Hive Blockchain Switches to BTC Mining after ETH Merger Losses

Audy Castañeda
-
0
<strong>Hive Blockchain Switches to BTC Mining after ETH Merger Losses</strong>

Hive lost at least 40% of its revenue after the Ethereum merger. The company plans to increase BTC mining capacity until February 2023.

Mining companies that were heavily reliant on Ethereum have seen their revenues drop after the Merger. Survivors have turned to BTC mining, and Hive Blockchain is among them.

Former Ethereum mining giant Hive Blockchain is diversifying after losing its revenue stream. The Ethereum merger occurred in mid-September, after which it was no longer possible to mine the asset.

The move to Proof-Of-Stake has been good for the network in terms of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) compliance. It has also been good for ETH holders who can earn staking returns. However, companies that were heavily reliant on Ethereum mining have been hit hard.

Hive Blockchain is one such company, but its balance sheet appears healthy. BTC mining expert Jaran Mellerud has analyzed the firm’s Q3 report revealing why Hive is likely to survive.

Pivot to BTC Mining

The analyst estimated that Hive lost 40% of its revenue after the Merger. He added that “the defunct ETH mining business was much more profitable than its remaining BTC mining business, meaning that the actual loss to the company’s operating cash flows is likely around 60%.”

That was the bad news. The good news for Hive is that it is repurposing its Ethereum facilities for BTC mining. The company plans to increase its Bitcoin mining capacity from 2.8 EH/s (exhashes per second) to 3.3 EH/s by February 2023.

Hive also has a liquid balance sheet made up primarily of Bitcoin holdings. According to the report, the company has only $8 million in cash, but it has 3,311 BTC which represents 88% of its liquidity. This makes it the fourth largest BTC hodler among public miners.

In addition, Hive has one of the lowest debt-to-equity ratios of public miners, Mellerud noted. With just $26 million in interest-bearing debt, it has been spared the massive debt-service payments that currently hamper its competitors.

Renewable Energy Benefits

Hive was the first crypto-mining company to go public in 2017. Additionally, its full hydro and geothermal operations are located in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland. This means that it has not been exposed to massive spikes in energy prices that have affected other miners.

In addition, historically, the company has been able to squeeze 5-30% more BTC than most competitors. “This could be due to the company achieving a higher up-time due to consistent hydropower supply,” the analyst commented.

Bitcoin miners are currently in the doldrums with depressed asset prices, high hashrate, and expensive energy. Hash rates had fallen 14% from their peak of 273 EH/s on November 28, but have since climbed back up to 251 EH/s.

Mellerud concludes by stating that “Keeping the costs down and efficiency high will be vital for Hive to transform its business during this bear market.”

By Audy Castaneda

Jim Cramer Advises Investors to Sell their Cryptocurrency Holdings, Suggesting a Longer Bearish Trend

Alexander Salazar
-
0
<strong>Jim Cramer Advises Investors to Sell their Cryptocurrency Holdings, Suggesting a Longer Bearish Trend</strong>

The expert forecasted that Bitcoin would reach USD 1 million but later called it illegal. He has also made many wrong predictions, advising investors to sell their Bitcoin, whose price reached its all-time high in 2021.

Jim Cramer, a former hedge fund manager, and CNBC TV host, recently said cryptocurrency investors could still sell their positions.

However, he has often given inaccurate advice, causing many participants to expect a market rally wrongly.

TV Host Jim Cramer Is Back in the Spotlight

The TV host recently advised investors to withdraw their cryptocurrency at all costs. He believes they should exit the market, suggesting that the crypto winter might not end in the short term.

Cramer thinks Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC) are the cryptocurrencies most likely to drop to near zero.

This year, most cryptocurrencies have lost value considerably, with Bitcoin (BTC) dropping by almost 65%. Besides, investor interest has declined significantly, while several companies face liquidity problems. For example, FTX, BlockFi, Three Arrows Capital, and Celsius have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Although the market has experienced winters before, many crypto assets like Bitcoin have overcome the difficulties.

The former hedge fund manager argued that many boosters want to inflate the market with financial efforts like Tether, the company issuing USDT.

Jim Cramer Has Made Many Wrong Predictions about Bitcoin and Ether

Throughout the years, the American expert has shown a controversial position about crypto assets. In 2017, he forecasted that Bitcoin would reach USD 1 million but later labeled it as an illegal currency.

However, Cramer joined the pro-Bitcoin team in 2020, when he hailed the maximum supply of 21 million coins as a financial advantage. Later that year, he compared BTC to gold and invested in it when it traded at around USD 17,500.

As the price of Bitcoin rose, Cramer supported it, even requiring a salary in BTC instead of fiat money. However, the recent market crash changed his viewpoint, turning him into a crypto critic once more.

He has made many wrong predictions, recommending that investors withdraw their holdings. For example, he said in 2021 that the Evergrande debt crisis in China might trigger a market crash. Two months later, Bitcoin skyrocketed to an all-time high of nearly USD 69,000.

In January 2022, Cramer commented that the correction in BTC and ETH prices might end, advising investors to reconsider entering the market. However, the leading cryptocurrencies have dropped further after reaching their all-time highs last year.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 16,767 and has accumulated a 2.0% gain over the last week. While its daily trading volume is above USD 22.67 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 322.38 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Regardless of what some experts say, investors should research crypto assets before buying them to learn about their all-time highs, behavior, and possible future prices. It is only a matter of time before seeing where the market will take the value of crypto assets.

By Alexander Salazar

Futures Contracts Might Affect the Price of Shiba Inu in the Short Term

Alexander Salazar
-
0
<strong>Futures Contracts Might Affect the Price of Shiba Inu in the Short Term</strong>

The low trading volumes of Shiba Inu indicate insignificant moves in the spot market, but the Ethereum whales remain bullish. Around 28,440 addresses hold 11.06 trillion SHIB at the USD 0.0000090 level, but a drop below USD 0.0000090 might cause further losses.

December has historically brought profits into the crypto market, as collective and individual consumer euphoria often drives prices higher. Many wonder whether Shiba Inu (SHIB), also known as Dogecoin killer, will be part of it.

The Spot Price of SHIB Disappoints Investors

The trading volumes of SHIB dropped as its price action became bearish. They were around USD 135.58 million, a 33.78% loss over the last 24 hours.

The burning of SHIB tokens and the accumulation by Ethereum whales boosted the price, but the burn rate dropped by 36.8%.

The burning process aims to reduce the supply of the asset but also promotes bullish momentum, creating euphoria among investors.

The low trading volumes of SHIB indicate that people have not made significant moves in the spot market. However, the Ethereum whales remain bullish on the token.

SHIB has been among the leading ten cryptocurrencies among the top 5,000 Ethereum whales over the last 24 hours.

Although those long-term holders are optimistic, the SHIB futures market showed that Ethereum bulls might feel disappointed shortly.

Shiba Inu Futures Market

According to Coinalyze, the open interest in SHIB dropped by 9.27% to USD 10.9 million. Besides, liquidations of long positions dominated the market, with liquidation of USD 78,900 over the last 24 hours.

Since November 23rd, the Shiba Inu whales holding 1 to 10 million SHIB reduced their funds by 12 billion tokens.

Since most big crypto whales reduced their holdings and futures market data seem bearish, SHIB holders might expect difficulties soon. The In/Out of the Money Around Price indicator suggested excellent support for the price action at the USD 0.0000090 mark.

Around 28,440 addresses hold 11.06 trillion SHIB at the USD 0.0000090 level. If the price dropped below the USD 0.0000090 mark, the token might suffer further losses. However, if the bulls manage to boost the price, there might be a short-term recovery toward USD 0.0000095.

SHIB Might Be a Good Investment Again in the Long Term

Over the last few months, the value of SHIB has dropped as investor interest in the ecosystem has declined. According to Google statistics, the number of searches has decreased, the same as the number of mentions on social media.

The above situation has led the Shiba ecosystem to experience significant cash outflows. The total value locked (TVL) in ShibaSwap went from more than USD 150 million to just USD 19.6 million.

Ongoing concerns about the crypto market due to liquidity loss have also caused Shiba Inu to plummet. The collapse of FTX and problems with other crypto projects triggered it.

Over the last few months, most centralized crypto exchanges have lost many users. For example, the sales and profitability of Coinbase have fallen this year.

The number of SHIB holders has recently dropped to 1.25 million from over 1.28 million on November 22nd.

New information on the US economy may have also affected the course of Shiba Inu. For example, the US government added over 283,000 jobs in November, while unemployment remained at 3.7%.

By Alexander Salazar

US Congressman Rejects SBF’s Pretext for Delaying His Testimony before Congress

Audy Castañeda
-
0
<strong>US Congressman Rejects SBF’s Pretext for Delaying His Testimony before Congress</strong>

Maxine Waters urges Sam Bankman-Fried to come forward to testify, just as proactively as he was during his media tour.

US House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters called on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to testify before the committee and not make excuses for not attending.

The congresswoman urged SBF to testify before the commission with the same disposition that she had on her media tour in the United States and even urged it to “take it seriously”, due to the millions affected by the FTX collapse.

Maxine Waters pointed out the following on her Twitter account:

“Based on your role as CEO and your media interviews over the past few weeks, it’s clear to us that the information you have thus far is sufficient for testimony.”

“As you know, the collapse of FTX has harmed over one million people. Your testimony would not only be meaningful to Members of Congress but is also critical to the American people.”

For Maxine Waters, Sam Bankman-Fried must appear to testify on December 13. However, she announced that the House of Representatives “is willing” to schedule the hearing if SBF “advances” some information that allows adjusting the date.

Democrats Do Not Deny Elon Musk’s Accusation

The congresswoman’s response has a more serious tone after she was criticized a few days ago for “using neutral words” during the invitation to SBF to testify since she was asked if she was “willing to speak to the public, which will help to customers, investors and others of the company.

Meanwhile, the crypto community speculated that Waters tweeted in a “neutral manner” because SBF had donated to her campaign, while some shared videos of her blowing a kiss at the FTX founder.

Later, on December 4, Sam Bankman-Fried wrote on his Twitter account that he was considering “appearing and testifying before the United States Committee on Financial Services”, even though he has since admitted that he “could not guarantee to show up on December 13,” as requested by Maxine Waters.

Even Elon Musk revealed that SBF and FTX “donated” to the United States Democratic Party around a billion dollars, while the exchange had reported only 40 million dollars.

Musk alleged that SBF donated more than $1 billion to Democratic candidates, which is far more than the publicly disclosed amount of $40 million. SBF previously admitted to making backdoor donations to the Democratic Party.

While this controversy develops, SBF, when speaking to the media during the “apology tour”, presented himself as a victim, and was applauded at the end.

According to Twitter user and developer Naomi (@schetty), “watching SBF’s interview is kind of like watching Casey Anthony’s documentary. They’re so mechanical, they’re so inauthentic in their delivery. If you feel any emotion, at all, it slows people down. The way it is expressed is a separate subjective matter.”

By Audy Castaneda

SuperFinanciera of Colombia to Issue a Document to Regulate Operations with Cryptocurrencies

Audy Castañeda
-
0
<strong>SuperFinanciera of Colombia to Issue a Document to Regulate Operations with Cryptocurrencies</strong>

With this, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC) intends to establish an operational and cybersecurity risk management system with the aid of technological tools.

The Financial Superintendence of Colombia will issue the draft of a project to help establish the first rules of the game for crypto assets in the country.

It seems that the entire legal landscape related to crypto assets and exchanges is clearing up in Colombia. In the coming weeks, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia will issue a regulation to establish the rules for operations with crypto assets in the country.

According to Portfolio, this circular represents one of the advances that the Financial Superintendence has made, regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies, after launching in 2021 a sandbox or pilot test with various companies and platforms to analyze operations.

Issue Highlights

The document refers to the strengthening of the provision of information to the consumer when there are alliances with virtual asset service providers. In addition, the Financial Superintendence establishes some principles for an evaluation of the clients of the supervised entities, in the case of providers of virtual asset services, as well as the strengthening of the provision of information to the consumer, when there are alliances with those providers.

According to Superfinanciera, this draft does not mean that crypto assets will be regulated. The idea is, among other issues, to establish an operational and cybersecurity risk management system, with technological tools to manage this risk.

The entity assured that reports must be made to the Financial Information and Analysis Unit (UIAF), a risk management system for money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction that meets the guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force. International.

A few months ago, Alejandro Beltrán, Country Manager of Buda.com, pointed out that some minimum conditions should be established for the adoption and knowledge of technology in Colombia since it is still being explored and there are many control entities that do not know how it works or how the risk around crypto assets is managed.

“There must be some rules of the game and legal clarity regarding the operation of this technology, and obviously a transformation of the public entity’s discourse, transforming its resistant position into a proactive position.”

Getting Closer to a Legal Framework for Crypto Assets

The Financial Superintendence of Colombia is not the only one taking steps to establish a legal framework for crypto assets. A few days ago, the Colombian House of Representatives approved, in a second discussion, the bill that seeks to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges.

The entity announced the approval of Bill No. 139 of 2021 Chamber, through which “Crypto-asset Exchange Platforms (PIC) that offer Exchange services for these virtual assets are recognized, a regulatory framework is created.”

The bill, which will now go to the Senate, seeks to establish that all operators are incorporated as a commercial company or franchise of a foreign company, as well as a Single Registry of Cryptoactive Exchange Platforms (exchanges).

By Audy Castaneda

Maxine Waters Urges Sam Bankman-Fried to Appear at Her Hearing Next Week

Alexander Salazar
-
0
<strong>Maxine Waters Urges Sam Bankman-Fried to Appear at Her Hearing Next Week</strong>

The congresswoman said Bankman-Fried had sufficient information for evidence given his former role as the CEO of FTX and his interviews. Many crypto community members consider him delusional and sociopathic, saying his speech is full of lies and whining.

US Congresswoman Maxine Waters recently invited Sam Bankman-Fried to a hearing on December 13th to discuss what happened during the FTX collapse. However, the former CEO of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange said it was wrong to appear before the committee to explain the events.

Bankman-Fried told Waters he was sure that FTX US was solvent, so they could compensate clients in the United States.

Bankman-Fried Has to Explain How FTX Collapsed in a Week

After thanking Bankman-Fried, Waters requested him to appear at a hearing to explain the failure that affected over a million people.

The congressional representative does not seem to believe what Bankman-Fried has been saying in the media. She told him he had sufficient information for evidence given his role as CEO and his interviews in person and on the phone.

Therefore, Sam Bankman-Fried will have to explain to regulators how a company with a valuation of over USD 32 billion went bankrupt in a week.

The billionaire has accumulated a wealth of over USD 24 billion, thus becoming one of the largest cryptocurrency investors. However, he needs to answer questions about his fortune and the mismanagement of the money of clients.

Various Crypto Community Members View Bankman-Fried as a Cynic and Sociopath

Some media labeled Sam Bankman-Fried as delusional and sociopathic, saying his speech was full of lies and whining. They consider he aims to inspire pity rather than hatred.

Many pointed out that the former CEO and co-founder of FTX displayed signs of delusion and sociopathy in a 45-minute interview. They argued that he lamented and cajoled but did not admit responsibility for the financial crime.

Elon Musk was among the billionaires who said Bankman-Fried should have an adult timeout in the big house and move on. Mike Additionally, Novogratz told CNBC that SBF should spend some time in prison for causing FTX to collapse.

Jim Cramer, a former hedge fund manager, also commented that Sam Bankman-Fried committed fraud although he did not try to do so. He highlighted it was irrelevant whether the former CEO of FTX was a friendly person since the facts were indisputable.

The FTX Collapse Is a Warning to Other Crypto Companies

The crypto industry has suffered the effects of the collapse of FTX in only a week. However, many experts and personalities have said cryptocurrencies are not the problem but those who mismanage the money of investors.

Elon Musk and Michael Saylor recently commented that Sam Bankman-Fried failed to keep the bankrupt company afloat. They argued that he did not keep records of what he was doing and said he is the only one to blame.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 16,972 and has accumulated a 4.6% gain over the last week. While its daily trading volume is above USD 19.76 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 326.31 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

1...603604605...1,654Page 604 of 1,654