Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin investor, has decided to continue supporting Bitcoin Cash (BCH) over Bitcoin (BTC) despite an invitation from Blockstream CEO Adam Back to rejoin the Bitcoin community. Ver criticizes layer two blockchain solutions, like Back’s Liquid Network, as centralized or unreliable, maintaining that bitcoin cash more closely aligns with the original vision […]
Bitcoin News
Square and Blockstream To Build U.S. Based Bitcoin Mine With Renewable Energy
Bitcoin mining is on the move. Around the world, more companies and initiatives are being brought to life. Blockstream and Square have announced a partnership to build one in the U.S. based on renewable energy.
The Bitcoin infrastructure startup, led by Adam Back, and the financial services company, led by Jack Dorsey, will create an open-source Bitcoin mining facility driven by solar energy. The BTC mine will be constructed on a Blockstream mining site located in the United States.
Their objective is to share details on the project’s economics and their experience in the development of the facility. In addition, they plan to raise awareness and demonstrate BTC mining and renewable energy can be a catalyzer for a transition towards clean energy.
Together with @Square, we’re building an open-source fully solar-powered #Bitcoin mining facility at one of our US #BlockstreamMining locations to demonstrate how #BTC mining and renewables can drive the clean energy transition. ☀️⛏️ https://t.co/0D4yKOe82M pic.twitter.com/HdVhe031GY
— Blockstream (@Blockstream) June 5, 2021
Square will invest million and Blockstream will provide the infrastructure and expertise to help build the project. Ultimately, it will be a Proof-of-Concept used to demonstrate that green Bitcoin mining at scale it’s possible. Thus, the need for transparency in every detail. Chris Cook, CIO and head of Mining at Blockstream said:
Many mining operations throughout the world, including our own, already rely on renewable energy because it is the most cost-effective power available. Together with Square, we hope that the open and transparent nature of the project will become a model that other businesses can learn from.
Bitcoin, A Tool To Build A Sustainable Future
Once built, the BTC mining facility will allow other participants to expand the operations. It will be designed to be scalable and with the capacity to add more support for future growth.
Neil Jorgensen, Global ESG Lead at Square, revealed to be excited about the partnership and along with Blockstream will contribute with a working model to prove their thesis. Jorgensen added:
The project will serve as an ongoing, transparent case study that will allow us to all learn together the specific unit economics of clean energy Bitcoin mining. We can’t wait to start sharing our results with the community.
Blockstream will provide regular reports on the project and will have a publicly available dashboard to display real-time metrics on the BTC mine’s performance. This will include its power output and the amount of BTC mined. The dashboard will be based on a technology called Blockstream Mining Note (BMN).
Square has made several efforts to support the growth of Bitcoin and its ecosystem. The Dorsey-led company published a Whitepaper with firm Ark Invest on a system based on renewable power to drive batteries and use BTC mining to absorb the excess energy.
During a discussion with Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation, in the Bitcoin 2021 Conference, Dorsey said:
Ultimately miners have to make a profit and getting cheap renewable energy maximizes their potential for profit (…). Bitcoin over time and today does incentivized more renewable energy and awareness about how they are getting that power. It gives people freedom to convert wasted power into something that creates value for billions of people around the world.
BTC trades at ,132 with a persistent sideways trend after an over 50% correction in the past week. In the 7-day and 30-day charts, BTC has a 1.2% profit and a 37.1% loss, respectively.
![Bitcoin BTC BTCUSD](https://www.newsbtc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bitcoin-BTC-BTCUSD-3-860x512.png)
Exclusive Nothing Is Above Bitcoin, No CBDC, No Stablecoins,’ Says Blockstream CEO Adam Back
n Just wait until you hear what he has to say about Libran
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Blockstream CEO Adam Back: How Bitcoin Sidechains Could Destroy Altcoins
Early cryptocurrency developer and British cryptography expert Adam Back has been speaking at the Transylvania Crypto Conference about Bitcoin sidechains. The basic premise is that this additional functionality could render many of the altcoins simply unnecessary.
Bitcoin Sidechains The Future
It has been five years today since the original whitepaper on Bitcoin sidechains was released. Back, who invented HashCash way before Bitcoin back in 1997, has been instrumental in cryptographic innovation and pioneered BTC Core development. His firm, Blockstream, provides the funding for the development of the predominant Bitcoin network client software.
The premise of sidechains as outlined in the paper was that users could move their BTC between multiple, completely different blockchains that could enable a wide range of new crypto features which have emerged in many of the current altcoins.
New functionality and features could all be built into Bitcoin by way of sidechains, theoretically rendering many of today’s altcoins redundant. According to Forbes, current sidechain technology comes with trade-offs in the areas of centralization and censorship resistance.
Back is bullish on the premise that a future Bitcoin could have such functionality. He clearly is not fond of the current state of the market which is packed with altcoins.
“In the history of altcoins, it seemed like there was a period where there were a huge number of them that had no features, and that played out. And then people started to need a new way to market them, so they added features. Some of them were real features, and some of them were stories to market.”
Speaking in a panel at the conference, Back added that a modular Bitcoin Core could enable developers to simply build on this as opposed to creating an entirely new blockchain and token.
“This financial incentive will remain, but it will have less credibility because if you have a very easy to use extension mechanism for Bitcoin and examples of extensions that do something simple that you can build on, there’s not really a good story about why you’re doing it somewhere else,”
He used the internet as an example stating that its development would be equally as messy if there were hundreds of forked copies of its underlying protocol, TCP/IP. He added that layer two protocols such as the Lightning Network could also make alternative payments processors appear pointless.
Not Exactly Decentralized
There are a number of current sidechains such as Blockstream’s Liquid but they are not entirely trustless. Back acknowledged this adding “Your risk with Bitcoin is that, ultimately, the coins are escrowed in some way – in a somewhat decentralized way,”
The current state of play is that altcoins do offer something different and trustless sidechains for Bitcoin are still a few years away.
Ripple’s token is a centralized enterprise level cross border banking platform and Ethereum offers a smart contract computer and decentralized finance platform – both totally different to Bitcoin. Even with sidechains for BTC it is very unlikely that the alternatives will simply disappear. They will need to evolve at the same pace or faster to survive.
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Blockstream Green Wallet Adds Early Access Tor Integration
The latest version of the Blockstream Green bitcoin wallet includes a Tor integration that can be leveraged to obfuscate a users IP address.nThe post Blockstream Green Wallet Adds Early Access Tor Integration appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.n
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Blockstream Executive Slams Ethereum, Deems It a “Technological Dead End”
One long-held critique of the Ethereum blockchain is that it has failed to successfully address the scaling issues that have longed plagued it. These scaling issues became abundantly clear in a recent report that elucidated how the blockchain’s network utilization has reached a whopping 90%.
This report has led one prominent figure within the crypto industry to slam Ethereum, calling it a “technological dead end” and even going so far as to say that it may soon “die.”
Ethereum Network Capacity “Almost Full” Due to Tether (USDT)
A recent report from Bloomberg explained that controversial stable coin Tether (USDT) is the current source behind Ethereum’s 90% network utilization, which may mean that on-chain transaction fees will soon surge to levels that lead many developers and users to move to other chains.
Although Ethereum’s nearly full network capacity is certainly an issue presently, it is important to note that many analysts and developers anticipate these issues to be resolved after the release of Ethereum 2.0, which will introduce Proof-of-Stake and sharding solutions to the chain, which is expected to fix ETH’s current scaling issues.
The first step to introducing ETH2.0 will be Beacon Chain, which is expected to be released at some point in the near-future.
Blockstream CSO Claims ETH is a “Dead End”
Samson Mow, a prominent figure within the crypto industry and the CSO at Blockstream, explained in a recent tweet that he believes that the Ethereum blockchain is a “dead end” that will ultimately “die.”
“Ethereum is a technological dead end. The more it’s used, the faster it dies. Fortunately, USDT is also available on the #LiquidNetwork which is more scalable and later will allow Lightning Networks to be created for assets like Tether,” Mow explained.
Ethereum is a technological dead end. The more it’s used, the faster it dies. Fortunately, USDt is also available on the #LiquidNetwork which is more scalable and later will allow Lightning Networks to be created for assets like Tether.
https://t.co/Fn5owRSRk0
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 27, 2019
Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, responded to Mow by noting that Bitcoin’s network capacity is “also full,” eluding to the fact that scaling is an issue that is not unique to Ethereum, and major scaling solutions have not yet solved the problems faced by other major blockchains.
“You do realize that Bitcoin is also ‘almost full’ in exactly the same way ethereum is, right?” Buterin said.
You do realize that Bitcoin is also "almost full" in exactly the same way ethereum is, right?
— Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) August 27, 2019
ETH2.0 will be a critical development for the future success of the Ethereum blockchain, but if it is unable to fully amend the issues currently faced by the blockchain, it could mean that there will be a mass exodus of developers and users away from Ethereum.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin Mining by Blockstream, Ripple Investment Plans, Binance US Unveils Altcoin Lineup
Another week, another of Crypto Tidbits. Bitcoin (BTC) bulls continued to show their faces after a brief lull.
Per data from Coin360, the leading cryptocurrency is up 6% over the past seven days. Despite the fact that altcoins are supposed to follow Bitcoin, assets like Ethereum, XRP, and so on actually underperformed BTC by a large margin, resulting in two-year highs for the Bitcoin dominance statistic.
Related Reading: Gann Theory Suggests Bitcoin Price at “Do or Die” Moment, Important Pivot Ahead
Price action aside, this week saw a number of interesting developments for the cryptocurrency space: the latest round of tariffs from Donald Trump have sparked another round of debates over Bitcoin’s potential as a safe haven; nations in the G7 have renewed efforts to crack down on crypto, and a number of industry startups made a handful of product announcements.
Related Reading: Crypto Tidbits: LedgerX Bitcoin Futures, Federal Reserve Rate Cut Bullish, Square Booms
- Leading Nations Looking to Crack Down on Crypto Money Laundering: Reported by Nikkei Asian Review, a consortium of some 15 countries, including the nations of the G7 (U.S., Germany, Japan, etc.), will be creating a platform that will ensure that crypto assets, like Bitcoin, will be hard to use in money laundering operations. The system, which is to be created and designed by the Financial Action Task Force, will collect and share the personal information of those that are involved in the crypto industry. Nikkei’s article reads: “The goal is to prevent funds from being laundered, going to terrorist organizations or otherwise being put to illicit use.” This comes as politicians like Donald Trump have vehemently come out against cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Libra.
- Binance U.S. Unveils Potential List of Supported Crypto Assets: Binance’s American subsidiary, Binance US, is nearing its launch. However, ever since it was announced back in mid-June, crypto investors have been wondering which altcoins the new platform would support, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to give clear guidelines for crypto exchanges. But Binance recently shocked the crypto trading community, unveiling a nice swath of digital assets it may support. The list includes the normal suspects, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also an array of smaller altcoins that may not ring a bell. The 30 cryptocurrencies that the Binance subsidiary is currently considering are as follows (in alphabetical order): ADA, ATOM, BAT, BCHABC, BNB, BTC, DASH, EOS, ETC, ETH, HOT, IOTA, LINK, LOOM, LTC, MANA, NANO, NEO, PAX, REP, RVN, TUSD, USDC, USDT, VET, WAVES, XLM, XRP, ZIL, and ZRX.
- Crypto-Friendly Social Media Firm Kik Pushes Back Against the SEC: For months now, crypto-friendly social media firm Kik, which famously hosted a 0 million ICO for the KIN project, has been tussling with the U.S. SEC. The regulatory agency sued the Canadian firm, claiming that it was in violation of securities laws. Kik is now fighting back. Earlier this week, the firm released an over 100-page document rebutting the SEC’s concerns. While the piece is quite long, there are a few key takeaways put forth by Kik’s team of lawyers and technologists: Kik did not sell digital securities, and thus did not violate any pertinent federal laws; the crypto isn’t the firm’s attempt to save itself from going under; KIN isn’t the only company foraying into social media digital assets, but is the first; the SEC is ignoring certain statements that would help Kik’s case; the SEC is operating on a “flawed factual and legal premise”. Some, funnily enough, have said that this “flawed premise” extends to its rulings on Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
- Ripple CEO Expects to Bag More Deals: Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse told Yahoo Finance that he wants his firm to leverage its strong position in the market and large balance sheet to make more investments and acquisitions. No specific firms were mentioned, but Garlinghouse said that Ripple is looking into deals that will allow it to better satisfy its customers. This, of course, comes shortly after the firm bagged a deal with Moneygram, one of the world’s largest money-transfer firms, to utilize xRapid.
- Blockstream Launches Bitcoin Mining Service: Blockstream, the Canadian Bitcoin development and services giant, has just expanded its operations once again. This time, it is launching a mining service, which actually commenced operations in secret way back in 2017. This new division is a “mining equipment colocation” service, which promotes “institutional and enterprise customers” to deploy “virtually any type of Bitcoin mining equipment” in any of Blockstream’s centers. Currently, the colocation service is used by Fidelity Investments, the prominent Wall Street firm that has been mining Bitcoin in-office for years; pro-crypto LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and Blockstream itself, which claims to have machines that power “less than 1%” of the Bitcoin network. The firm is also launching a mining pool that will promote decentralization.
- Bitcoin Hash Rate Continues Higher: Despite Bitcoin’s tumultuous price action, miners continue on adding capital to the space. This week, Bitcoin’s hash rate surmounted 80 EH/s for the first time ever.
- EtherDelta Involved in Scam: China: According to Dovey Wan, a prominent Chinese crypto investor and industry insider, EtherDelta is purportedly involved in an exit scam. The popular Ethereum decentralized exchange was purportedly quietly sold off to Chinese investors by the SEC-charged Zack Coburn. The unnamed investors then later used their newly-acquired platform to sell a crypto asset with EtherDelta branding in an apparent exit scam. The details of this case are still unclear.
- New Crypto Platform FTX Bags Million: FTX, an up-and-coming crypto trading platform backed by many of the individuals at industry fund Alameda Research, has secured million in investment from a number of industry venture firms.
- Bitwise Claims Libra Accelerated Crypto by Three Years: Bitwise’s Matt Hougan claimed that Libra helped to propel the industry to “center stage”, which is especially important for an industry as fringe and abstract as digital assets and non-fiat monies. Elaborating, Hougan added that Libra is also important because it and “other catalysts” have “changed the nature” of the conversations that investors and others are having about this industry. This paradigm shift in how the public addresses Bitcoin and its ilk, he adds, has been seen across the globe.
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Blockstream Launches Security Token Platform on Bitcoin Sidechain
Blockstream, the bitcoin-focused startup, is creating a new security token platform on its Liquid sidechain network.
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Blockchain Infrastructure Firm Blockstream Launches Security Token Platform
n Blockstream has announced the launch of its Liquid Securities platform for businesses that want to issue security tokensn
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Blockstream Releases First Enterprise-Grade Product on Liquid
n nn nn Security tokens are coming to Bitcoin, courtesy of Blockstream.The Bitcoin and blockchain technology company announced on May 15, 2019, the final day of the Consensus 2019 conference, that Liquid Securities, a platform for issuing and managing security tokens on its Liquid sidechain, is ready to go live. This platform will provide Liquid and its users with its first product to issue digital assets, a foundational milestone for bringing tokenization to the
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