Tag: Mining

Bitcoin History Part 13: The First Mining Pool

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The notion that anyone could solo mine bitcoin – on a CPU no less – seems positively quaint today. But in 2010, this method wasn’t just possible – it was the norm. With an exponentially lower hashrate, less competition and a 50 bitcoin block reward, there was enough pie for everyone to get a bite. But some miners didn’t just want a bite – they wanted a whole slice, and to achieve that, they decided to join forces and pool their hashpower. And thus “cooperative mining” was born. Also read:…

Australian Advisory Firm to Launch $250 Mln Digital Securities Offering for Mining Sector

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Major Australian capital advisory firm PCF Capital Group has chosen permissioned blockchain ecosystem KoreConX for a $250 million digital securities offering. The news was revealed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 14. PCF Capital is a corporate advisory firm with a focus on serving clients within the mining and resource sector, and has executed 120 mine divestment and project financing mandates for over $2 billion, according to the press release. KoreConX is reportedly a permissioned blockchain ecosystem for fully-compliant digital securities. It comprises a network of broker-dealers,…

Bitcoin Mining Hashrate Is Becoming More Distributed Among Pools

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The bitcoin (BTC) mining hashrate is becoming more distributed among mining pools, according to a report published by cryptocurrency research firm Diar on May 13. Per the report, smaller mining pools have made significant gains this year as unknown miners either drop off or change pools. Percentage of bitcoin blocks mined per mining pool. Source: Diar Unknown bitcoin miners had reportedly gone from solving 6% of the blocks at the start of last year to 22% by the end of 2018. However, the report claims that this trend has now…

Crypto Mining App Honeyminer Now Available on MacOS

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New Jersey-based cryptocurrency mining startup Honeyminer has made its mining app available on the Apple Macintosh operating system, the firm announced in a blog post on May 9. The Honeyminer app runs in the background, using the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) of users’ computers for mining bitcoin (BTC). The startup claims to include app features such as mining while users’ computer is idle, an activity log with current mining statistics, currencies, and hardware utilized, and withdrawals, among others. While Honeyminer is expanding its offerings, other…

Crypto Mining Firm Argo Blockchain Expects Cash Breakeven in May With New Miners

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Cryptocurrency mining firm Argo Blockchain expects a breakeven following an investment in new mining equipment, according to a press release published on the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) site on May 8. London-based Argo said that it expects a cash breakeven in May, and outlined its intention to continue to expand its mining infrastructure as hardware prices become cheaper. The company expects that 1,000 units of Bitmain Z11 miners that came into production on May 2 will improve gross margin during the second quarter. Argo further reveals that it has settled…

Cybercriminals Sneak in Crypto Mining Malware via Confluence Software Exploit

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Cybercriminals are now reportedly exploiting known vulnerability CVE-2019-3396 in the software Confluence, a workspace productivity tool made by Atlassian, according to a report by security intelligence firm Trend Micro Inc. on May 7. The exploit that has been developed allows cybercriminals to stealthily install and run a monero (XMR) miner on a vulnerable computer, as well as covering up the mining activity by using a rootkit to hide the malware’s network activity and toll on the host’s central processing unit (CPU). According to an Atlassian security advisory, the vulnerability in…

‘One-Stop Shop’ for Crypto Mining and Trading to Launch Spot Market May 23

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Cryptocurrency exchange and mining startup Bcause LLC is a few weeks away from launching its spot market. The Chicago-based company has tentatively set May 23 as the go-live date for bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, and litecoin, co-founder and chief marketing officer Thomas Flake told CoinDesk. In anticipation of the launch, it has obtained money transmitter licenses in eight states, with 20 more applications pending, Flake said. Among the first states where Bcause will be available are Illinois, Virginia, Washington and Texas. Bcause has also applied for New York’s BitLicense, but the…

Winklevoss Capital Invests in Firm Using Natural Gas to Fuel Crypto Mining Data Centers

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The Winklevoss twins’ family office, Winklevoss Capital, has participated in a $4.5 million seed financing round for flare mitigation provider Crusoe Energy Systems Inc. to advance its construction of data centers that can mine cryptocurrencies. The news was reported by Bloomberg on May 3. Flare mitigation — as a Crusoe press release accompanying the seed financing round outlines — aims to reduce the environmentally noxious impact of flaring (burning off) surplus natural gas, which is in some cases used to tackle the difficulties of transporting excess gas supplies. While flaring…

Is Quebec’s Big Picture to Become the Biggest Bitcoin Mining Market?

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Canada’s Quebec province is tapping the bitcoin mining market to improve its annual economic projections. The region’s energy regulator, the Régie de l’énergie (LRQ), ordered public utility Hydro-Québec to allocate a 300-megawatt block of electricity to the blockchain industry. The move increased the total power supply granted for mining cryptocurrencies from 368 megawatts to 668 megawatts without touching the underlying costs. LRQ said it had excess electricity to spare for the mining industry operations, which would ensure lower tariffs. “The creation of a reserved block and the requirement to curtail…

Is Quebec’s Big Picture to Become the Biggest Bitcoin Mining Market?

boss

Canada’s Quebec province is tapping the bitcoin mining market to improve its annual economic projections. The region’s energy regulator, the Régie de l’énergie (LRQ), ordered public utility Hydro-Québec to allocate a 300-megawatt block of electricity to the blockchain industry. The move increased the total power supply granted for mining cryptocurrencies from 368 megawatts to 668 megawatts without touching the underlying costs. LRQ said it had excess electricity to spare for the mining industry operations, which would ensure lower tariffs. “The creation of a reserved block and the requirement to curtail…