Crypto markets are becoming increasingly financialized, and hashrate-backed contracts are not new. What’s unique about Blockstream’s note is its duration. Most contracts lock in the hashprice for up to 12 months, James Macedonio, Blockstream’s SVP global head of mining sales and business development, said. BMN2, an EU-compliant security token, gives exposure to the bitcoin hashrate over a 48-month period. Source
The network hashrate, a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty, increased for the second straight month, the bank noted. “The network hashrate averaged 631 EH/s in August, up 16 EH/s from last month, and about 20 EH/s below prehalving levels,” the authors wrote. Original
The National Power Administration of Paraguay (ANDE) recently detected an illegal bitcoin mining operation in an evangelical church. The church, which shared a power line with a nearby store, had established a connection before its power meter that was hidden within the same building. ANDE officers intervened and removed this illegal connection, estimating that it […] Original
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news from the past week. In this issue: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele acknowledges that bitcoin rebranded the country, some bitcoin mining companies have stopped operating in Paraguay after the recent power fee hikes, and Argentines lead Latam in stablecoin adoption. Bukele […] Original
Rhodium Encore LLC, a bankrupt bitcoin mining company, has received court approval for a unique debtor-in-possession financing plan that allows borrowing in either U.S. dollars or bitcoin. Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., a blockchain firm led by Mike Novogratz, has offered to provide Rhodium with a loan of either $30 million in dollars or 500 bitcoin. […] Original
A report presented to the Paraguayan Congress highlights the low level of employment associated with the country’s bitcoin mining activity. According to data from the Social Care Institute, the entire bitcoin mining industry is responsible for only 383 direct jobs, with over 40 companies not reporting any workers directly associated with their operations. Paraguayan Bitcoin […] Original
This week, Cipher Mining Inc. revealed that it has acquired a sprawling 250-acre property in West Texas, which includes a 300-megawatt (MW) data center. The company also highlighted that this location is ideal for high-performance computing (HPC) services. Cipher Mining Grows to 2.5 GW Portfolio In its announcement, Cipher (Nasdaq: CIFR) shared that it invested […] Original
Bitfarms Ltd., a bitcoin mining company, announced on Tuesday that it has taken control of its new data center in Sharon, Pennsylvania. “This site represents Bitfarms’ first mega-site in the U.S. with access to up to 120 MW,” the company said. Located in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) grid, the site offers low-cost, flexible power ideal […] Original
Bitcoin mining stocks trended lower as volatility in the cryptocurrency continued. Marathon Digital, the biggest mining company, dropped by 2.3% on Aug. 28, marking a 38% decline from its highest point this month. CleanSpark stock fell by 1.75% to $11.25, while Riot Platform dropped by over 1.4%. Other large Bitcoin (BTC) mining stocks like Argo Blockchain, Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and Cipher Mining also pulled back. Most of these stocks remain in a deep bear market after falling by over 20% from their highest level this year. Their performance is closely…
Nishant Sharma, founder of BlocksBridge Consulting, a research and communications firm dedicated to the mining industry, agrees with Marathon’s BTC accumulation strategy. “With bitcoin mining hashprice at record lows, companies must either diversify into non-crypto revenue streams like [artificial intelligence or high-performance computing] or double down on bitcoin to capture investor excitement around an anticipated crypto bull market, similar to MicroStrategy’s approach,” he said. Source