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The key to survival for Bitcoin miners boils down to the delicate balance between the revenue and the operating cash flow. Bitcoin (BTC) visiting the $20,000 range after one and a half years made Mining — the most important job of the ecosystem — a costly affair. However, if history were to repeat itself, BTC investors may witness another epic bull run that previously helped Bitcoin reach an all-time high of $69,000. Changes in Bitcoin prices directly impact the miners’ income, who earn fixed block rewards and transaction fees in BTC for running their mining operations. In June 2022, the total mining revenue dipped below the $20 million range, with Blockchain.com data recording the lowest dip of $14.401 million on June 17. Total miners revenue over time. Source: blockchain.com As shown above, the recent dip in Bitcoin mining revenue was last seen one year back when the total value tanked to $13.065 million on June 27, 2021 — back when BTC traded at roughly $34,000. What followed afte...

No official explanation was given as to why the accounts were suspended in the first place. Early Wednesday, Twitter suspended access to nine accounts associated with promoting nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, on the Solana (SOL) ecosystem. The move comes just ahead of the highly anticipated launch of the y00ts NFT collection, a follow-up to DeGods, the most popular NFT collection on Solana, this Friday. Shortly after the suspension, Austin Federa, head of communications at the Solana Foundation, stated: "Hey Twitter, bring back @y00tlist; I've paused all Foundation adspend until they're back. Twitter's gotta reinstate em, or show solid cause for suspension." The said accounts have been reinstated and are accessible as of 12:00 p.m. ET. No official explanation was given as to why the accounts were suspended in the first place, or why they were reinstated shortly afterward. One user, DeGods founder @frankdegods, started a campaign for the restoration of the previousl...

The bug would have allowed malicious validators to compromise the network and applications that rely on it, including Celer’s cBridge. Web3 investor and developer Jump Crypto has identified a vulner ability in Celer’s State Guardian Network (SGN) that would allow malicious validators to compromise the network and applications dependent on it, including Celer’s cBridge. According to Jump Crypto’s postmortem report, validators were allowed to vote more than once on the same update due to a bug in the SGN EndBlocker code. By allowing validators to vote multiple times, malicious actors could multiply their voting power to approve harmful updates. The report explained: “The [EndBlocker] code is missing a check that prevents a validator from voting on the same update twice. A malicious validator could exploit this by voting multiple times on the same update, effectively multiplying their voting power and potentially tipping the vote in favor of an invalid or malicious update." Celer...

Despite the competition between the two sectors, Hive Digital Technologies CEO Aydin Kilic said that blockchain and AI can work to the benefit of each other. Crypto mining firm Hive Blockchain sent a signal to the tech industry when it dropped “ blockchain ” from its namesake in July, opting to call itself Hive Digital Technologies and reflect its artificial intelligence foray. The decision is part of a wider movement from crypto miner s to pivot outside of digital currency mining, amid depressed crypto prices. January saw crypto mining firm Riot Blockchain rebrand to Riot Platforms while June saw crypto miner Applied Digital announce a $460 million deal to host AI cloud computing in its data center. Since ETH mining ended in September 2022, $HIVE has been transforming its fleet of 38,000 Nvidia GPUs from miner s into cloud infrastructure, marking the next stage of our evolution into a diversified data center operator. Read the latest HIVE Newsletter: https://t.co/raHqwMMalv pic.twit...

Ripple’s chief legal officer said no “extraordinary circumstance” in the case exists which warrants the Court to accept the SEC’s request for leave. Ripple Labs has voiced its opposition towards the United States securities regulator’s move towards filing an interlocutory appeal relating to the summary judgment laid down by U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres on Jul. 13. In an Aug. 16 letter to Torres of the Southern District of New York, Ripple’s lawyers explained that because the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to satisfy elements of the Howey test relating to Ripple’s distribution of XRP — a “legal question” — the Court should reject the SEC’s motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal. An interlocutory appeal occurs when a ruling by a trial court is appeal ed while other aspects of the case are still proceeding and are only allowed under specific circumstances. Ripple’s lawyers believe it is more appropriate for the SEC to appeal the Court’s ruling after a f...

The amount of social engineering attacks in the cryptocurrency industry has been rising, with major execs getting hacked recently. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is the latest figure in the cryptocurrency industry to warn against the increasing number of phishing attacks. CZ took to Twitter on July 21 to warn his readers about phishing and other social engineering scams . He also recommended cryptocurrency exchange users rely on hardware devices for two-factor authentication (2FA), instead of using mobile carrier-based 2FA for example. “Best to enable 2FA with a hardware device (Yubikey) on all crypto exchanges,” Binance CEO wrote. Zhao’s warning came shortly after Uniswap founder Hayden Adams had his Twitter account compromised on July 20. After taking over Adams’ account, the attacker attempted to scam his followers through a malicious link posted on his page. Members of Crypto Twitter have quickly identified and warned others against the scam. Adams subsequently restored access...

The new “credit currency” will allow users to rely on cryptocurrencies as collateral without needing to obtain loans from other institutions. Crypto futures exchange OPNX has launched a credit currency for margin trading , according to a July 5 statement made to Cointelegraph from the exchange’s co-founder, Mark Lamb. Called “oUSD,” the currency is available in its “phase 1” iteration, meaning that users cannot receive it without depositing crypto assets into the exchange.  In a future “phase 2” version, the platform intends to make oUSD available to users who deposit crypto into on-chain contracts to allow for possible “bankruptcy remoteness,” Lamb stated. In the currency’s litepaper, oUSD is identified as a solution to three problems. First, lenders do not want to trust platforms to hold cash loans backed by crypto collateral. Second, exchanges and lending platforms don’t want to lend cash to margin traders, as this practice led to multiple bankruptcies during the 2022 bear mar...

ARK Invest and 21Shares' third application for a spot Bitcoin ETF now includes a surveillance sharing agreement. ARK Investment Management has amended its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making it similar to BlackRock's recent filing.  The amendments include a surveillance sharing agreement with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures markets and crypto exchange, most "likely Coinbase", said Bloomberg's ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on Twitter. In the race for the first Bitcoin ETF in the United States, ARK's filing update puts it ahead of its competitors. JUST IN: ARK has amended their 19b-4 for spot bitcoin ETF to include a surveillance sharing agreement bt CBOE and a crypto exchange (likely Coinbase), which makes their's like BlackRock's filing now, and puts them in pole position to be approved first bc they filed first. pic.twitter.com/P8PCmPdhln — Eric Balchunas (@...

At least 111 BlockFi borrowers had continued repaying loans between Nov. 11 and Nov. 22, even though they didn't need to, according to court documents. Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi has agreed to refund more than $100,000 to California customers that had continued to repay loans even after a trading halt on Nov. 10 last year.  According to a March 27 statement from California's financial watchdog, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), its investigation discovered at least 111 borrowers in California paid back roughly $103,471 in loan repayments between Nov. 11 and Nov. 22. The regulator claimed that BlockFi failed to "provide timely notification to borrowers that they could stop repaying their BlockFi loans." Californian @BlockFi users: BlockFi to refund over $100k after failing to notify borrowers about halting repayments post-FTX crash. The motion was filed, with a hearing set for April 19, 2023. Updates to follow. More info: https://t.co/b...

Zero knowledge proofs, DIDs, and more could help DeFi protocols maintain regulatory compliance without exposing their users. Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been a rapidly growing sector of the cryptocurrency industry, but it has also faced significant regulatory challenges. With regulators struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation, the lack of clarity around regulation s tends to create uncertainty for DeFi projects. Cointelegraph spoke to Alastair Johnson about regulatory challenges facing the DeFi industry. Johnson is the CEO of an identity “super-wallet” called Nuggets that seeks to deliver verified self-sovereign decentralized identities to users. He said that one of the main regulatory challenges is DeFi platform anonymity, which makes it difficult to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulation s.  Although privacy is a cornerstone of DeFi, regulatory compliance is essential to protect users and ensure that DeFi platforms are operat...

The zk-SNARKs upgrade promises to significantly improve the security and transparency of the verification process. On Feb 10, Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced a major upgrade to its Proof of Reserves Verification system to include zk-SNARKs — a cutting-edge technology that Binance says will allow it to verify its reserves in a more secure and transparent manner. 3. Product and Service. Plus transparency. The #Binance Proof of Reserve system has now integrated with zk-SNARK, a zero-knowledge verification method. It will also be made open source. We hope this would help the entire industry benefit. https://t.co/ijVVeF8iFT — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) February 10, 2023 After the FTX incident in 2022, Proof of Reserves Verification became a crucial aspect of the cryptocurrency industry, as it helps confirm that exchanges hold the assets they claim to have. Binance was among the first exchanges to adopt the system, initially using traditional cryptography. However, its recent upg...

While the exact reason for the investigation hasn’t been revealed, it has been reported that the New York regulator plans on upping its efforts to protect consumers this year. Paxos Trust Company — the New York-based Stablecoin issuer behind Binance USD (BUSD) and Paxos Dollar (USDP) — is report edly being investigated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). A “person familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg in a Feb. 10 report that the exact motive behind the probe is currently unclear. An NYDFS spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing investigations but noted that the department is broadly working to protect consumers from risks associated with investing in the cryptocurrency market: “The department is in continuous contact with regulated entities to understand vulnerabilities and risks to consumers and the institutions themselves from crypto market volatility we are experiencing.” Paxos has issued BUSD — a U.S. Dollar-collateralized stablecoin — since the firm...

Fujitsu’s Web3 Acceleration Platform promised to provide blockchain-based service APIs, high-computing technologies, simulations, and AI, for developers building Web3 applications and services. The Japanese-based multinational tech company Fujitsu announced the launch of a new platform on Feb 8, designed to support Web3 developers worldwide.  According to a report by the Fintech Times, Fujitsu’s Web3 Acceleration Platform seeks to provide a development environment, blockchain-based service APIs, high-computing technologies, simulations, AI, combinatorial optimization, for start-ups, partner companies , and universities building Web3 applications and services.   The company said its platform aims to support the creation of a diverse ecosystem of Web3 applications across a range of use cases, such as digital content rights management, business transactions, contracts, and processes. It will also offer free access to select participants in its global partner program, the Fujitsu Accel...

Aronow said he will still be contributing as a board member and strategic advisor. However, his priority will be to get the best medical treatment he can to make a full recovery. Nonfungible token (NFT) entrepreneur Wylie Aronow of Yuga Labs — the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks — will be taking a leave of absence from the office to manage a host of heart failure symptoms. In a Jan. 28 Twitter post to his 144,900 followers, Aronow said the tough decision to step away came on the back of a heart failure diagnosis after experiencing a myriad of symptoms over the last few months. Some heavy news: a few days ago I was told by my doctor I have congestive heart failure. Symptoms started last year out of the blue and I put off seeking help (like an idiot) so I could keep working. But after testing, my doctor called and asked me to radically change my life. — GordonGoner.eth (Wylie Aronow) (@GordonGoner) January 28, 2023 The NFT entrepreneur explained that whi...

Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto said that it will be a “very good thing” for them if there will be less competition in the market. In an interview with mainstream media outlet Bloomberg, Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto said that they are interested and expressed that it will be a "very good thing" for them if there will be less competition within the local market. Matsumoto also highlighted that the crypto market within Japan has a lot of potential because companies may be looking into investing in digital assets or using nonfungible tokens for their marketing campaigns. According to the CEO, Monex wants to position itself as one of the few options for local players when such a time comes. FTX Japan, one of the four FTX assets put on sale, caught the eye of Monex Group, an online brokerage firm based in Tokyo.  Monex also owns a majority of the Japanese Bitcoin wallet and exchange service Coincheck which expressed its intent to list the crypto exchange on Nasdaq last year. According to Mat...

Following the fallout of FTX, implementing zero fee BTC trading and some notable global acquisitions Binance’s market dominance has surged throughout 2022. During a year plagued by crises such as the collapse of FTX and Celsius, data shows that crypto exchange Binance has emerged as the clear “winner” of 2022 according to Arcane Research. A Jan. 3 report from Arcane highlighted that Binance saw its market dominance soar throughout 2022. As of Dec. 28 last year it had captured 92% of the Bitcoin (BTC) spot market and 61% of the BTC derivatives market by volume: “There are no other evident ‘winners’ of 2022 other than Binance when it comes to the crypto market structure and market dominance. No matter how you look at it in terms of trading activity, Binance is the crypto market.” Binance’s BTC spot market dominance was 45% at the start of 2022 meaning that it more than doubled, while its share of the BTC derivatives market increased by almost one third. Real BTC daily volume vs Binanc...

The firm's Bitcoin holdings have declined 45% from their average purchase price of $30,397. According to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, software analytics firm MicroStrategy said that it acquired 2,395 Bitcoins (BTC) at an average price of $17,181 for a total of $42.8 million during the period Nov. 1 and Dec. 21. Subsequent to the development, the company sold 704 BTC at $16,776 per coin for a total of $11.8 million on Dec. 22. On Dec. 24, MicroStrategy acquired approximately 810 BTC for $13.6 million in cash, at an average price of $16,845 per coin.  In a Bloomberg interview published earlier this year, CEO and blockchain personality Michael Saylor told reporters: "We're only acquiring and holding Bitcoin, right? That's our strategy. We're not sellers." Today's filing represents the first publicly reported BTC sale by the firm in recent memory. In supporting the decision, MicroStrategy wrote:  "MicroStrategy plans to...

After a tumultuous year in crypto, investors are now more selective with their funding. It’s been a tough year for crypto, and venture capital activity confirms it. The collapse of FTX in November was the latest and most shocking in a series of closures of key market players this year — including Celsius, Voyager and BlockFi — that have shaken investor sentiment and wiped out $1.5 trillion in market capitalization from cryptocurrency space. Blockchain Venture Capital funding has been on a downward slope since May 2022, and November was no different, with inflows declining even further. However, the total capital inflows for 2022 have surpassed 2021 by almost $6 billion. According to Cointelegraph Research, VC funding declined 4.8% in November, totaling $840.4 million — down from $843 million in October. The Cointelegraph Research Terminal’s Venture Capital Database — which contains comprehensive details on deals, mergers and acquisition activity, investors, crypto companies, funds...

The proposed offer would require both SEC relief and shareholders' approval. According to an end-of-year letter to investors published on Dec. 10, Grayscale Investments' CEO Michael Sonnenshein said that the firm may consider "a tender offer for a portion of the outstanding shares of GBTC [ Grayscale Bitcoin Trust]" if the latter's exchange-traded fund conversion process is ultimately unsuccessful. Sonnenshein stated that "such tender offer would be for no more than 20% of the outstanding shares of GBTC" and would require both regulatory "relief" from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as shareholder approval to approve such offer. Grayscale and its subsidiary over-the-counter traded fund GBTC is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the SEC after the latter denied Grayscale's application to convert the GBTC to a spot Bitcoin ETF on June 29, 2022. As told by Sonnenshein, Grayscale filed its opening brief against the SEC ...