Bitmain has announced the release of the Antminer L9, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miner tailored for coins that use the Scrypt algorithm, such as litecoin and dogecoin. The company reports that this new model provides 16 gigahash per second (GH/s) in hashing power and achieves an energy efficiency of 210 joules per gigahash (J/G). […]
Bitcoin News
Latam Insights: El Salvador Embraces Geothermal Bitcoin Mining, Bitfarms Expands Its Capacity in Paraguay
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: El Salvador produced nearly 474 bitcoin using geothermal energy, Bitfarms expanded the capacity of its Paraguayan bitcoin mining facility, and Bitso launched an in-house Web3 wallet. El Salvador Reportedly Mined Nearly 474 BTC […]
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Bitcoin Miner Bitdeer Seeks $100 Million for Mining Capacity Expansion
Bitcoin miner Bitdeer is reportedly in discussions with private credit firms to secure 0 million in funding to expand its mining capacity. It is believed that the cryptocurrency miner has engaged a financial adviser to assist with the negotiations. Negotiations Between Bitdeer and Lenders Continue The cryptocurrency mining firm Bitdeer Technologies Group is reportedly seeking […]
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Bitdeer to Boost BTC Mining Capacity With Proprietary Sealminer A1 Rigs, Eyeing 46 EH/S Milestone by 2025
The Nasdaq-traded company specializing in bitcoin mining, Bitdeer, has unveiled its strategy to boost its overall hashrate by an additional 3.4 exahash per second (EH/s) through the deployment of its proprietary Sealminer A1 mining devices. These advanced rigs are slated for setup within Bitdeer’s mining facilities located in Texas and Norway, targeting the latter half […]
Bitcoin News
Economic Intelligence Unit: Nigerian Central Bank Lacks Capacity to Defend Local Currency
The Economic Intelligence Unit has stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria cannot halt the rapid depreciation of the local currency. The continued volatility of the naira is expected to result in erratic regulation, primarily affecting businesses that hold foreign exchange. Nigeria Presses Ahead With Reforms The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has stated that the […]
Bitcoin News
Bitfarms Expands Mining Operations With New 100 MW Facility in Paraguay, Aiming for 21 EH/s Capacity by Year End
On Wednesday, Bitfarms, a bitcoin mining enterprise listed on the U.S. stock market, revealed the successful acquisition of a new site in Yguazu, Paraguay, earmarked for a 100 megawatt (MW) mining facility. This development is part of Bitfarms’ ambitious plan to escalate its capacity to 21 exahash per second (EH/s) by year’s end.
Bitfarms Targets 21 EH/S Capacity With New Paraguay Facility
The announcement by Bitfarms (Nasdaq: BITF) about securing land in Yguazu, Paraguay, aligns with the current trend of significant expansion observed in the mining sector. This period has seen numerous mining corporations extend their operations and procure an extensive array of tens of thousands of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs.
“The newly acquired land is located in the heart of Paraguay near the Itaipú Dam, the third largest hydropower dam in the world with 14 gigawatts of installed capacity,” Geoff Morphy the president and CEO of Bitfarms remarked on Wednesday. “Positioned to benefit from the region’s abundant renewable energy resources, this new facility should be sustainable both economically and environmentally.”
Morphy added:
Once Yguazu comes online, over 85% of our portfolio will be powered by low-cost green energy that promotes environmentally sustainable bitcoin mining.
Bitfarms anticipates completing the construction phase by the latter part of 2024. This growth is a key component of Bitfarms’ strategy to boost its corporate hashrate to 21 EH/s by the close of 2024, leveraging a purchase option agreement with Bitmain for additional T21 mining rigs. On Wednesday, BITF shares witnessed a 5% increase in value against the U.S. dollar, yet the stock has experienced an 8% decline over the week. Additionally, 30-day data reveals a loss exceeding 25% in BITF shares’ value this month.
What do you think about Bitfarms expanding in Paraguay? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Iris Energy Boosts Bitcoin Mining Capacity to 6 EH/s, Eyes 20 EH/s Milestone by H2 2024
According to an announcement from the publicly-listed bitcoin miner Iris Energy, the mining operation has increased its operating capacity to 6 exahash per second (EH/s) and expects an additional 4 EH/s to be online by the first half of 2024.
Iris Boosts Mining Capacity to 6 EH/s Amidst IREN Share Dip
The announcement on Tuesday from Iris Energy (Nasdaq: IREN) highlighted the growth of its mining operations to 6 EH/s, following the deployment of new mining hardware. Over the last six months, Iris has reported several purchases of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs.
Notably, in October 2023, the company disclosed the acquisition of Bitmain S21 Antminers worth .6 million. This was followed in November by the purchase of 7,000 T21 Antminers from the ASIC manufacturer.
Additionally, in December, Iris announced the acquisition of another 8,380 T21 Antminers from Bitmain. Iris Energy is projecting an increase in its mining operations, expecting an additional 4 exahash per second (EH/s) to become operational by the end of the first half of 2024.
The company also emphasized its trajectory towards achieving a 20 EH/s target by the latter half of 2024. This ambitious goal comes on the heels of a significant acquisition – a purchase and fixed price option agreement for an extra 10 EH/s of Bitmain T21 miners.
Shares of IREN have not performed as strongly as they did in 2023, experiencing a notable decline of 47.2% against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year. A recent analysis by theminermag.com reveals that publicly-listed mining companies have seen a reduction in value, amounting to billion, since the year’s commencement.
What do you think about Iris expanding its hashrate by adding 6 EH/s of hashpower? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Blockchain Surpasses Half-Terabyte Amid Soaring Transactions and Increased Block Capacity
Although bitcoin’s price hasn’t eclipsed its historic peak, this year the network has shattered multiple records. These include reaching the highest level of difficulty, achieving an all-time high in total hashrate, and setting a new record for daily confirmed transactions. In 2023, another new milestone was achieved as the distributed ledger expanded to half a terabyte, surpassing 500 gigabytes in size to accommodate the entire blockchain’s records.
Bitcoin Exceeds 500 GB Blockchain Size Amidst Unprecedented Transactional Growth
To maintain an unpruned Bitcoin blockchain, node operators now need in excess of 500 gigabytes (GB) of available storage. Downloading the full blockchain would take about 47 hours and 44 minutes using a standard 24 Mbps ADSL connection.
Conversely, with a 100 Mbps fiber optic connection, the process shortens to roughly 11 hours and 22 minutes, assuming there’s no network congestion or server restrictions. Current data reveals that the Bitcoin blockchain’s size has reached 534.49 GB, exceeding half a terabyte (TB).
Around 431 days ago, or one year and two months back on October 15, 2022, the blockchain was approximately 432 GB. This indicates a growth of just over 100 GB in the past year, a rate faster than usual.
This acceleration is primarily due to the average Bitcoin block size increasing significantly in 2023, with this trend notably beginning on January 2, 2023. The rise of Bitcoin block sizes stems from the Ordinals inscription trend that started in December 2022.
By the first week of January, the average block size increased and by Feb. 12, 2023, it ramped up to 2.517 megabytes (MB). A great example is the mean average block size for Bitcoin between Jan. 1, 2020, and Nov. 30, 2022, (1,064 days) was approximately 1.2 MB.
But the mean average block size for Bitcoin from Jan. 3, 2023, to Dec. 19, 2023, (350 days) was approximately 1.705 MB. Across the entire 365 days in 2016, the mean average block size for Bitcoin was .781 MB, and in 2017 across the entire year, the mean average was .949 MB.
Besides 2018, the following years thereafter the average block size and the mean average across 365-day intervals has always been above 1 MB. The mean average for 2022 was 1.19 MB and so far, while 2023 is close to done, the mean average is now 1.70 MB.
While it is a considerable increase from yesteryears, 1.7 MB is still not enough for current block space demand. Presently, there are 306,379 transactions stuck in the mempool (a backlog of unconfirmed transfers) and miners need to clear 349 blocks just to get ahead.
A high-priority fee onchain on Dec. 20, 2023, is .32 per transaction. With Ordinal inscriptions and traditional monetary transfers, BTC is seeing upwards of 600,000 transactions per day or an average of 7.93 transactions confirmed per second.
The growth and evolution of the Bitcoin network in 2023 underscore the dynamic nature of the crypto landscape. While the size of the blockchain is increasing, surpassing the half-terabyte mark, Bitcoin continues to display remarkable resilience and adaptability.
The significant increase in average block size, primarily driven by the Ordinals inscription trend, reflects the ever-changing demands and innovations within the network. However, this growth has also highlighted the limitations of the current infrastructure, as evidenced by the considerable number of transactions stuck in the mempool and the need for higher transaction fees to expedite processing.
What do you think about the Bitcoin blockchain crossing beyond 500 GB? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Ghana’s Securities Regulator Creates Taskforce to Build Capacity for Crypto Asset Oversight
The Ghanaian securities regulator has established a task force which is expected to help it boost its capacity to regulate crypto assets. Ghanaian residents have continued to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies and this has forced the regulator to think of ways to protect crypto users.
Gaining Crypto Asset Owners’ Confidence
According to Daniel Ogbamey-Tetteh, the Director General of the Ghanaian Securities and Exchange Commission, the commission has established a task force to help it build its capacity to oversee and regulate crypto assets. The establishment of the task force is in line with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)’s call on members to take steps to protect digital asset consumers.
Ogbamey-Tetteh made these remarks at an event marking the commission’s 25th anniversary. As per a report by BFT Online, the Ghanaian regulator has also been working on boosting capital and crypto asset owners’ confidence in the commission.
Interestingly, the SEC through its deputy director general, has previously advised Ghanaian residents to stay away from crypto assets because they are not regulated by the commission. However, despite this admonishment, Ghanaian residents have continued to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies, forcing the regulator to think of ways to protect crypto users.
SEC Implementing a Digitalization Program
To achieve this, the Director General revealed that the SEC is prioritizing developing human capital and the digitalization program. He said:
We are investing in developing the human capital of SEC as well as implementing a digitalization program. We have started implementing a Risk-Based Supervision framework as we seek to migrate from the compliance-based supervision mode.
Ogbamey-Tetteh added that his organization’s pursuit of regulatory technology (regtech) and supervisory technology (suptech) solutions is an attempt to strike a balance between supporting financial innovation and maintaining market integrity and stability.
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Iris Energy Boosts Mining Capacity With $19.6M Acquisition of Bitmain’s S21 Antminers
The Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company Iris Energy has announced its acquisition of 1.4 exahash per second (EH/s) of Bitmain’s latest S21 Antminers. This acquisition will increase the company’s self-mining capacity by 25%, from 5.6 EH/s to 7 EH/s.
Nasdaq-Listed Iris Energy Bolsters Mining Arsenal with Latest Next-Gen Mining Rig Purchase
Just over two weeks ago, Bitmain introduced its S21 series Antminers, boasting an efficiency rating of less than 20 joules per terahash (J/T). Following this, the publicly traded bitcoin mining company Iris Energy, traded on Nasdaq under the ticker IREN, confirmed its purchase of 1.4 EH/s of Bitmain’s S21 miners.
The company revealed that this acquisition came with a price tag of .6 million, breaking down to per terahash. An additional .9 million will be deferred and paid one year post-shipment. The S21 units will be stationed at the company’s Childress, Texas, location, as detailed in their announcement. This new addition will elevate their self-mining capacity from 5.6 EH/s to 7 EH/s, marking a 25% increase.
Although Iris didn’t specify the exact model of the S21 Antminers they bought, they mentioned the machines’ efficiency at 17.5 J/TH. This suggests they opted for the air-cooled variant. Given these machines’ capability of 200 terahash per second and the total purchase volume of 1.4 EH/s, it’s probable that Iris acquired around 7,000 units. The company, now operating at 7 EH/s, anticipates a near-future surge to 9.4 EH/s. This is a bump up from their earlier projection of 9.1 EH/s.
The Childress data center is currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate 80 megawatts. Iris anticipates the delivery to be completed in early 2024. Iris’ decision to acquire Bitmain’s advanced miners comes as rivals like Canaan and Microbt unveil their next-generation machines. Additionally, several mining firms are gravitating toward newer models that offer peak hashrate and efficiency.
For example, Peak Mining recently inked a 0 million deal with Microbt. Peak, a branch of the Northern Data Group, will obtain 7 EH/s from Microbt’s Whatsminer M53S+, M53S++, M50S+ and M50S++ models. Canaan has also showcased its new liquid-cooled A1466I machine, capable of 170 terahash per second with an efficiency rating of 19.5 J/T. Microbt is gearing up for the release of its M60 machine, which offers less than 20 joules per terahash, set to launch on October 24.
Iris says its mining operations use 100% renewable energy, and the company plans to increase its capacity to 30 EH/s over time. So far this year, Iris shares have risen 150%. However, the IREN shares have fallen 27% in the past month. The decline in IREN’s stock followed a broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market on Monday, influenced by tensions in the Middle East affecting markets.
What do you think about Iris purchasing .6 million worth of Bitmain’s new S21 Antminers? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.