July, the official inflation numbers landed at 8.9%. The Eurozone consists of 19 countries, including Germany, France and Belgium. This comes as the European Union (EU) faces a massive energy and gas crisis, largely as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Current prices for daily necessities such as food, gas and electricity have soared across the continent. Over the last month energy prices made up the largest price push, up by an annual rate of 38.3%. While food, alcohol, and tobacco all rose …

Bitcoin is likely to transition from a risk-on to a risk-off asset in the second half of 2022, as the macroeconomic environment is rapidly shifting towards a recession, said Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg, in a recent interview with Cointelegraph. McGlone predicted: “ I see it transitioning to be more of a risk-off asset like bonds and gold, then less of a risk-on asset like the stock market.” According to the analyst, the crypto market has flushed out most of the speculative excesses that marked 2021 and it is now ripe for a fresh rally. McGlone also pointed …

Canadian oil and gas company Bengal Energy, is dipping its toes into Bitcoin (BTC) mining as a way of utilizing the untapped energy from its gas wells in the far reaches of the Australian outback. According to a report from The Australian, Bengal Energy is set to conduct a pilot program where roughly 70 Bitcoin mining rigs will be set up inside a portable building — known in the local mining industry as a “donga” — which will be assembled near a series of previously out-of-operation gas wells in the Cooper Basin. According to Bengal Energy’s chief operating officer, Kai …

United States-based energy producer Exxon Mobil has reportedly been running a pilot program aimed at using the energy from excess gas to power crypto mining rigs — and it may be expanding its operations to four other countries. In a Thursday report, Bloomberg said Exxon Mobil had inked a deal with Crusoe Energy to use excess gas from oil wells in North Dakota to run Bitcoin (BTC) miners. The project reportedly uses 18 million cubic feet of natural gas per month — roughly 0.4% of the oil giant’s reported operations in the state, producing 158 million cubic feet of natural …

The energy usage and environmental impact of Bitcoin (BTC) mining have been frowned upon and been under the scanner by various international financial institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mentions how Bitcoin mining consumes “vast amounts of computing power and electricity.” Bitcoin mining is an energy-consuming process, as it is a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network that involves providing cryptographic proof to the network that a quantified amount of a specific computational effort has been used. The information used to verify this is stored in a block to be accepted into the network by other participants. Elon Musk, one of the …

Bitcoin (BTC) erased then recovered its daily gains later on March 8 as United States President Joe Biden announced a complete ban on Russian oil imports. BTC comes full circle while gold steals the show Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it targeted $38,000 an hour after Tuesday's Wall Street open. Having hit $39,240, the pair swiftly changed trajectory as Biden confirmed the plans, which added to oil's already strong gains and further pressured stocks and risk assets. "Today I'm announcing that the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy," he said at …

Global crypto and stock markets plunged after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on a national broadcast that his army would conduct a “special military operation” in Ukraine. As the sun began to rise in Ukraine, the Russian army launched missiles around several areas of the country, including the capital of Kiev and the city of Kharkiv. The Bitcoin (BTC) price has dropped 7.26% to $35,000 today according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro. Ethereum (ETH) dropped 9.48% and Ripple (XRP) dropped 9.24% today. The overall crypto market cap has dropped 8.25% to $1.58 trillion. Volatility is spiking on other major global financial …