Tag: Mining

Intel to Discontinue Blockscale Bitcoin Mining Chips

by Blockchain News

Major United States-based technology company Intel has announced plans to discontinue its Blockscale Bitcoin mining chips. According to a Reuters report on April 18, Intel will stop taking orders for the Blockscale 1000 Series ASICs by Oct. 20 and end shipping roughly in April 2024. The move is aimed at cutting overall costs as part of a strategy of prioritizing the manufacturing of certain chips to outside customers.

Intel launched the Blockscale mining chips in April 2022, touting the ASIC hardware’s hash rate of up to 580 gigahash per second. Each chip could be combined and merged into a single mining unit, making it a popular choice for mining firms. Argo Blockchain, Block, Hive Blockchain Technologies, and GRIID Infrastructure were among the first companies to integrate the technology into their operations.

However, with the new announcement, Intel is discontinuing the Blockscale line of chips. The move is part of a broader effort by the company to cut costs and improve efficiency. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger reportedly took a 25% pay cut in February, and the company is projecting annual cost reductions of up to $10 billion due to cost-cutting initiatives and efficiency gains by 2026.

While Intel plans to discontinue the mining chips, the company said it would continue monitoring “market opportunities” in the crypto space. This suggests that Intel remains interested in the cryptocurrency industry and could potentially launch new products or services in the future.

The Blockscale line of chips was a significant offering for Intel, but the company’s decision to discontinue them is not entirely surprising. The cryptocurrency industry is highly competitive, and mining firms are always looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Additionally, the recent drop in Bitcoin’s price has made mining less profitable for many miners, leading some to scale back or even exit the industry altogether.

Overall, Intel’s decision to discontinue the Blockscale line of chips reflects the broader trends in the cryptocurrency industry. As the market continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see further consolidation and changes among industry players. However, with Intel’s continued interest in the crypto space, it is also possible that the company will launch new products or services that cater to the needs of the industry.

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BTC Mining Report Draws Criticism

by Blockchain News

The New York Times’ recent report on Bitcoin mining, “The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin,” has been met with criticism from BTC proponents. The article claims that Bitcoin mining has a “voracious” appetite and uses as much energy as all residences in New York City. However, some analysts have pointed out that the article cherry-picks data and neglects the increasing use of renewable energy in the mining sector.

Bitcoin environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analyst, Daniel Batten, said that the article exaggerates the fossil fuel use of BTC miners and uses incomplete datasets to support its thesis. He also noted that some Bitcoin miners in the United States and Canada use 90% sustainable energy to fuel their mining activities, but the NYT article focuses on the sites least backed by renewable energy.

Bitcoin proponent, Troy Cross, criticized the article for using “marginal emissions accounting” and selectively applying it only for carbon emissions, not generation. Dennis Porter, CEO of the Satoshi Act Fund, also noted an error in the article’s initial reporting, where the wrong town was named for a BTC mining facility in Texas.

BTC mining firm Riot’s vice president of research, Pierre Rochard, accused the NYT of using “fictitious fractional-reserve carbon accounting” and “cooking the books to fabricate emissions.” Meanwhile, another Twitter user believed that the article was fear-mongering.

Despite the debate on Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption, it remains significant for the blockchain. Mining is used to verify transactions, make it decentralized, and add a layer of security. According to the Bitcoin Mining Council’s Q4 2022 report, the Bitcoin network is already a leader in sustainable energy use, with 58.9% of its energy coming from renewable sources.

While some mainstream outlets criticize Bitcoin mining for its environmental impact, many BTC proponents see these reports as hit pieces and offer opposing perspectives. Some are even campaigning to change Bitcoin’s mining consensus to the more environmentally friendly proof-of-stake. Despite the criticism, Bitcoin mining’s importance to the blockchain makes it an essential area for continued development and research into sustainable energy solutions.

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Bitcoin Hash Rate Spikes to All-Time Highs

by Blockchain News

Bitcoin has been making headlines lately, as its price continues to rise, and the hash rate of the network has reached all-time highs. According to data aggregator YCharts, Bitcoin’s network hash rate hit 398 terahashes per second (TH/s) on March 23, a significant increase from 335.32 TH/s on March 26. This surge in hash rate is being attributed to various factors, including unused mining inventory coming online, new facilities going live, and entrepreneurs finding cheap sources of mining.

Sam Wouters, a research analyst at Bitcoin financial service provider River Financial, believes that the recent spike in hash rate is linked to the inventory of mining hardware that was brought online last year. He notes that while Bitcoin’s price was low, miners brought as much inventory online as possible, and the network reached maximum capacity. However, with the recent price surge and some time passing, more inventory has been able to go online, leading to the spike in hash rate.

Wouters also suggests that Hydro models are starting to enter the market, with “250+ TH/s per machine, which adds tremendous hash rate.” Similarly, a March 20 analysis from investment banking company Stifel shared a similar sentiment, speculating that miners are bringing hardware back online, which is leading to the increase in hash rate.

One company that is benefitting from the recent surge in hash rate is TeraWulf, a US-based Bitcoin mining company. According to its CEO, Ammar Khan, TeraWulf has been able to continue mining Bitcoin at lower price levels due to its efficient mining fleets. Khan explains that some have speculated that lower prices forced miners to shut down their rigs and wait for the BTC price to improve, but TeraWulf has been able to continue mining due to their low-cost energy sites.

Khan also notes that TeraWulf has the opportunity to expand its capacity by 80 MW at LMD and 50 MW at Nautilus. He believes that the recent price movement is an indication of the long-term value of the ability to expand at low-cost energy sites. However, he does not expect the network hash rate to continue to increase through the first half of the year, as there is a lag between when investment decisions are made and when that capacity comes online.

In conclusion, while the exact reason for the recent spike in hash rate is unclear, it is evident that Bitcoin mining is becoming increasingly profitable, and miners are taking advantage of the current market conditions. As more companies enter the market, and more inventory comes online, it will be interesting to see how the hash rate continues to evolve and how it impacts the price of Bitcoin.

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Solo Bitcoin Miner Wins Rare Block Reward Worth Over $150,000

by Blockchain News

Bitcoin mining is the process by which miners add new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain. Miners must use computational power to solve complex mathematical equations to create a valid block hash. When a miner successfully creates a valid block hash, they receive a block reward of new bitcoins as well as transaction fees.

Solo mining, where a miner attempts to mine a block on their own, is becoming increasingly difficult as the network hash rate and the power of mining machines continue to rise. It is rare for a solo miner to solve a block on their own, and it typically takes them several months to do so.

However, the solo miner behind the recent block reward was able to achieve this feat in just two days. It is speculated that they may have rented hashing power to increase their chances of producing a valid hash quickly.

The miner used the Solo CK Pool mining service, which allows solo miners to create a mining pool with just one mining rig. This enables solo miners to increase their chances of earning block rewards by combining their hashing power with that of other solo miners.

The Solo CK mining pool has a history of producing solo-mined Bitcoin blocks. In January 2022, the pool was responsible for two solo-mined blocks, occurring just two weeks apart.

While solo mining is becoming increasingly difficult, there are still many miners who prefer to mine on their own rather than joining a mining pool. Solo mining allows miners to have complete control over their mining operations and to keep all of the rewards for themselves.

However, as the difficulty of mining solo continues to increase, more miners are likely to join mining pools to increase their chances of earning block rewards. Despite this, there will always be solo miners who are willing to take on the challenge of mining Bitcoin on their own.

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Former facilities worker who allegedly set up a secret cryptocurrency mining operation

by Blockchain News

After skipping a planned court appearance to respond to accusations, a former facilities worker who is accused of setting up a covert bitcoin mining operation inside a Massachusetts school’s crawl space is slated to be arrested. The hearing was to answer to the allegations.

According to several sources in the media, Nadeam Nahas’ arraignment on the allegations of vandalizing a school and making fraudulent use of power was due to take place on February 23.

A form of warrant known as a default warrant is the kind of warrant that courts issue when a person fails to appear in court or comply with an order. This type of warrant gives law enforcement officials the authority to arrest the individual in question.

It is alleged that Nahas, who is said to have previously worked in the facilities department for the town of Cohasset, Massachusetts, United States, stole electricity worth almost $18,000 in order to power his cryptocurrency mining operation in 2021, between April 28 and December 14, specifically between the dates of April 28 and December 14.

According to the reports, the local authorities were notified about the operation for the first time in December 2021. This occurred after the director of facilities at Cohasset noticed computers, wiring, and ductwork that appeared to be out of place given that they were located in a crawl space close to the school’s boiler room.

There were a total of 11 computers discovered at the location, and after a three-month investigation, Nahas was determined to be a suspect in the case.

In March, Nahas handed in his resignation from his job with the municipality of Cohasset.

It is very unlikely that this is the first time someone has been accused of stealing energy for the purpose of mining cryptocurrencies.

Officials in Malaysia destroyed Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs worth $1.2 million in July 2021 after seizing them from citizens who were stealing energy to mine Bitcoin. The rigs had been taken from citizens who were mining Bitcoin illegally.

A year earlier, in August of 2019, Bulgarian police made the arrest of two individuals for unlawfully siphoning off more than $1.5 million in energy to run two cryptocurrency mining farms.

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A cryptocurrency mining rights bill prohibit the discrimination of crypto

by Blockchain News

Following its victory in the state Senate, a piece of legislation pertaining to cryptocurrency mining rights and regulations that would prohibit discrimination against crypto miners is one step closer to becoming a reality.

The proposed laws would protect mining that takes place “at home” and strip local governments of the power to use zoning laws to stop crypto mining operations. They would also enshrine a “right to mine digital assets” and prohibit “discriminatory” electricity rates from being charged to cryptocurrency miners.

In addition to this, it forbids the imposition of additional taxes on the use of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment and proposes classifying “digital assets,” which include cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens, as “personal property,” in the same category as other financial products like stocks and bonds.

On February 23, the measure received a vote of 37 in favor and 13 against in the state Senate. It will now be considered for passage in the House of Representatives. In the event that it is also approved there, the last stage would be for it to be signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte, who has the option to either sign the measure into law or veto the bill.

Mining “provides good economic value” and has the ability to “stabilize the grid and provide income for infrastructure enhancements,” as stated in the law, which outlines that Montana wants to “protect the right to mine” cryptocurrency and “provide legal clarity” for miners.

The text of the law was drafted with the assistance of the Satoshi Action Fund, which is an organization that advocates for Bitcoin (BTC).

In April of 2019, the county of Missoula in the state of Montana established regulations that forced miners to operate only in light and heavy industrial areas and compelled miners to solely utilize renewable energy. These regulations were enacted. The zoning regulation of the county would be overturned if the bill were to be enacted.

A similar law that seeks to protect crypto miners from discrimination was approved by the Mississippi state Senate at the beginning of February and is now making its way to the Mississippi House of Representatives.

In the meanwhile, the Digital Asset Mining Protection Act of Missouri was submitted to the state legislature in the middle of January with the intention of safeguarding the legal rights of cryptocurrency miners.

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The Most Unworkable State Law

by Blockchain News

The cryptocurrency industry has recently criticised a bill that was recently proposed in the Illinois Senate due to its “unworkable” intentions to compel blockchain miners and validators to perform “impossible things.” One example of this would be undoing transactions if a state court ordered them to do so.

The Senate Bill was surreptitiously submitted into the Illinois senate on February 9 by Illinois Senator Robert Peters. However, it does not seem that the community was aware of it until February 19, when Florida-based attorney Drew Hinkes mentioned it in a tweet.

The bill, which would give the courts the authority to alter or rescind a blockchain transaction that was carried out through the use of a smart contract, would be given the title “Digital Property Protection and Law Enforcement Act,” and it would give the courts this authority in response to a valid request from the attorney general or a state’s attorney that is made in accordance with the laws of Illinois.

Any “blockchain network that executes a blockchain transaction originating in the State” would be subject to the act if it were to become law.

When it comes to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, Hinkes referred to the proposed legislation as “the most impractical state law” he has ever seen.

“This is a shocking about-face for a state that was previously supportive of innovation. Instead, he tweeted that the state had enacted “probably the most impractical state legislation relating to cryptocurrency and blockchain I have ever seen.”

According to the provisions of the law, miners and validators on the blockchain might be subject to fines ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 for each day that they disobey the instructions of the court.

Hinkes said that it would be “difficult” for miners and validators to comply with the measure suggested by Senator Peters, despite the fact that he acknowledged the need of passing legislation that would increase consumer protection.

Hinkes was also surprised to learn that miners and validators who worked on a blockchain network that “has not adopted reasonably available processes” to comply with the court orders would have “no defense” open to them.

The law also seems to dictate that “any person utilizing a smart contract to supply goods and services” must include code in the smart contract that may be used to comply with court orders. This code can be used to ensure that the terms of the smart contract are followed.

“Any person utilizing a smart contract to supply goods or services in this State should incorporate smart contract code capable of implementing court orders respecting the smart contract,” is the full text of the law.

Other members of the bitcoin community have replied with derision of the measure in a manner similar to what was previously said.

On February 19, the crypto analyst “foobar” remarked to the 120,800 people who follow him on Twitter that court-ordered transactions would need to be changed “without having the private key” of the participants, which he found to be “hilarious.”

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CleanSpark Buys 20000 New Bitcoin Miners to Boost

by Blockchain News

CleanSpark, a Bitcoin miner, is expanding its mining capacity in the United States by purchasing 20,000 additional Antminer S19j Pro+ machines for a total cost of $43.6 million. It is anticipated that the acquisition would increase the processing capacity of the firm by 37%. Additionally, the transaction will bring the total number of miners acquired during the bear market up to 46,500 units.

After applying coupons for a discount of 25%, CleanSpark will pay $32.3 million for the machines. This comes out to a total price per terahash (TH) of around $13.25, as stated in a statement released on February 16th. It is anticipated that the Pro+ rigs would be delivered in batches between the months of March and May, and they are 22% more productive than their prior versions.

The firm is increasing its mining capacity by taking advantage of the market’s decreasing rig pricing in order to do so while the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is on the rise. According to information provided by Hashrate Index, the price per TH of ASICs with the same Bitcoin mining effectiveness is presently at $15.09, which is a significant drop from the price of $90.72 that was witnessed one year ago. In comparison to other computers of the same ASIC generation, the Antminer S19j Pro+ model, according to CleanSpark, provides a higher return on investment.

According to the business, “Once they are fully operational, it is projected that they will add 2.44 EH/s to CleanSpark’s current 6.6 EH/s of bitcoin mining processing capacity (for a total of 9 EH/s),” which would represent an increase of 37%.

CleanSpark asserts that the acquired models continue to be more appealing to its operations in the present market circumstances and that this trend will likely continue in the foreseeable future. “The S19j Pro+ delivers 122 terahashes per machine and saves an average of 2 joules of energy per terahash when compared to the S19j Pro model of the same generation,” the company said, adding that a total of 15,000 of the new machines will be shipped to the company’s locations in the city of Washington, Georgia. It was announced in January by CleanSpark that the site will be receiving an extension costing $16 million. This expansion is expected to result in an increase in the hash rate of 2.2 exahashes per second (EH/s), bringing the overall hash rate to as high as 8.7 EH/s. Before moving into the premises that was previously occupied by Mawson Infrastructure Group in Sandersville, the firm bought the building in August of the previous year.

According to a research conducted by Hashrate Index, publicly traded mining businesses had an increase in their mining output as well as their hash rates in January, after a challenging year in 2022 that was marked by falling Bitcoin prices and rising power costs. The amount of Bitcoin that was mined by CleanSpark throughout the month increased by a whopping 50 percent, hitting a new monthly production high of 697 BTC. Since December, when it was 6.2 EH/s, its hash rate has increased to 6.6 EH/s.

Other public mining companies, such as Core Scientific, Riot, Marathon, and Cipher, have seen significant increases in Bitcoin production over the course of the past month. This was made possible by consistent increases in the cost of electricity in the United States as well as improved weather conditions.

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What Happens When the Bitcoin Blockchain Produces an Empty Block

by Blockchain News

Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency that is renowned for its durability, security, and dependability. A new block is added to the network on average every ten minutes, and the miner who successfully creates the block is rewarded with 6.25 Bitcoin, which is equivalent to almost $130,000.

On the other hand, the Bitcoin blockchain is known to sometimes spring a surprise on both watchers and players.

Nodes around the network confirmed the existence of a totally empty block at the height of 776,339 blocks. The fact that the block was uploaded to the Bitcoin network with no transactions included caused considerable consternation among those involved in the cryptocurrency industry. What precisely is meant by the term “empty block,” and how does this phenomenon occur?

To begin, while the presence of an empty block on the network may at first seem peculiar, this kind of thing is really rather common. Block 774486 was the location where it happened a little more than two weeks ago to the day.

Miners are encouraged to mine blocks as rapidly as possible, and as a result, they may mine a block even if they have not yet received any transactions that they may include in the block. When this occurs, the block will continue to be empty.

The following justification may be found in the Bitcoin mempool, which is the primary location for doing research on the Bitcoin blockchain: “When a new block is located, mining pools will give miners a block template that does not include any transactions. This will allow them to begin the search for the next block as quickly as possible. They immediately transmit a block template that is complete with transactions; but, a complete block template is a larger data transfer and reaches miners after a little longer period of time.

“During this interim period, which is often no more than one to two seconds, miners sometimes get fortunate and discover a new block utilizing the empty block template,”

In essence, mining a template was a case of “getting fortunate” for the miners. The Bitcoin block with the height of 776,389 was added to the chain just a few seconds after the block that came before it, which had the height of 776,488. However, Block 776,388 received an additional 0.086 BTC in fees, which is equivalent to around $1,854. This amount was added to the block reward of 6.25 BTC, which is approximately $135,247.

Even when there are no transactions in an empty block, the miner is still rewarded with freshly created bitcoins as part of the block reward. As a result, the reward for Block 776,389 was 6.25 Bitcoin and there were no transaction fees. The winning miner was Binance Pool, which contributed as much as 12% to the overall hash rate of the network.

It is essential to emphasize the fact that empty blocks do not provide a challenge for the network. Mining empty blocks still results in the production of the coin creation transaction, sometimes referred to as the coinbase transaction. This transaction ensures that Bitcoin is on track to meet its goal of having 21 million Bitcoins in circulation.

The proportion of vacant blocks on the network is often between between 1% and 2%, as seen by the statistics provided by BitInfoCharts. Given the proliferation of “ordinals” on Bitcoin, also known as the capacity to permanently carve photos, data, and marks into the blockchain, this statistic is even more shocking in light of its current state.

The increase in ordinals has led to various queries and even some anxiety among the Bitcoin community, and only lately the very first cases of pornography were documented.

As more and more image aficionados compete to have their work included in the Bitcoin blockchain, the mempool has become a more congested place, and block space has become a disputed resource.

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Publicly Listed Bitcoin Mining Companies Show Steady Increase in Hash Rate

by Blockchain News

According to a new analysis from Hashrate Index, the first production update of 2023 from publicly listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies reveals a consistent increase in hash rate and a surge in BTC production compared to the previous month. These findings are based on a comparison with the previous month.

In January, the vast majority of public miners raised their output of bitcoin, with CleanSpark increasing their production by a whopping 50 percent to achieve a record monthly production of 697 Bitcoins. Core Scientific, the most prolific Bitcoin miner, attained a total of 1,527 coins mined during the month of January. Riot, the second-most prolific Bitcoin miner, mined a total of 740 Bitcoins over the same time period.

Both Marathon and Cipher have experienced considerable gains in Bitcoin output, with Marathon hitting 687 Bitcoins created and Cipher reaching 343 Bitcoins generated. This compares to 475 and 225 Bitcoins generated respectively in December.

In January, improved weather conditions and more steady costs for energy helped miners increase their productivity, according to the analysis of a Bitcoin mining expert named Jaran Mellerud. “During the month of December, a winter storm swept throughout the continent of North America, which resulted in soaring power bills and intermittently caused many of these businesses to scale down their operations. Miners were able to reach a greater up-time since power costs were able to stabilize throughout the month of January thanks to the improvement in the weather.

The majority of public miners saw their hash rates grow in January, but at a more gradual pace than was anticipated. Cipher, a company located in Texas, is the one notable exception; it increased its hash rate by more than 50 percent, reaching 4.3 EH/s. “During this bad market, Cipher has been working very hard to develop, and I anticipate that the firm will meet its hashrate objective of 6 EH/s of self-mining capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2023,” Mellerud stated.

After completing a number of mergers and acquisitions in the latter half of 2022, CleanSpark was able to increase its hash rate to 6.6 EH/s, up from 6.2 EH/s in December. Additionally, in January, Hive saw growth, as seen by an increase in its hash rate of approximately 30 percent, which went from 2.1 to 2.7 EH/s. According to Mellerud, the CEO of Hive, the firm is continually modernizing its GPU fleet with ASICs, the majority of which are in-house developed Buzzminers.

Additionally, Core Scientific has continued to increase its hash rate, which jumped from 15.7 EH/s in December to 17 EH/s in January. The bankruptcy proceedings of the company are expected to have an effect on the figures; these proceedings include a deal with the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) to pay off an outstanding debt of $38.6 million by handing over more than 27,000 mining machines used as collateral; these machines represent 18% of Core Scientific rigs. The figures are expected to be impacted by the bankruptcy proceedings of the company.

After many months of struggling financially as a result of rising power bills and falling Bitcoin prices, Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 21 in an effort to restructure its obligations and get a fresh start.

Mellerud also brought out the fact that “these corporations have, on more than one occasion, extended the deadline of their ambitious hashrate growth promises.” The majority of them have intentions to significantly boost their hashrate that they are now running by the end of the second quarter of this year. At this pace, it is probable that the majority of them will be forced to postpone their growth plans until even farther into the future.

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