While Leading Bitcoin Miners Dump BTC, Nobody Knows Where the Market Will Head

Alexander Salazar
-
0
While Leading Bitcoin Miners Dump BTC, Nobody Knows Where the Market Will Head

After struggling with losses for two months, miners only enjoyed a little after the US inflation announcement. Leading names in the field have sold much of their Bitcoin production, making significant earnings amid a bearish market.

The move to dump Bitcoin (BTC) recently announced by leading names in the mining industry is making investors increasingly nervous.

Following two months of stagnation, Bitcoin miner revenue improved, with a 68.6% rebound. However, the crash of BTC to USD 18,500 has baffled departing traders, causing the overall crypto market to crash before the Merge.

That will be a warning sign for BTC since miners are usually one of the last defense lines to support the price.

In May, miners put repeated pressure on Bitcoin whales as their revenue suffered the worst drop this year. One month later, that led to much hype, with statistics trading 100% of the BTC production.

At the time, Bitcoin was trading above USD 30,000, but the above action by miners has pushed BTC below USD 18,000.

A drop in the BTC price by over USD 18,700 will force miners to remain patient to face difficulties again. After struggling with losses for two months, they enjoyed a little in July when the market rallied after the US inflation announcement.

Those Miners Who Are Selling their Bitcoin Production

Core Scientific, the leading name in the cryptocurrency mining industry, owns the highest amount of Bitcoin. According to a recent report, it produced 1,334 BTC and sold 1,125 BTC in August, earning about USD 25.9 million.

The company has offered shares worth up to USD 100 million to improve its liquidity to face financial challenges. However, trading most of its Bitcoin is the only option as it seems insufficient to allow conquering the current scenario.

Riot Blockchain produced 374 BTC but offered 350 BTC in August, earning USD 7.7 million. Before September, the company held about 6,720 BTC, created with its self-mining equipment.

Bitfarms did not publish the BTC revenue figures in June but only revealed that it had mined 252 BTC. However, its CFO Jeff Lucas said the company would no longer HODL all Bitcoin tokens created daily.

The executive pointed out that it would choose to act quickly to increase liquidity, minimize leverage, and strengthen its balance sheet. Therefore, it may have offered the above 252 BTC widely.

Finally, Digital Marathon mined 184 BTC in August, bringing its entire holdings to 10,311 BTC. Regarding mining production, the ratios match its reports in June 2022 (10,055 BTC) and July 2022 (10,055 BTC).

That determination has been impressive, as the mining production of the company plummeted by 44% in the second quarter of 2022. A storm drastically affected the city of Hardin in June, damaging many of its power generation services to mine Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, BTC is trading at around USD 19,291 and has accumulated a 2.9% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 29.38 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 369.32 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

The Russian Government Talks with other Countries to Launch Payment Platforms that Use Stablecoins

Alexander Salazar
-
0
The Russian Government Talks with other Countries to Launch Payment Platforms that Use Stablecoins

President Putin and several Russian government officials favor the legalization of cryptocurrencies in the national monetary program. The Eurasian country seeks to accelerate the legal adoption of crypto assets to fight Western restrictions through this move.

Alexey Moiseev, the Russian deputy finance minister, recently said that the Eurasian country has been in talks with many allied nations. They plan to launch payment platforms that do not use fiat currencies like the US dollar and the euro but stablecoins.

According to Moiseev, they would deliver crypto resources that are mutually acceptable and usable on those platforms. He said they were establishing those clean houses with the friendly nations of Russia.

The Russian Government Is More Open to Using Cryptocurrencies

Since the conflict with Ukraine began, Russia has made some progress in remaining more open to cryptocurrencies. That has represented a controversial challenge, as it opposes the defiant position of the Central Bank of Russia. Besides, it has made the United States and the European Union react by imposing sanctions.

When creating those platforms, the position of the Bank of Russia changed positively through the reassessment of its policies. They incorporated banking institutions to work with them, the largest Sberbank loan provider to register information, and managers of factual methods.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Ministry of Finance, and the Russian House of Representatives also favor the legalization of cryptocurrencies in the national monetary program. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported the cryptocurrency mining sector at the local level.

Russia Accelerates the Adoption of Cryptocurrencies to Fight Western Sanctions

This move toward payment with stablecoins occurred four months after the country scheduled the legalization of cryptocurrencies as payment. However, the Russian government is seeking to accelerate the legal adoption of crypto assets as quickly as possible.

Russia is the primary engine in issuing cryptocurrencies to fight Western restrictions, exploiting higher tax revenues from those using, investing, and mining them.

According to Bloomberg, Russians could own USD 200 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, 12% of the industry capitalization in February. In April, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin confirmed that Moscow citizens held up to USD 130 billion in crypto assets.

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly relevant in those countries affected by the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. For example, many Russians resorted to those assets to buy products and pay for services, as they do not require the approval of a central bank or government.

In the case of Russia, they plan to use stablecoins to avoid using fiat currencies like the US dollar and the euro. The latter comes from the countries that have subjected them to economic restrictions after the conflict with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around USD 19,291 and has accumulated a 2.9% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 29.38 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 369.32 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

35 Million SHIB Traded in the Last 24 Hours and Trading Up 23%

Audy Castañeda
-
0
35 Million SHIB Traded in the Last 24 Hours and Trading Up 23%

CoinMarketCap data shows Shiba INU (SHIB) price rallying, going from $0.0000133 to $0.0000123 in less than 24 hours.

In the last hours, around 35 million SHIB tokens have been exchanged, while the trading volume grew by 23%. The value of the SHIBs exchanged is equivalent to 434 million dollars, which may suggest an increase in investor interest.

Data to Consider

Data from CoinMarketCap shows a rebound in the price of Shiba INU (SHIB), going from $0.0000133 to $0.0000123 in less than 24 hours. Days ago, Ethereum whales bought more than 643 billion SHIB tokens, worth 8 million dollars.

Specifically, data from WhaleStats, Ethereum whales bought more than 8 million dollars’ worth of Shiba Inu, resulting in an astronomical figure of 643 billion SHIB tokens.

According to U Today, the increase in SHIB trading between September 6 and 7 is due to a further increase in investors in a particular project that “remains intact”, which could become a relevant metric of the meme cryptocurrency later in the year.

Meme coins, also called meme cryptocurrencies, stand out for appealing to humor and the formation of a community that is capable of growing and achieving notoriety, unlike other more complex projects such as Chainlink (LINK) or Polkadot (DOT).

IntoTheBlock had previously noted that 29% of SHIB holders decided to hold the token for more than a year, while 68% of holders only held the meme cryptocurrency for a year and 4% held SHIB for a month or even less.

Some Possible Explanations

The ups and downs of SHIB are explained by the arrival of new holders and investors, despite having dropped 86.39% from its historical maximum, since data from WhaleStats show that there are around 1,218,178 new buyers, which is explained by the arrival of thousands of people in recent weeks.

In late August, the popular meme cryptocurrency also gained 13%, reaching a high of $0.00001480, its highest value for the week, according to TradingView data.

At the time, the token, which was back in the spotlight after soaring more than 40% in early August, followed the crypto market and entered a sharp decline after this feat. But updates to its burning engine and ecosystem appear to have started a new uptrend.

It is worth remembering that Shiba Inu (SHIB) has made four attempts to break out of a descending resistance line. While all of them have been unsuccessful, price is preparing for yet another.

In addition, SHIB has been falling below a descending resistance line since December 24, a move that had led to a low of $0.00000714 on June 18. So far, the price has made four failed breakout attempts, the most recent on August 14

However, Shiba Inu (SHIB) has fallen from the ranking of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, although it came to overtake Polygon (MATIC) and Dai (DAI), to rank 14th in the crypto market, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Since the last week of August, the Shiba Inu’s capitalization has been on a downward movement and currently holds a market capitalization of $6.7 billion, down approximately $1.3 billion compared to the last 3 days.

By Audy Castaneda

According to Experts, Global Coordination Is Needed to Curb Crypto Financing of Terrorism

Audy Castañeda
-
0
According to Experts, Global Coordination Is Needed to Curb Crypto Financing of Terrorism

President Biden and a TRM Labs executive have called for greater regulatory cooperation when it comes to illicit financing.

The international terrorist organization ISIS uses a non-expendable token to promote propaganda about events occurring in Afghanistan.

Through a series of tweets and other means, an ISIS supporter created an NFT of events in Afghanistan and used the information from that NFT to build other NFTs. This is the first time that a terrorist organization has used decentralized Web 3D methods to spread information.

Previously, propaganda was posted on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, making it easy to take down. By migrating to Web 3.0, terrorist organizations ensure that their propaganda machine never shuts down.

According to a research paper from the University of Texas at Austin, exploitation of Web 3.0 by extremist organizations is relatively low.

However, new decentralized technologies are still on their radar, given the propensity of such groups to exploit new technologies. While content moderation strategies differ from social media, they do exist and can be used to remove harmful content.

Global Coordination Needed, Says Executive

Regarding terrorist financing and money laundering, Ari Redbord of TRM Labs said it is important for the US Department of Justice and Treasury to develop global partnerships to eradicate illicit financing.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, authorities in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom are doing encouraging work in this area, but more international cooperation is needed, Redbord said.

In President Joe Biden’s Cryptocurrency Executive Order issued on March 9, 2022, various executive branches of the United States government were tasked with designing crypto regulations that consider environmental aspects, consumer protection, and law enforcement, in other aspects.

The Treasury Department and the Justice Department have returned with reports so far. The DOJ still needs to describe how it will continue its work with its international counterparts.

In the executive order, Biden said international cooperation is important to maintain high standards of consistency regarding anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws as criminals exploit regulatory arbitrage.

He also emphasized the importance of mitigating the risks of illicit finance, where digital assets can be used to circumvent the US and international sanctions. He said criminals often collect cybercrime proceeds in digital assets in countries where Financial Action Task Force guidelines have not been followed effectively.

Is Targeting Illicit Financing going to stop the Spread of Information?

Could laws designed to curb illicit finance address the spread of propaganda on a censorship-resistant decentralized network? The Treasury Department recently sanctioned a cryptocurrency mixer, Tornado Cash, in a ruling that sparked protests regarding the status of computer code as a form of “free speech that was being censored.”

It should be remembered that, according to a statement by the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, the mixer Tornado Cash had failed to impose effective anti-money laundering practices to prevent illicit fund flows. In addition, it also failed to implement basic risk management protocols. While most cryptocurrency transactions are legal, mixers provide a fertile playground for sanctions evasion, as do peer-to-peer exchanges and darknet marketplaces. Ransomware, heists, and other crimes are also perpetrated through these channels.

As Congress resumes after a three-month recess, it will have to vote on about 50 bills, including the recent Lummis-Gillibrand bill.

By Audy Castaneda

New Free DAO Crashes 99% after Flash Loan Attack

Audy Castañeda
-
0
New Free DAO Crashes 99% after Flash Loan Attack

Flash loan attacks continue to be a popular attack method for malicious actors.

The New Free DAO DeFi project lost more than $1.25 million in a flash loan attack, PeckShield reported. The price of the NFD token has fallen by more than 99%.

Blockchain security firm PeckShield has alerted the crypto community that the New Free DAO project has likely suffered a $1.25 million loss, causing the value of the NFD token to drop by more than 99%.

The attacker has made off with $1.25 million in BNB and exchanged it for BSC-USD. The token was created on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and was a DeFi token that ostensibly focused on the NFT niche and offered a multitude of features.

However, the project does not seem to have a particularly strong reputation within the crypto market. There is little information about it, but it appears to have been popular enough to have lost over $1 million dollars.

Flash loan attacks are a popular means of attack in the DeFi space, and several projects have fallen victim to the attack. Basically, they work by manipulating prices after the attacker obtains an unsecured loan. They are comparatively easier to execute, hence their popularity.

Flash Loan Attacks Continue

In recent days, more and more projects have suffered a flash loan attack. Blockchain cybersecurity firm CertiK said a flash loan attack on the Avalanche Blockchain resulted in the theft of $370,000 from smart contract and liquidity providers. Curve Finance is believed to be among those affected.

Last year, Cream Finance suffered three flash loan exploits, with $130 million stolen in the third. PancakeBunny lost $200 million in a flash loan in what was one of the biggest heists.

As such, the projects have made the security of their protocols a high priority. However, it seems that flash loan attacks will continue to happen. However, the teams are working on security.

Safety: Top Priority

The DeFi market has always been a favorite prey for attackers as a huge amount of capital flows into it. New projects and protocols with little security auditing, and being new, are common targets for these attackers.

Over the last 18 months, many major projects have doubled down on their focus on security, as these attacks can have cascading effects.

CertiK reported in January 2022 that 44 attacks in 2021 were due to centralization issues. Other causes include missing event emitters, unlocked compiler versions, and lack of proper input validation.

Vulnerabilities Reported

Last month, Chainanalysis reported that, between January and July 2022, funds stolen in cryptocurrency hacks totaled $1.9 billion, up from $1.2 billion during the same period last year.

The Blockchain analytics firm indicated that the trend is unlikely to reverse any time soon, as a $190 million hack of the Nomad cross-chain bridge and a hack of 5 million dollars from various Solana purses.

“DeFi protocols are uniquely vulnerable to hacking as hackers can pore over their open source code for exploits and it is possible that the protocols’ incentives to hit the market and grow quickly lead to lapses in best security practices,” Chainalysis said on the blog.

Chainalysis attributes much of the illicit activity to “bad actors” associated with North Korea, such as the infamous Lazarus Group. According to their estimates, groups affiliated with North Korea have stolen roughly $1 billion worth of crypto from DeFi protocols so far this year.

By Audy Castaneda

The Upcoming Ethereum Merge Might Lead the Overpricing of GPUs to the End

Alexander Salazar
-
0
The Upcoming Ethereum Merge Might Lead the Overpricing of GPUs to the End

The arrival of the Merge will cause the consensus protocol PoW to replace PoS, rendering millions of GPUs unusable. Amid a weakened gaming market, that event has affected sales of those devices negatively even more.

The bullish crypto market affected the prices of graphics processing units (GPUs), causing them to rise considerably. Although the best-quality had a premium of up to 114% above their retail prices, the upcoming Ethereum Merge may end that trend.

The Merge is the upgrade of the Ethereum network that will change its consensus protocol to proof of stake (PoS). The mining activity will no longer be an option since PoS will serve that purpose.

The Merge to End the Sales of Overpriced GPUs

The creation of GPUs initially aimed to serve in gaming, graphic design processing, and 3D modeling. However, their demand for mining made the supply insufficient, causing the prices to skyrocket by up to 114%.

The rebound in the price of Ether (ETH) to new historical levels also influenced the overpricing of GPUs. Many miners thought they could profit significantly from the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

That happened before the change in the consensus protocol of the Ethereum network. Since the Merge upgrade will cause proof of work (PoW) to replace PoS, millions of GPUs bought over the last four years will be unusable.

However, miners might stop using this method, as there has been a considerable increase in the hash rate of Ethereum. Therefore, that represents an alternative that uses PoW to which they can move their operations.

Wholesalers in China Face Problems with the Sales of GPUs

Besides rendering millions of devices unusable, the Ethereum Merge has also reduced the export of GPUs by 15% in the last quarter.

Amid a weakened gaming market, the upcoming Ethereum upgrade affects sales of GPUs negatively even more. According to GPUTracker.eu, the prices of some powerful equipment have dropped by double digits. RTX 3080 Ti, one of the favorites among miners, went from about USD 2,000 to less than USD 1,200.

That process that Ethereum is undergoing has caused problems for Chinese GPU wholesalers, who cannot sell them fast enough.

That situation has also affected Nvidia, the manufacturer of those GPUs, which suffered a drop of 33% in year-on-year profits. However, they seem happy about what is happening, as they created their devices for gamers and similar customers, not for mining.

Miners know of the growing relevance of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether in the world economic system. That has led many to acquire graphics processing units, initially intended for gaming, to conduct their business. However, the Ethereum Merge will render that equipment unusable for the extraction of ETH.

Ether is trading at around USD 1,513 and has accumulated a 9.2% loss over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 19.05 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 182.43 billion, According to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

1...671672673...1,654Page 672 of 1,654