Bitcoin was trading at USD 200 when Miller first bought it and at USD 200 when he did it again. He considers it an insurance policy against financial crises and a powerful investment tool better than gold.

Although the price of Bitcoin has hit lows around USD 41,000 in early 2022, renowned investor Bill Miller is optimistic about its value. He recently commented that he no longer considers himself a Bitcoin spectator but a true Bitcoin protagonist.

The billionaire has invested 50% of his net worth in Bitcoin and other assets related to leading technology and cryptocurrency companies. He said he had put money in MicroStrategy and Bitcoin mining firm Stronghold Digital Mining. He also noted that the rest of his investment portfolio is in the American e-commerce company Amazon.

Miller recalled that he first bought Bitcoin in 2014 when it was worth around USD 200. Then, he mentioned that he invested in it again when it was trading at USD 500. The investor did not acquire it again for years until its price dropped below USD 40,000 in July 2021.

The fund manager said he invested in Bitcoin again when it was worth just USD 30,000, below USD 66,000.  He argued that many more people were using it, and much more money was coming from the venture capital world. Miller added that he purchased a fair amount of BTC in the range of USD 30,000.

He considers that Bitcoin as an insurance policy against an upcoming financial catastrophe. In addition, he views the pioneering cryptocurrency as a powerful investment tool that has outperformed gold.

Bitfarms Acquires More than USD 43 Million in BTC This Month

Canadian cryptocurrency mining company Bitfarms has bought 1,000 BTC so far in 2022. In that way, the company currently has more than USD 179 million in its coffers.

Bitfarms recently reported it acquired those coins for USD 43.2 million in the first week of January. That is the same amount of Bitcoin they added to their treasury in the third and fourth quarters of 2021. The company said they currently own more than 4,300 BTC, about USD 179 million of accumulated capital in crypto assets.

Emiliano Grodzki, the founder and CEO of Bitfarm, talked about their business strategy. He stated that they seek to accumulate the highest amount of Bitcoins at the lowest cost and in the shortest time possible.

Many media outlets currently criticize the environmental harm that cryptocurrency mining allegedly causes to the environment. However, miners increasingly use renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power to reduce their carbon emissions.

President Nayib Bukele Will the Increase Geothermal Power for Bitcoin City

The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, recently provided further details about the supply of geothermal energy destined for Bitcoin City. He said they had dug new wells to increase their electric energy production.

Bukele reported that they seek to supply electricity to the first city worldwide with an economy based on Bitcoin. He explained that one of the wells could provide 95 megawatts (MW) of clean, cheap and renewable energy for a couple of million years.

The head of state of El Salvador referred to geothermal energy as one of the primary natural resources in the country. Besides, he highlighted that it is a renewable energy source with higher efficiency than other alternatives.

By Alexander Salazar

On-chain data offers investors several options to analyze the behavior of the price of Bitcoin. Long-term investors are interested in metrics for the valuation of BTC to know when to buy or sell.

Many investors consider that Bitcoin does not fit the criteria of traditional assets, but on-chain data offers a broad framework to analyze it. The Ark Invest firm reached that conclusion in the report titled A framework for evaluating Bitcoin.

Ark Invest leading analyst Yassine Elmandjra and Bitcoin on-chain analyst David Puell were in charge of the study. They described metrics at three layers on the network, relevant for different investors.

Health Assessment of the Bitcoin Network

Investors can use raw data from a node on the network to track the health of Bitcoin in real-time. The protocol ensures currency integrity by allowing the monitoring of the total coins in circulation and the daily issuance of BTC.

Regarding network security, the study highlights the metrics of the Bitcoin hash rate and the income for miners. After the ban on Bitcoin mining in China in the second quarter of 2021, the hash rate has recovered by 166%.

In the case of miners, the sum of newly minted Bitcoin and transaction fees also reflect a measure of their income. From the beginning, they have generated revenue of more than 18.9 million BTC, equivalent to about USD 1 trillion.

Concerning Bitcoin use, investors can monitor the activity on the network with metrics such as active addresses and transaction volume. In mid-December 2021, there was a daily average of 1 million working addresses, which dropped to 920,000 by the end of the year.

Behavior Assessment of Bitcoin Buyers and Sellers

The relationship between demand and supply helps determine the value of a monetary asset like Bitcoin. Based on blockchain data, investors can assess demand variability and the price impact by analyzing buyer and seller dynamics.

If a trader sells two coins that have not changed hands in 7 days, that transaction generates 14 days of destroyed Bitcoin. Taking the sum of destroyed Bitcoin in the last 365 days as a variable, this is a year of destroyed Bitcoin.

The highs on the curve coincide with the all-time highs of the price of Bitcoin. However, the year values of Bitcoin destroyed in 2021 did not exceed the all-time high of early 2018. That could suggest a higher accumulation of BTC in the hands of holders than in 2018.

The HODL (“hold on for dear life) waves divide the Bitcoin in circulation into different bands of retention periods. For example, a one-week HODL band measures the percentage of BTC that has changed hands in the last week.

Valuation of the Pioneering Cryptocurrency

The top layer offers metrics similar to the valuation of a traditional company that compares market capitalization with gross operating income. The relationship between market value and realized value (MVRV) considers the price of BTC the last time it changed hands.

Another metric is the relationship between the market value of Bitcoin and the income of miners (MVTV). The study calls the value paid to miners thermo value. The metric shows that the price of BTC at USD 64,000 in April 2021 did not correspond to its intrinsic valuation.

David Puell created the investor capitalization metric in 2021, which consists of subtracting thermo capitalization from market capitalization. That metric can be an indicator of capitulations in bearish markets, as it allows assessing the fair value of Bitcoin in at least one market cycle.

By Alexander Salazar

The request published on LinkedIn details that Block would be interested in graduates in BSEE or Applied Sciences, who have more than ten years of experience in specialized hardware since the goal is to create the new generation of ASIC miners for Bitcoin.

The company for the processing of payments and the use of Bitcoin, Block, published a new job opening in which they are looking for a team to work on the next generation of mining devices for the first digital currency.

This information got revealed by the Block team through an official publication in their LinkedIn account. They indicate that the applicants who get accepted for the vacancy will work on new ASIC devices. These devices got designed to mine Bitcoin and thus represent the sector and its needs.

Those elected would have to assume tasks regarding the design of digital frameworks, creation of specification and implementation documents, integration of algorithms and functions, and data reviews.

Therefore, people must have a BSEE or Applied Sciences degree and have more than ten years of experience. In addition, they must have a technological background in specialized hardware and engineering of the underlying concepts of digital design and architecture.

This New Mining ASIC l

Although it is a fact that Block is going to build a new team for this work, the question that remains in the air is what this new mining hardware will be like in which they want to work.

Although that information is currently classified, the CEO of Block, Jack Dorsey, left in an extensive Twitter thread where he pointed out some central questions and ideas for a new Bitcoin mining system, specifying especially in five aspects:

Dorsey spoke about the distribution of miners. Dorsey stressed that the more participants there are, the more guarantees in this sense to settle transactions safely.

The representative also spoke about mining efficiency. In this sense, Dorsey assured that promoting clean and efficient energy is an excellent choice that could boost the economy, the impact, and the scalability of Bitcoin.

Given the implications and costs associated with silicon-based solutions, the manager recommended combining the design process with this material closely with that of the software and system.

The leader also highlighted Vertical integration. Regarding companies that wish to work within the sector, the vertical integration process would eliminate dependence on any external production factor that could create restrictions and uncertainties.

The use of ASICs can be complex for many, so the bet aims to overcome the complexity of BTC mining so that more people can access it, being as simple as using a toaster.

If Block and Jack Dorsey succeed, the ecosystem of mining devices would have one more competitor and would even try to open space in an industry dominated by companies like Bitmain, the latter being the best-known name within the mining ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The owner of a Tesla Model 3 electric car hacked it into mining Ethereum. Another man modified his Tesla to mine Bitcoin and Monero.

While the man behind Tesla criticizes crypto mining for the damage it causes to the environment and therefore stopped accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment, two men revealed to CNBC how they modified their electric cars of that brand to mine cryptocurrencies with them.

 A 2018 Tesla Model 3 owner, Siraj Raval, said he mined up to $ 800 a month in Ethereum with his hacked electric car. On the other hand, Chris Allessi, a Tesla Model S owner, connected a Bitmain Antminer S9 to his electrical system to mine Bitcoin and he even managed to mine Monero.

Manipulate Tesla to Mine

These two Tesla owners highlighted how they modified their cars to mine digital currencies. Siraj Raval plugged his graphics processing units (GPUs) into his 2018 Tesla Model 3 to mine crypto assets with his car.  Raval also clarified that it is worth it and claims to have raised at least $ 800 a month in Ethereum when the coin prices were at their highest peak last year.

Wisconsin electric car dealer Chris Allessi started doing the same procedure back in 2018. Allessi now leads a YouTube channel called K-Man Auto, which focuses its efforts on custom electronic vehicles. He says he likes electricity and zap and building things.

Allessi claims that he took advantage of a power inverter and a Bitmain Antminer S9 and tied them directly to his Tesla Model S battery to mine Bitcoin (BTC). Allessi also reports about the capabilities of Tesla and its built-in internal firmware to mine crypto assets such as Monero (XMR).

On the other hand, Raval has also hacked into its internal Tesla Model 3 built-in firmware to mine crypto, noting that the process, along with the use of GPUs, was the most profitable way. Allessi and Raval are not the only ones who have tried to mine digital assets with an electric vehicle.

Last June, Canadian-based electric vehicle company Daymak revealed intentions to launch an electric car called Spiritus with features designed for crypto mining. Alejandro de la Torre, a Bitcoin miner, went to CNBC and explained that mining crypto from a Tesla is like getting connected to any other power source. De la Torre said the main challenge is the price of electricity. If it comes to be cheaper to do it through an electric car, so be it.

With a BMW

Mining cryptocurrency with cars is not new information. In January 2021, PC Gamer revealed that Simon Byrne’s BMW i8 could mine Ethereum with the electric battery system. Byrne’s car installed at least six Nvidia RTX 3080 GPUs in the suitcase to mine the crypto asset. According to Byrne, he modified his hybrid-electric BMW i8 with crypto miners just to bother gamers.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The analysts leading the study said the cryptocurrency market would grow if it achieved greater integration, capacity, and speed in transactions. They noted that Ethereum could not communicate well with other networks, affecting its dominance and value in the market.

Multinational investment bank JPMorgan recently published a report predicting that 2022 will see higher interoperability between blockchains and financial tokenization. Kenneth Worthington and Reginald Smith, who led the study, believe that 2022 will be crucial for the cryptocurrency market.

However, the research analysts stated it would depend on greater integration, capacity, and speed in transactions. They explained that updates to the Ethereum network and the emergence of second-layer solutions would contribute to that.

The Outlook for Bitcoin in 2022

Everybody wants to know what will happen to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in 2022. In that regard, JPMorgan said that the solid design of Bitcoin as a modern store of value has helped increase its trust and value.

However, the analysts warned that Bitcoin was not yet at the level of gold, among other stores of value. According to the investment bank, the reason for that is its limited history. They also consider that the volatility of the crypto asset prevents it from becoming a currency, strictly speaking.

Bitcoin is currently trading at around USD 41,731 and has accumulated a 1.8% loss in the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 28.09 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 789.79 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Predictions about Ethereum this Year

Concerning Ethereum, JPMorgan believes that the use cases of that cryptocurrency are superior to those of Bitcoin. The analysts wrote that the former is a digital canvas or software platform while the latter is a digital security. They said that Ethereum enables developers to create new crypto and traditional apps.

However, the researchers pointed out that the Ethereum network has a serious congestion problem. Besides, they mentioned that it could not communicate well with other networks. JPMorgan predicted that the success of the cryptocurrency market would depend precisely on the ability to integrate different blockchains.

The analysts from JPMorgan stated that Solana (SOL) is much faster, Cardano (ADA) more scalable, and Polkadot (DOT) more interoperable than Ethereum. In other words, those solutions could undermine the dominance and value of Ethereum in 2022. Despite that, Worthington and Smith consider that Ethereum could maintain its advantage if what its developers planned on its roadmap for this year comes true.

Ether, the cryptocurrency of Ethereum, is trading at around USD 3,078 and has accumulated a 3.8% loss in the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 19.72 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 366.48 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The Future of the DeFi and NFT Crypto Markets

Regarding decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT) crypto markets, the researchers highlighted they are still in the early stages despite gaining strength in 2021. For that reason, they expect them to show a higher potential this year.

The analysts foresaw the tokenization and fractionation of credit, stocks, parts of real estate, and non-negotiable investments, including private equity. They also noted that the DeFi sector has a high potential despite its poor performance in 2021.

By Alexander Salazar