Most of Bitcoin Mining Equipment Market is Concentrated by four Manufacturers

Alexander Salazar
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Most of Bitcoin Mining Equipment Market is Concentrated by four Manufacturers

Bitmain leads the list and concentrates between 55 and 60% of the industry’s profits. Regarding geographical distribution, China continues to maintain the monopoly on Bitcoin mining.

It was reported that 95% of the Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturing market is controlled by only four manufacturers. The consulting and research firm on blockchain, Token Insight, said that this group is comprised of the four main companies in this sector in China.

Bitmain leads the list, concentrating between 55 and 60% of the industry’s profits. Despite decreasing its predominance in the Bitcoin ecosystem between 2018 and 2019, the presence of the company continues to surpass the opponents. For example, Whatsminer ― the second in command ― brings together 20% of the market, whilst Canaan and Ebang hold 10% and 5%, respectively.

The rest of the industry, comprised of small manufacturers, only represents 5% of the market. Token Insight analysts note that China remains the undisputed leader in the manufacture of ASIC equipment, an achievement that calls into question the sector’s decentralization. It should be mentioned that the Asian giant not only concentrates its power when it comes to manufacturing mining equipment but also groups the largest number of active miners in the Bitcoin network.

The latest CoinShares report, from the fourth quarter of 2019, revealed that 65% of the network’s hash rate comes from China. This is the highest percentage that Bitcoin mining has concentrated in this nation since 2017, which could indicate a setback in the market’s de-monopolization. To understand the importance of this figure, it is necessary to consider that the hash rate indicates how many miners are actively confirming transactions in the blockchain. An increase in it, which was 80% in 2019, according to Token Insight, would indicate that more miners connected to the network to process blocks in the past year.

Fighting for Decentralization

The founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, said in early December that cryptocurrency mining is being widely promoted by the Chinese government. President Xi Jinping confirmed the interest of the nation’s authorities in making China a leader in the global blockchain ecosystem. Zhao also stressed that the promotion of Bitcoin mining is being done as a government plan to “be able to control Bitcoin.”

Whilst the Chinese government conducts these plans, the Bitcoin community continues to struggle to promote decentralization in mining. For example, in 2018 Matt Corallo submitted a proposal known as BetterHash to empower private miners affiliated with a pool. The new protocol has been optionally incorporated into the Stratum V2 code, the latest version of Braiins software for Bitcoin group mining.

Pool operators, which are vital to the operation of Bitcoin mining, have also made progress in 2019 regarding decentralization. BTC.com lost the leadership achieved in years, being displaced by a new firm called Poolin that now occupies 17% of the weekly hash rate of the network.

On the other hand, F2 Pool brought together an average of 13% of the Bitcoin hash rate during 2019, according to Token Insight. Although Poolin had a better performance in the last months of the year, it closed with 12%, along with AntPool. SlushPool and ViaPool processed 8% of the hash rate of the network, whilst BTC.TOP, Huobi Pool and Bitfury occupied 7%, 5%, and 4%, respectively.

Operators are offering a greater variety of services and benefits for miners to attract customers, and have also updated their payment methods. In this sense, analysts note that the mining industry could be evolving into a less centralized and more competitive one.

By Alexander Salazar

Nuclear Energy Company Expands Its Spaces for Crypto Mining

Maria Rodríguez
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Nuclear Energy Company Expands Its Spaces for Crypto Mining

Rosetom will enable facilities for mining farms that want to use nuclear energy.

The renowned Russian nuclear power company, Rosetom State Atomic Energy Corporation, recently announced that it is expanding and reconditioning a new area of ​​their facilities to generate cleaner energy to preserve the environment, and that, in turn, it will work for a cryptocurrency farm.

Bitcoin mining is a business that requires a lot of effort. It is for this reason that it is necessary to have facilities equipped with enough energy to generate enough revenue for the mining process. The impact on the environment is usually high if numerous mining farms consume energy from sources unfavorable for the ecosystem.

It is for this reason that Rosetom hopes to have a solution to generate cleaner energy and allocate it to mining within its facilities. The space for mining must be acclimatized for processing, and get enough energy to function.

According to official information, Rosetom has made a strong investment of 4.8 million dollars for the development of these facilities that are expected to generate about 30 Megawatts of cleaner energy and at a lower cost for the mining of Bitcoin (BTC).

The company considers the movement as an important investment since mining farms turn out to be one of the main clients that require constant and stable energy. This turns out to be an opportunity for the company to diversify its negotiations and expand its customer list, thus ensuring a constant source of income and a form of industrial growth.

It is important to highlight that Russia has been one of the most receptive countries with the cryptocurrency industry. Being more open to its use and its ways of getting involved in the national economy. Its incorporation into economic growth plans is part of a set of measures that seek to address the United States. In this way, Rosetom would take advantage of government policies to expand its business in entering the cryptocurrency market.

The Importance of Mining

Mining turns out to be one of the most necessary processes within the crypto industry since it is through this process that blockchain users can share computing power on the network, and because of this the status of decentralized technology is preserved.

The growth of the industry assumes that the process for mining becomes a very expensive one. And it not only refers to the high costs of mining machines, which turn out to be quite high priced, but to the necessary conditions for the business.

Energy consumption is usually constant and high, thus increasing the cost of the creation of bitcoins. This represents greater energy needed for mining and greater environmental impact.

The transactions carried out by the mining machines in the blockchain network are those that form and fix the Bitcoin records in the chain of blocks. This action consumes large amounts of energy if added to a few hundred machines in the same process.

It is for this reason that alternative energy sources that contribute to this mining process are necessary at the lowest cost and with the least impact on the environment.

By María Rodríguez

Paraguay Evaluates the Environment of Cryptocurrencies to Avoid Money Laundering

Maria Rodríguez
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Paraguay authorities held a meeting with representatives of startup companies to adjust their actions against money laundering.

Last January 2nd, there was an important meeting between the authorities of the Secretary for Preventing Money and Property Laundering (SEPRELAD) with representatives of the companies that are dedicated to the crypto world in the country, as local media reported.

According to some reports, the reason for the meeting was the decision to adjust to its anti-money laundering policies, putting its guidelines in line with the recommendations of the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The meeting was conducted by the Minister of SEPRELAD, Carlos Arregui. During the meeting, SEPRELAD established that the meeting was held as expected, but no further details were offered on how the guidelines would be conducted or how they will be applied to all startup companies operating in the country.

It is important to note that the meeting was attended by the co-founder of Casa Bitcoin in the Paraguayan capital and representative of Ciprex and Digital Assets, Juan Benítez Rickmann.

According to the data offered by the Secretary itself, it was known that the meeting worked to establish a coordinated line of action and adjust, effectively, to the new law against money laundering that was promoted and announced by the president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez. For an agreement to be reached, attendees analyzed the new cryptocurrency environment, its benefits, and challenges.

During an interview with a representative of SEPRELAD through a web news media, it was known that the meeting was an initiative to focus on “the different modalities of this business and the development of new technologies (…) In addition to measuring the level of adoption, complexity, and size of the virtual asset market in Paraguay”.

Among the actions that were established, it was known that startup companies should create work tables which would help expose and explain to the authorities in charge the multiple actions that companies have been developing to avoid money laundering and money destined to finance terrorism. This was confirmed by the SEPRELAD supervisor, Juan Fernández.

During an interview, Juan Benítez Rickmann said that the government has all the disposition to comply with all the agreements that they give during these meetings and to comply with all the regulations. He also explained that the government was taking the first actions to grow the market, as well as to develop a legal environment that can serve as an engine to boost cryptocurrencies and attract foreign investment.

“It is important to remember that the country has the cheapest energy cost in the region through the Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric that we share with Brazil,” said Benítez.

On the other hand, Jorge Ramírez, CEO and founder of Cripex, commented that this meeting served to establish a set of clear rules for the sector.

“The idea is to operate freely within the category without having restrictions with bank accounts within the system since for the moment they are forbidden, causing transactions to be carried out mostly in cash”, said the Ciprex representative.

The Evaluation of Policies in Paraguay

This great meeting between the representatives of startup companies and SEPRELAD is part of a national government plan to schedule their actions to go in line with GAFILAT, which is the Latin American representative of the Financial Action Task Force.

According to reports, it is recognized that this technology opens a new one which must be evaluated, and adjust with its new legislation. This would significantly help decrease money laundering.

Paraguay has focused its attention on cryptocurrencies to prevent its country from being used as an intermediary to launder money from corruption, drug trafficking or terrorism.

Although the Central Bank of Paraguay classified Bitcoin as an asset that has no regulation or value, nor is it protected as legal currency in the country, these actions by the government show the possibility of changes in financial policies.

By María Rodríguez

Influence of Conflict between Iran and the USA in Bitcoin’s Price Is Questioned

Alexander Salazar
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Influence of Conflict between Iran and the USA in Bitcoin’s Price Is Questioned

It was reported that Bitcoin did not immediately respond to the publication of the drone attack. The function of crypto-asset reaction to geopolitical events is not yet clear.

The news on the bombing by the USA, in which General Qasem Soleimani of Iran died, led Bitcoin’s price to suddenly increase. Some analysts conclude that the conflict influenced the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency. However, Coin Metrics recently notes that this influence in Bitcoin’s price should be considered and analyzed with caution since the function of cryptocurrency market reaction to macroeconomic and geopolitical events is not yet completely clear.

The Coin Metrics analysis, published on January 7th, in the section that provides information on market data, refers to the study of the reaction of Bitcoin’s price to the drone attack conducted by the USA in Iraq on January 2nd. In this regard, the document notes that Bitcoin’s price did not immediately respond to the disclosure of the drone attack whilst the prices of oil and gold did.

The document shows how oil and gold prices rose immediately, reacting to the news on the attack that had been circulating since January 3rd, but the response of Bitcoin’s price did not occur until three hours after the first initial reports arrived.

The analysis states that there was a sharp increase about three hours after the initial reports began arriving, suggesting a delayed reaction or spurious connection. Oil, gold, and Bitcoin have increased markedly since the incident, adding some support for Bitcoin to respond positively to such events.

Truth or Dare Question

The cryptoanalysis group Messari recently published a chart showing a timeline of how the main events that have surrounded the Iran-US struggle could be related to the movements of Bitcoin’s price. The publication includes the comment, “Bitcoin and the Iran conflict: is USD BTC being converted into Digital Gold (GOLD)?” As though it were a question of the popular game Truth or Dare, the debate opened around the subject

The Messari chart shows a timeline of how Bitcoin’s price increased a few hours after the US attack. The rebound between the time of the attack, on the night of January 2nd, and the retaliation of Iran against a US military base in Iraq was 21.7%, according to Messari’s calculations. At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin’s price stands at USD 7,997, according to CoinMarketCap figures.

In the thread of that tweet, several users commented on giving reasons and opinions. Adam Pokornicky, CIO of Cryptochain Capital, believes that the USD 500 billion in Tether (USDT) curiously issued to pump BTC are going to be ignored just like what happened with China’s announcement of its blockchain.

In a veiled criticism of the Messari chart, the user FitzGibbon attributes the different points of the evolution of the Bitcoin price chart to the latest incidents among members of the British royal family. Other users argue that a one-week period is too short to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the Iranian-American conflict and the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency.

By Alexander Salazar

Bitcoin’s Price Is around USD 7,900 After Its Recovery

Alexander Salazar
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Bitcoin’s Price Is around USD 7,900 After Its Recovery

The price went from USD 7,593 to USD 7,903 between January 6th and 7th. Bitcoin reaches its highest point since the end of November.

Bitcoin’s price is approaching USD 8,000 for the first time since November, after an increase close to 4% between January 6th and 7th. During that period, the main cryptocurrency in the market went from USD 7,593 to USD 7,903 at the time of writing this article.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin’s price has grown specifically by 3.9% during the period described above. Similarly, at its highest point in recent days, the value of Bitcoin reached above USD 7,970, something that had not happened since November 20th, when the price of the cryptocurrency was last above the USD 8,000 mark.

If the range is extended to the lowest moment at the beginning of 2020, Bitcoin’s appreciation has been almost 15%. On the night of January 2nd, the value of the cryptocurrency dropped to USD 6,919, according to CoinMarketCap. The rebound from this moment has coincided with the US attack against Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.

In the top 20 of cryptocurrencies, according to their market capitalization, another 4 have had gains of over 2% in recent days. Among them, Chainlink (LINK) is the most prominent, with an increase of more than 10% during that period. The others are Monero (XMR), Stellar Lumens (XLM) and Cardano (ADA), with 2.25%, 2.66%, and 2.61%, respectively.

Bitcoin Growth Analysis

For market operator and cryptocurrency ecosystem analyst Tone Vays, the next resistance floor is around USD 8,300. Likewise, he considers that the increase in such a short term is not enough to provide for a bullish rally in the long term.

Previously, Vays had predicted a drop below USD 6,000 at the beginning of 2020. Although he sees possible increases in the short term, his new prediction does not contradict the previous one.

For his part, Willy Woo, one of the most recognized analysts for his metrics, believes that the recent behavior of Litecoin (LTC) could help boost Bitcoin’s price shortly.

In particular, Woo attributes the rise in LTC to a capitulation of the miners of that network. He said that he would not be surprised if LTC leads a BTC bullish break.

Other analysts, such as Murad Mahmudov from Adaptive Capital, see that the Bitcoin market is in a phase of accumulation with metrics that suggest greater bullish momentum to come.

Wrong Analysis Regarding Tether

Although some recent analyses mention an alleged issuance of the stablecoin Tether (USDT) as a possible reason for Bitcoin’s bullish rally, Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, denied such issuance via Twitter.

Information referring to USDT as a possible reason for the increase in Bitcoin’s price was later corrected, ensuring that the difference in market capitalization seen in CoinMarketCap does not correspond to new the issuance of currencies.

Archived versions of the Tether website maintain that the amount of Tether in circulation has not increased substantially. In other words, CoinMarketCap data did not include Tether’s current total, as Ardoino noted in his tweet.

By Alexander Salazar

Binance Enables the Option to Use the Thai Currency

Maria Rodríguez
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Binance Enables the Option to Use the Thai Currency

Binance updates its portfolio and enables the option to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using the official currency of Thailand, the Baht.

Binance, the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchange house, recently announced that it was excited to enable the option of using the official currency of Thailand among the services with cryptocurrencies.

According to this information, Thai users or anyone who has money in Baht, can use the platform to buy cryptocurrencies. They can also sell their digital currencies for this fiat currency.

Satang Corporation was the company responsible for allowing the use of Thai currency on the Binance platform. The company is considered the largest exchange house in the country. To establish a positive stance in terms of blockchain technology, it helped establish this commercial alliance with Binance so that this initiative can be possible and boost the use of digital currencies in Thailand.

Thanks to this cooperation agreement between the two companies, the moment was taken to launch the new API Portal technology from Satang. This will allow all users to use Thai money so that, through Binance’s platform, they can buy any digital currency in the market.

The passage of this new Thai development technology will open the doors for national users so they can access a global cryptocurrency market. This technology is considered the first of its kind in the country and will facilitate the management of blockchain users.

Poramin Insom, who is CEO of Satang and creator of Zcoin, commented that he feels stunned by the alliance with Binance. At the same time, he sees this technology as tremendously positive for the growth of the economy in Thailand.

“We are proud to collaborate with Binance to bring digital assets to the masses in Thailand and advance Thailand’s digital economy. This marks a remarkable development in Thailand’s digital asset ecosystem and focuses on the technology that drives space, not only as an alternative to fiat currency”, he concluded.

Thailand Opens Its Doors to the Crypto-Industry

This powerful alliance between Binance and Satang is part of a whole government and national policy that sees blockchain technology as an important step towards the economy of the future.

According to data from national statistics sources, in Thailand, 74% of the population has access to the Internet, which is considered one of the highest figures in the world. With a view to a more advanced society, there are national policies that encourage the disappearance of cash and that, in turn, reinforce the digital use initiatives for the economy.

This technology is considered as a way of being at the forefront in the world. In the last quarter of the year, some legislators proposed to carry out a reform to the laws that are around cryptocurrencies. The purpose is to establish a solid and competitive market with the rest of the world.

Besides, representatives of the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission commented that they are reevaluating their opinions and policies related to cryptocurrencies for this new year 2020. Among the things will be the restrictions that the new companies related to these technologies must be overcome to remain operational and growing.

Regarding this, Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, who is the Secretary General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said in November 2019 that they should be more flexible to ensure a better environment within the market.

“The regulatory body must be flexible to apply the rules and regulations in line with the market environment”.

This announcement that the use of Baht on the Binance platform would be enabled indicates that this year 2020 could bring good news for the cryptocurrency market in the country.

By María Rodríguez

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