Meat manufacturer Oscar Mayer has launched a bacon-backed cryptocurrency, which fans can cash out for real bacon.
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“Big Bitcoin Heist” Fugitive Flees Iceland, Pens Letter Saying He Wants to Go Home
The man who escaped custody in Iceland and got on a passenger plane that was carrying the country’s prime minister says he ‘will be back soon.’
Sindri Thor Stefansson was being detained for his suspected role as the mastermind behind the February theft of 600 cryptocurrency mining rigs, being one of the 11 people arrested in what has been dubbed the ‘Big Bitcoin Heist.’
Stefansson escaped Sogn open prison in southern Iceland earlier this week and made his way to Keflavik International Airport. He then took a flight to Sweden with a ticket under another man’s name. An international warrant has been issued for his arrest.
In a recently penned letter, Stefansson has claimed he is not guilty and that he had been held in Iceland without trial. According to the letter, he is planning to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights. He added that talks are under way with Iceland’s police to allow him to return.
Stefansson’s Letter
In his letter to Iceland’s Frettabladid newspaper, Stefansson said he was not serving a sentence in Iceland and that his period of custody had run out. He claims he was told on Monday that he was actually free to go, but that the police, without explanation, would arrest him if he left the prison.
“I simply refuse to be in prison of my own free will, especially when the police threaten to arrest me without explanation,” he said in the letter, where he claimed that he was forced to sign a statement agreeing to remain in custody.
“I’m not trying to say that it was the right decision to leave, I really regret it… I didn’t expect an international arrest warrant to be issued against me, as I was legally free to leave, and believed it was out of the question that I would be labelled a fugitive. I would never have done this if I didn’t believe I was a free man.”
According to Stefansson, there was no evidence that he was involved in the mining rig heist, ‘only suspicion.’
While being careful not to reveal where he is currently hiding, he wrote that he has ‘a roof over my head, a car, false papers if I want them, and money,’ and that he could be on the run as long as he likes.
“It would be no problem if that’s what I wanted, but I would rather face this in Iceland, so I’ll be back soon,” he claims. Icelandic officials have not yet commented on the letter.
Case Against Stefansson
The cryptocurrency mining rigs in question were stolen during four raids on data centers around Iceland earlier this year. Iceland is a popular location for mining operations because almost 100% of the power generated in the Nordic country comes from renewable resources.
Unlike the large majority of thefts, with mining rigs there is a strong impetus for criminals to keep the stolen goods. Selling them would attract attention and their use can be highly profitable, particularly in a nation that has both cheap electricity and a cool climate (mining rigs consume vast quantities of electricity which this causes them to heat up).
Icelandic police have been monitoring electricity consumption patterns since the thefts. They have also called upon local internet service providers, electricians, and owners of storage units to report any suspicious behavior. The mining rigs, still missing, are worth million.
Image from Shutterstock.
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Qarnot’s QC-1: Heat Your Home and Passively Mine Cryptocurrency
Mining cryptocurrency is a huge business. Just last year, Beijing-based crypto-miner Bitmain made over billion dollars in profits. In a novel approach, French startup Qarnot is helping everyday consumers get involved, and the company is doing so by utilizing something that’s usually regarded as a (big) problem for cryptocurrency miners: heat. By harnessing the heat graphics processing units (GPUs) generate while mining, Quarnot’s QC-1 crypto heater keeps users warm and mines cryptocurrency at the same time.
According to Qarnot, the QC-1 takes just ten minutes to set up. It connects online via an Ethernet cable, and owners can monitor its mining progress or activate a heating booster using a companion app. Also of note: the manufacturer doesn’t take a cut of the cryptocurrency the QC-1 mines.
“The heat of your QC-1 is generated by the two graphics cards embedded in the device and mining cryptocurrencies or blockchain transactions: While heating, you create money,” the QC-1 product description reads. “You can watch in real time how crypto markets are trending, on your mobile app and on your QC-1 LEDs.”
The QC-1 crypto heater is a wall-hanging unit that looks like a black radiator adorned with a grill and wooden top. Housed inside are two AMD NITRO+ RADEON RX 580 GPUs. By default, the unit mines Ethereum, but users can direct the device to mine other cryptocurrencies too.
The company estimates their crypto heater can mine an average of 0 worth of the coin per month. The problem is that the rig costs €2,900 (,570). Looking at the math, users will have to run the QC-1 all day every day for more than five years before it pays for itself (as per current Ethereum prices).
Crypto Heaters
The QC-1 isn’t the first device of its kind. Russian startup Comino sells two similar mining rigs that double as heaters: the Comino N1, which mines Ethereum, and the Comino N4, which mines Zcash. Both sell for €4,999 (,150).
It’s worth remembering that devices like these can only mine cryptocurrencies — they doesn’t include a hard drive or an operating system, so no gaming or emails. And considering that the QC-1 costs almost ,600, one could theoretically just buy a high-end gaming PC with two comparable cards inside and set them up for cryptocurrency mining.
That said, as a proof of concept the QC-1 is certainly notable. Using excess heat from cryptocurrency mining to provide heat for users is a great idea. Mining generates a tremendous amount of heat and putting it to good use could help make the idea of mining cryptocurrency more approachable to mainstream consumers.
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Could the Small Industrial Towns of Canada Provide the Ideal Home for Crypto Miners?
Cryptocurrency mining is more competitive than ever. With enormous rig constructions consuming more energy than many of the nations of the world dominating the once cottage industry, cutting every possible cost is vital. For this reason, miners like cool climates where electricity is cheap. Endless rows of components brute forcing numerical combinations to release cryptocurrency is warm work and extraction units cost money to buy and run. For these reasons, miners have previously favoured the likes of China and Iceland. However, facing increased regulatory pressure in some territories whilst having no clue what they can and can’t do in others, it makes sense for them to spread their operations as far and wide and possible. Enter Canada.
Canada, like many so-called First World nations, used to have a lot of heavy industry. However, in the globalised world we now live in, much of this has relocated to parts of the planet more favourable to businesses (or with populations more easily exploitable). Towns like Powerview-Pine Falls in rural Canada used to be home to paper mills and built entire economies around now-defunct industries. When businesses like Tembec Inc. left in 2009, they took with them their capital but left behind an infrastructure tailored to heavy industry.
Almost a decade later, digital currencies could be about to breathe life back into such communities. Several of the planet’s undisclosed cryptocurrency miners have reached out to the town in the past month with plans to take advantage of both the town’s cheap hydro electrical resources, as well as the cool climate. Mayor of Powerview-Pine Falls, Bev Dubé, spoke with optimism about the developments in her town to the Financial Post:
“That’s why this is so exciting, it’s something truly new… I’ve been here 40 years, through all the loss of industry and I can’t help but think, you know, is this another world-changing technology coming in? And if we could have any part of it … well, it’s exciting to think they’re coming to us.”
However, being so innovative, the town also have their reservations about the nature of the industry that could be heading their way.
Head of China research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), Sophie Lu, explained to the Financial Post the experience of small Chinese towns that had previously housed textiles mills and since welcomed crypto miners. Despite the cheap, abundant electricity they provide, the relationship was fairly one-sided. The mine employed only around 50 people and any profits generated were immediately taken out of the area. She continued:
“About six months ago they began to realise their local economy wasn’t getting anything from this.”
It’s for this reason that Canadian hydroelectricity companies are claiming that they expect the miners themselves to foot the bill for any infrastructure upgrades or changes that need making. They’re also not entirely sold on the idea yet so are keeping their options open.
This is largely because another industry is vying for cheap and plentiful power sources in the area. Data centres, which can employ many thousands of local people, are an alternative to welcoming cryptocurrency miners. It’s widely expected that this will be more beneficial to the population than the more self-interested crypto miners. Jonathan Côté, a spokesperson for Hydro Quebec, put it simply:
“This is something we have thought about and it’s one of the reasons we were so focused on data centres, not bitcoin mines from the get go… If we had to choose between an Amazon data centre and bitcoin we would definitely choose Amazon.”
However, the mayor of Powerview-Pine Falls is still confident that the town could benefit from the crypto mining industry despite the lack of jobs it might provide:
“We’re excited, but we want to be careful and get the best deal possible. Maybe this doesn’t come into the community and create jobs, but there could be a land purchase or lease or maybe some publicity. If they show interest in our community, others could too.”
Image: PixaBay
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Armed Robbers Enter Home, Force Bitcoin Trader to Transfer Funds
Moulesford, Oxfordshire: In what is believed to be the first attack of its kind in the UK, armed robbers broke into the family home of a Bitcoin trader and forced him to transfer his cryptocurrency to them. According to local police, four robbers in balaclavas forced entry into the house, before tying up the man’s wife and threatening him at gunpoint to hand over an unknown amount of Bitcoin, which, as of today, is worth more than ,000 per coin.
A local resident described the victim of the attack as “well-known” and added that the village community had been left dazed by the news. The police are classifying the robbery as an aggravated burglary. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the escapade. Local children were kept inside a nearby school, while police attended the scene and began their investigation. No arrests have been made at this time.
Mark Shone, chief executive of Explain The Market, had the following to say regarding the robbery:
“These are criminals who have likely caught on to the current popularity of Bitcoin. But depending on how much they have, these coins are like being in possession of a rare painting. Trying to exchange large amounts for normal money without alerting suspicion will be very difficult.”
In less than a decade, hackers have stolen .2 billion worth of Bitcoin and rival cryptocurrency Ethereum, according to Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research. And it’s worth remembering that given the cryptocurrency surge at the end of 2017, the cost in today’s money is actually much higher.
One positive thing that comes from security breaches such as this robbery, is that they often lead to opportunities for improvements in security protocols. This market for software, services, and hardware to secure blockchain activity is expected to grow to 5 billion this year — it was 9 million in 2017 — as the digital economy moves more towards cryptocurrencies and banks and the financial community restructure.
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Spain: Home with Bitcoin
Mister Piso, a real estate company based in Barcelona, has sold the first property for Bitcoin. The company hopes that increased use of cryptocurrencies could accelerate sales and revitalize the real estate sector. The basic advantage of cryptocurrencies is the circumvention of middlemen such as banks and other regulators. Thus, they also offer themselves in […]
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Essex House Becomes First UK Home to Sell for Bitcoin
Crypto history was made in the United Kingdom as a home in Essex became the first UK home to be sold for Bitcoin. 2017 has been an exciting and historic year for cryptocurrency. We watched at Bitcoin went from roughly 00 at the start of the year to breaking the ,000 barrier earlier this month. Altcoins have been surging in value as well, and we&8217ve seen the launch of Bitcoin futures trading. Now another bitnRead MorenThe post Essex House Becomes First UK Home to Sell for Bitcoin app
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In South Korea, the Virtual Currency Boom Hits Home
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Block Size Debate Turns Violent as Trolls Sends SWAT Team to Home of BitGos Lopp
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CLOUT – The Home of Crypto, launches into PRE-ICO & announces new key team members.
What is CLOUT CLOUT is an online platform that will unify the cryptocurrency community, providing investors and enthusiasts alike a home, and one stop shop for all things crypto. CLOUT is the solution to the problem that all people in the cryptocurrency space are currently experiencing; there is no one reliable resource that is dedicated […]
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