Bitcoin Mining

Peter Wall – CEO of the publicly traded miner Argo Blockchain – recently broke down how Bitcoin mining is supporting the Texas power grid. He argued that miners are a form of “flexible load” that can give their power back to the grid when it’s put under stress. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, the CEO explained why Argo suspended its operation in Texas on Monday. The firm was responding to a call from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas…

Compass Mining is the next crypto company to succumb to falling crypto prices and macroeconomic uncertainty. The firm’s co-CEOs sent a letter to investors on Thursday confirming that it had laid off 15% of staff. In addition to staff cuts, Compass will also implement compensation and spending reductions across the rest of the business. “While painful, these changes will enable Compass to stay agile and well-positioned in this evolving market, which has challenged many of our industry peers,” stated the…

The electricity consumption of Bitcoin mining companies has plunged significantly in the wake of the intensifying crypto winter. Crypto analyst Digiconomist revealed this news in its Energy Consumption Indices for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). According to the BTC index, the electricity consumption of Proof-of-Work (PoW) miners has plunged nearly 36% in under two weeks. Specifically, BTC’s energy use fell from 204.50 TWh on June 11 to 131.68 TWh on June 23. Despite declining by over a third, BTC’s energy…

Eric Adams – the crypto-bullish mayor of New York City – stands against the proposed bill to ban carbon-based Bitcoin mining across the state. In a recent interview, he revealed plans to speak with Governor Kathy Hochul to encourage her to veto the bill. Reversing His Position? Speaking with the New York business paper Crain’s on Monday, the mayor claimed that the proposed ban could interfere with mining upstate. Considering that billions of dollars go into crypto already, he doesn’t…

Yet another central bank is coming after Bitcoin – this time for its oft-criticized proof of work (POW) consensus mechanism. It  recently suggested that POW mining consumes too much energy, and ought to be banned in favor of “less energy-intensive methods.” As the central bank tweeted on Friday, energy consumption has increased sharply in recent years – especially for Bitcoin. According to estimates from Cambridge University, the network currently consumes around 128 TWh of electricity per year. That’s more than…

President Biden and his administration are working on policy solutions for minimizing the environmental effects of Bitcoin mining. As more hash power migrates to the U.S, critics have begun claiming that it could threaten US climate goals. The Proof-of-Stake Question As reported by BloombergTax on Thursday, the new report is expected in August and will push federal agencies towards ensuring more “responsible” mining. However, it's unclear if those recommendations will lead to effective policy action. Costa Samaras, principal assistant director…

In a voting majority, earlier this week, Norway’s parliament the Storting ruled against a proposal to outlaw Bitcoin mining. Proposing the bill was Sofie Marhaug, representing Rodt, Norway's communist party. Marhaug’s party contended that Bitcoin extraction consumed too much energy which according to them was not good for Norway’s electricity reserves.   Backing them were only two parties: The Socialist People's party and the Labor party. Unfortunately for rising Bitcoin mining naysayers, the Storting disagreed and rejected the proposal. Bitcoin Mining…

Bitcoin's mining difficulty rate hit an all-time high as April neared its end — its second within the month. The network’s increasing difficulty is a testament to its growing adoption and an increasing pool of miners. Bitcoin Marks a Milestone Barely three weeks after Bitcoin broke the record for its highest network difficulty rate yet, it set another. On Wednesday, April 6, Bitcoin first made history when its difficulty mining rate jumped a notable 5.56%. This put it at the…

New York is close to signing a two-year moratorium on Bitcoin mining into law. The state assembly passed a bill today to prevent users from renewing fossil-fuel permits for proof-of-work mining activity. New York Against Mining After passing yesterday, the bill is now headed for the Democratic-controlled State Senate. Democrats – who are more concerned with environmental protections than their Republican counterparts – have a reputation for standing against Bitcoin mining. That includes New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who…