Crypto mining firms Hut 8 and US Bitcoin plan merger

Canada-based cryptocurrency mining company Hut 8 Mining has announced plans to merge with U.S. Bitcoin to form Hut 8 Corp, or “New Hut”. In a Feb. 7 announcement, Hut 8 said the boards of directors of the two firms had unanimously approved a definitive business combination agreement aimed at combining the mining firms in what will become a United States-based business. Once the deal is finalized, Hut 8 Mining and U.S. Bitcoin, or USBTC, will become subsidiaries of New Hut, with shareholders collectively owning 50% of the new merged firm.…

Russian Crypto Mining Expands as Others Capitulate – Blockchain News, Opinion, TV and Jobs

By Marcus Sotiriou, Market Analyst at the publicly listed digital asset broker GlobalBlock (TSXV:BLOK).  Bitcoin’s comeback has stalled at the $24,000 level, as it retraced last night to $22,700. Bitcoin just broke down from an up-trending line of support on the lower time frame (LTF), so we could see further downside in the short term. The next key level of support is $21,500. Russia’s capacity for crypto mining has increased significantly, according to a survey of leading operators. This survey claims that the total capacity of crypto farms in Russia has expanded to…

Russia Expands Its Crypto Mining Capacity, Report Reveals – Mining Bitcoin News

The total capacity of crypto mining facilities in Russia has been increasing in the past year, despite the market downturn and sanctions, according to a survey of leading operators. Depressed prices of mining equipment and stronger interest from domestic customers have been identified as major factors for the trend. Miners Prepare for Growth as Total Capacity of Crypto Farms in Russia Reaches 500 MW The capacity of Russian mining farms has exceeded 500 megawatts (MW) at the end 2022, according to results from a poll among established industry players published…

Next Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Change Estimated to Decrease as Block Times Have Lengthened – Mining Bitcoin News

The last two mining difficulty changes on the Bitcoin network have driven difficulty to an all-time high, causing a decrease in hashrate and block interval speed. Before the latest difficulty retarget increase of 4.68%, block intervals were faster than the 10-minute average, at approximately 8 minutes 54 seconds to 9 minutes 31 seconds. However, since the change, block times have slowed, with statistics showing durations of 10 minutes 44 seconds to 10 minutes 36 seconds. Slower-Than-Average Block Intervals May Lead to Decrease in Bitcoin Mining Difficulty ​​The next mining difficulty…

Giant Bitcoin ‘Taproot Wizard’ NFT Minted in Collaboration With Luxor Mining Pool

Lines were drawn when the Ordinals protocol, which stores non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Bitcoin, launched on the dominant blockchain last month. That showdown created two factions – purists who insist on using Bitcoin exclusively for payments and Ordinals fans who welcome NFTs, including this “Taproot wizard” sketch that nearly filled an entire 4 megabyte (MB) block, incurred no transaction fees (although a premium off-chain fee was likely paid) and left Bitcoiners of both stripes mystified. Original

Crypto-friendly bank ends loans backed by crypto mining rigs

The holding company for the crypto-friendly bank, BankProv, has revealed it’s no longer providing loans secured by cryptocurrency mining rigs after writing off $47.9 million in loans primarily secured by them throughout 2022. According to a Jan. 31 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BankProv has already nearly halved the proportion of its digital asset portfolio consisting of rig-collateralized debt since the quarter ending Sep. 30, 2022. The bank held $41.2 million in digital asset-related loans as of Dec. 30 last year consisting of $26.7 million…

Bitcoin mining advocate is going state-to-state to educate US lawmakers

Dennis Porter, chief executive officer of the Satoshi Action Fund, is taking the fight for hearts and minds on Bitcoin mining to Washington, D.C. and beyond in an effort to support friendly legislation. Porter, who first discovered Bitcoin (BTC) in 2017, told Cointelegraph his path on advocating the benefits of mining has taken him to support bills in at least six U.S. states with federal lawmakers also in his crosshairs. The Satoshi Action Fund CEO met with U.S. Senators and Representatives on Jan. 25 in support of proposed legislation aimed…

Massachusetts-Based Bankprov to End Loan Offerings Secured by Cryptocurrency Mining Rigs – Bitcoin News

The Amesbury, Massachusetts-based Bankprov, a subsidiary of Provident Bancorp, has announced that it will no longer provide loans secured by cryptocurrency mining rigs. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EX-99.1), Bankprov stated that revenue from its digital asset loan portfolio will continue to decrease as the company has discontinued new loan originations backed by mining equipment. Bankprov’s Portfolio of Cryptocurrency Collateralized Loans Decreased by 65% Bankprov disclosed that it holds approximately $41.2 million in cryptocurrency-collateralized loans, with about $26.7 million of the debt backed by crypto-mining…