Day: January 13, 2022

Jack Dorsey Says Block, Formerly Square, Is Getting Into Bitcoin Mining

by Decrypt

In brief

  • In October, Dorsey said the company was looking into building a Bitcoin mining system.

  • It’s now putting together a team to build it.

In October, Square CEO Jack Dorsey let loose that the financial services firm (since renamed Block) was “considering building a Bitcoin mining system.”

Three months later and those considerations have become reality.

“We’re officially building an open bitcoin mining system,” Dorsey tweeted today in response to a tweet thread from Block general manager of hardware Thomas Templeton. 

According to Templeton, Block is working on a low-maintenance, affordable Bitcoin mining rig for everyday customers that’s also quiet enough to be used at home. Speaking to issues of reliability, Templeton wrote that mining rigs “become non-functional almost every day, which requires a time-consuming reboot. We want to build something that just works.” 

Block says it’s not going at it alone, although it is putting together a team that includes systems and software engineers, as well as specialists in ASIC mining technology. “We are interested in performance and open-source and our own elegant system integration ideas,” he wrote.

Dorsey previously said the company could help create a mining system that was more energy-efficient than the current options. “Energy is a system-level problem that requires innovation in silicon, software, and integration,” he tweeted in October.

Aside from Dorsey’s fall hint, it’s little surprise that Block is wading into hardware development for Bitcoin. Its 45-year-old chief exec is a Bitcoin maximalist who has previously said he would leave his CEO roles if Bitcoin needed him more. “I don’t think there’s anything more important in my lifetime to work on,” he told attendees at Bitcoin Miami in June 2021. Well, in November, Dorsey did leave his job as Twitter CEO, giving him more time to focus on Square.

In a matter of days, Square changed its name to Block, referencing the blockchain technology that powers Bitcoin. Square’s Cash App, which facilitates Bitcoin purchases, has also ramped up its marketing campaign, reaching new audiences through Instagram and Twitter BTC giveaways by celebs such as Gwyneth Paltrow.

Square isn’t just working on Bitcoin mining. In mid-November, its TBD division released a white paper for a decentralized exchange for swapping Bitcoin and fiat. And just this week, Cash App indicated it would begin integrating with the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which allows people to send BTC at a lower transaction cost.

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Jack Dorsey’s Block Looking To Democratize Bitcoin Mining With Open Source Mining System

by NEWSBTC

Block, formerly known as Square, is working on an open-source bitcoin mining system, according to CEO Jack Dorsey. He referenced a more detailed thread on the project’s objectives by the company’s general manager for hardware, Thomas Templeton.

Block Is Working On Bitcoin Mining

Thomas Templeton, Block’s general manager for hardware, set out the company’s next moves in a series of tweets.

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“From buying, to set up, to maintenance, to mining,” Templeton said, the goal is to make bitcoin mining — the process of creating new bitcoins by solving increasingly hard computing tasks — more dispersed and efficient in every aspect.

According to Templeton, making the mining process more accessible is about more than just creating more bitcoin.

Templeton wrote:

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“We want to make mining more distributed and efficient in every way, from buying, to set up, to maintenance, to mining. We’re interested because mining goes far beyond creating new bitcoin. We see it as a long-term need for a future that is fully decentralized and permissionless.”

The initiative is focused in combining performance and open-source design in a “elegant system integration,” according to Templeton. The company is looking for technologies and partnerships that could help the idea, which is currently being developed by Block’s hardware team. Afshin Rezayee is leading a dedicated team of engineers to the endeavor, and available positions include electrical engineers, software and analog designers, ASIC engineers, and layout engineers.

BTC Market cap down from last year's ATH. Source: TradingView

The bitcoin mining system developed by Block aims to improve three areas of bitcoin mining: availability, reliability, and performance. The goal is to make mining rigs easier to identify and buy, while also providing a consistent delivery experience; improve dependability by designing something that can better dissipate heat and dust; and boost performance while consuming less power.

“Common issues we’ve heard with current systems are around heat dissipation and dust. They also become non-functional almost every day, which requires a time-consuming reboot. We want to build something that just works,” Templeton tweeted. “They’re also very noisy, which makes them too loud for home use.”

Related article | Is Norton 360 Mining Ethereum In Your Computer? If It Is, They’ll Take a 15% Cut

Dorsey Wants To Democratize BTC Mining

The mission statement of this project includes democratizing bitcoin mining access.

Dorsey wrote in October:

“Mining isn’t accessible to everyone. Bitcoin mining should be as easy as plugging a rig into a power source. There isn’t enough incentive today for individuals to overcome the complexity of running a miner for themselves.”

The news corresponds to Dorsey’s announcements from 2021. Dorsey tweeted,

Block’s news comes only months after the United States overtook China as the world’s top bitcoin mining destination for the first time. Renewable energy sources abound in the United States.

Hydropower mining farms flourish in Washington State. New York generates more hydroelectric power than any other state east of the Rocky Mountains, and its nuclear power plants contribute to the state’s objective of zero carbon electricity. Meanwhile, Texas’ renewable energy contribution is increasing over time, with wind power accounting for 20% of the state’s power in 2019. In addition, the Texas grid continues to add more wind and solar power at a rapid pace.

Block hasn’t given a specific date for when its bitcoin mining system would be available for purchase and use, since the company is still in the research phase of development. Templeton also encouraged members of the public to contact him if they had any concerns or suggestions for improving the initiative.

Related article | More Green Energy: Crypto Mining Saves A Hydro Power Plant In Costa Rica

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DeFi Alliance Goes Full DAO After Raising $50 Million

by Decrypt

Web3 accelerator DeFi Alliance announced today that it will move forward as Alliance DAO. The move comes at a time when decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have shown the ability to raise large sums of money in a short amount of time for various causes.

Alliance DAO says that over 300 contributors have joined and have raised $50 million in initial contributions. The DAO says the reason for the change is that its goal of growing Web3 to one billion users will take a more considerable effort than what DeFi Alliance alone could do.

A DAO is an online group that uses smart contracts to manage member participation, funding, voting, and more. Last November, ConstitutionDAO arguably took DAOs mainstream, rising to prominence when it raised $45 million in a bid to purchase an original copy of the U.S. Constitution.

DAOs can form for various purposes. And the members of Alliance DAO are joining forces in an effort to better incubate crypto startups.

“We will be building the infrastructure for an ecosystem that encourages the best Web3 founders to receive accelerator services and then remain as mentors to later founders,” Dane Lund, the DAO’s head architect told Decrypt. “We also aim to attract other DAO Contributors (builders, subject matter experts, and service providers) to join to provide support for Web3 founders.”

“By creating a DAO, we are able to distribute the work of supporting founders even further and permit contributors to have a more direct stake in the outcome of their efforts, which incentivizes high-quality contribution,” Lund said.

The news of the DAO forming was met with applause from project leaders and crypto VCs. “Our team @CoinSharesCo is proud to join @alliancedao,” tweeted CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors.

Calling itself a digital startup nation in a blog post announcing the launch of the DAO, Alliance DAO says DAOs sit at the intersection of the trends that create the perfect storm for them to rise, including being primarily digital and transnational.

Initially launched in April 2020 by Imran Khan and Qiao Wang as the Chicago DeFi Alliance, the organization has included in its accelerator program 0x, dYdX, Kyber Network, IDEX, Olympus DAO, Sushiswap, and Synthetix.

In the coming months, Alliance DAO says it will release documentation to explain how the DAO will operate, its governance structure, and its services.

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Crypto.com Lists New Ethereum-Based Decentralized Exchange Token

by Dailyhodl

Singapore-based crypto exchange giant Crypto.com is listing a low-cap Ethereum-based hybrid liquidity decentralized exchange token.

In a new announcement, Crypto.com is introducing IDEX (IDEX), formerly AuroraDAO, for trading on the company’s app.

IDEX is a multi-blockchain decentralized exchange offering a non-custodial solution for trading digital assets. The IDEX token is used to secure the network and incentivize platform adoption.

According to the Crypto.com press release,

“IDEX is the first Hybrid Liquidity DEX that blends the best of centralized and decentralized exchanges, with the performance and features of a traditional order book and the security and liquidity of an automated market maker (AMM). 

Users benefit from not having to pay additional network costs for placing or canceling orders. Placements are also processed in real-time, enabling advanced trading. 

IDEX is an Ethereum token that powers the IDEX decentralized exchange. IDEX holders can stake tokens in order to help secure the protocol and earn rewards.”

While many new coin listings tend to spark rallies, the price action of IDEX is barely responding to the news.

IDEX is currently trading for $0.20, down 3.73% in the last 24 hours.

The hybrid decentralized exchange is the second new token Crypto.com has listed this year after last week’s addition of Oasis Network (ROSE).

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Did Bitcoin Flash Its Reversal Signal? Top Trader Looks at BTC’s Dip Below $40,000

by Dailyhodl

A popular crypto trader says Bitcoin (BTC) could be flashing a signal that means its price woes are about to turn around.

The pseudonymous crypto analyst known as Cheds tells his 35,700 YouTube subscribers that BTC flashed a “false break” after briefly plummeting below $40,000 on Monday.

Bitcoin has since rebounded and is currently trading at $43,691.93.

Explains the trader,

“One of the most powerful signals in all of technical analysis is where you have a ‘false break’ and a run.

So in my analysis in Bitcoin Live – other people have talked about this, this isn’t like genius-level analysis – but I basically told them, ‘Hey if we dip below $40k, and we don’t pretty much immediately recover it, we’re in major trouble. But if we dip below $40k and we get back above it, you want to buy it.’

… So we had that false break. We had that spring below $40k, and what does that do? That sets up a change in momentum. Now we need follow-through.”

In October, Cheds said there was a strong possibility that a Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) would launch. He also predicted that this would send BTC on a rally that topped out somewhere around $64,000, and then it would correct down to $40,000.

The trader also predicted that after Bitcoin corrects to the $40,000 level, an ascending triangle would form. Ascending triangles often suggest breakouts to the upside when validated.

Cheds notes in his new video that Bitcoin flashed the same spring that happened when it briefly dipped below $30,000 in July.

Does that mean BTC is about to break out via an ascending triangle? The analyst says he doesn’t know.

“Now the $30k spring brought us to $67-69k. Will the $40k spring get us right back on track for the weekly ascending triangle to $100k?

I don’t know. I really don’t know.” 

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Why Sovereign Nation States May Begin Acquiring Bitcoin In 2022

by NEWSBTC

Bitcoin has grown from being ‘internet money’ used by only a few thousand people during its first few years to being part of the balance sheets of big companies and sovereign states. El Salvador is a case in point for a country that has committed fully to the bitcoin mission, putting millions of dollars into the digital asset as a national reserve.

While bitcoin is still a long way from being the de facto reserve currency of all countries, its growth points to countries not being able to ignore it for much longer. That’s why it is expected that more nation-states will purchase the cryptocurrency in the next year.

Fidelity On Why Countries Will Purchase Bitcoin

In a recent report published by Fidelity, it goes into depth about bitcoin and the role it may play in deciding which countries are the economic leaders of the world. This is because as the asset becomes more widely spread as a reserve currency, the countries who hold bitcoin may see their influence grow higher than those who do not, despite where they might stand today.

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Related Reading | Jack Dorsey Launches Bitcoin Defense Fund To Aid Devs Facing Litigation

History has always shown that those who are quick to accept innovation and new technology have always ended up faring better compared to those who do not, and that may well be the case with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Fidelity also refers to it as a “very high stakes game theory.” If bitcoin adoption continues to grow, then those who got in earlier will no doubt be better off than the rest. This will push other countries to also acquire the digital asset as “insurance” so as to not be left behind even if they do not believe in the investment thesis or the adoption of the digital asset.

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Basically, sovereign nation-states would purchase bitcoin sort of as a hedge, in case it does end up being important in the future. “In other words, a small cost can be paid today as a hedge compared to a potentially much larger cost years in the future.”

A Total Ban Will Be Difficult

Touching on the ban debate that has raged on in the space, the report explained that banning bitcoin outright would be hard to achieve. Although not impossible, it could certainly lead to a significant loss of wealth and opportunity, it added.

Related Reading | Highlighting Risk: These Crypto Coins Carry The Most Leverage

There is yet to be an all-encompassing bill passed in regards to cryptocurrencies which provides total regulatory clarity. The infrastructure bill which was passed last year and scheduled to go into effect in 2024 continues to be subjected to numerous amendments, and with such a long time frame till implementation, there is no telling where the bill might end up.

However, Fidelity noted in its report that a digital asset regulation being passed into law will be a milestone for bitcoin, stating that “what we think is most notable is that digital asset regulation becoming law is another milestone as the asset class comes of age and establishes itself.”

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com

BTC trending above $43K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Featured image from Bitcoin News, chart from TradingView.com

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Analysts expect turbulent Bitcoin price until $46,500 flips to support

by Cointelegraph

Market volatility reared its ugly head once again for crypto traders on Jan. 13 as the excitement of Bitcoin (BTC) hitting its highest level in a week was quickly thwarted by a correction that thrust the cryptocurrency back into the mid-$45,000 range. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after reaching an intraday high of $44,500, bears took control of the Bitcoin market and hammered the price to a low of $42,315 while the wider global financial markets also experienced a noticeable sell-off.

BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Here is what several analysts in the cryptocurrency community are saying about Jan. 13’s price action and what levels traders should keep an eye on.

50-day EMA becomes the new resistance

Analysis of Bitcoin’s weekly price movement was provided by crypto analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Rekt Capital, who posted the following chart focused on BTC’s performance around the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA).

BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Twitter

Rekt Capital said,

“Though BTC didn’t reject from it in a picture-perfect manner… The blue 50-week EMA could be reasoned to figure as resistance at this time.”

Based on the chart provided, Bitcoin now faces stiff resistance at $44,825.

Whales exert pressure at $46,500

When it comes to where Bitcoin whales have been making a splash, on-chain analysis firm Whalemap posted the following chart detailing heavy accumulation at the current price level, as well as the previous accumulation of 90,000 BTC around the $46,500 price level.

Large Bitcoin wallet inflows. Source: Twitter

Whalemap said,

“Reclaim of $46,500 will look like a trend reversal. Whales will be providing a bit of resistance there though. All eyes on $46,500.”

“Stay calm and enjoy the markets”

This area of resistance was also highlighted by independent market analyst Michaël van de Poppe, who posted the following chart showing a rough estimate of what the BTC price action might look like for the month of January.

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Twitter

van de Poppe said,

“This might be a very realistic scenario for Bitcoin. First test of $46K, I doubt we’ll break through in one go.”

Following the breakout attempt and the rejection at $44,000, Poppe posted the following tweet calling for patience as the route higher will take time to unfold.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.023 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 39.8%.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.