The gold mining industry struggles to sustain production growth due to declining new deposits, reports the World Gold Council (WGC). Despite a 4% increase in first-quarter production in 2024, overall growth has plateaued since 2016. In 2023, mine production rose by only 0.5%, following 1.35% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2021, with a decline of […]
Bitcoin News
Digital Yuan App Drops ‘Pilot’ Description, Hints at Change to Production Ready Status
The digital yuan app, which services users of the Chinese CBDC, has dropped the ‘pilot’ label from its name without any announcement, prompting speculation about an upcoming move to production stages. While local Chinese news outlets explained that this change had to do with app requirements, some expect this might be a step before its […]
Bitcoin News
Auradine Secures $80 Million in Series B to Accelerate Bitcoin Mining Rig Production
On April 10, the bitcoin mining rig producer Auradine revealed it had secured an million investment in a Series B funding round. Additionally, the company highlighted that it has also achieved million in bookings. Auradine Raises Million, Doubling Down on Teraflux Mining Rig Expansion The California-headquartered bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer Auradine, known […]
Bitcoin News
Bitdeer Utilizes Chip Giant TSMC, Eyeing $60M in Bitcoin Mining Equipment Production
According to the publicly-listed mining corporation Bitdeer, the company is employing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its Sealminer A1 mining rigs for the third quarter. Bitdeer also disclosed that it extracted 294 bitcoins in March, marking a 28.4% enhancement over March 2023’s earnings. Ahead of Bitcoin’s Next Halving, Bitdeer Taps TSMC for Proprietary Mining […]
Bitcoin News
Avalanche C-Chain Experiences Block Production Halt, AVAX Price Responds
In a recent development, the Avalanche (AVAX) C-Chain encountered a significant disruption in block production, leading to a halt for over one hour. The interruption, which affected the primary network, was observed through the Avascan browser, with the last transaction recorded at block 42046853 (19:13 UTC+8).
Although other subnets experienced a slight delay, the primary network faced the most substantial impact.
Avalanche C-Chain Block Production Halt
Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche protocol, acknowledged the issue and promptly initiated an investigation. According to Kevin Sekniqi, co-founder of Avalanche, the disruption is believed to be related to a new inscription wave that was launched approximately an hour before the block production interruption.
Sekniqi expressed confidence that the incident was caused by an “esoteric bug” stemming from an untested edge case, emphasizing the need for a swift resolution.
The disruption is presumed to be associated with a mempool handling issue specifically tied to inscriptions, which encountered untested edge cases.
When questioned about the possibility of such untested scenarios arising, Sekniqi acknowledged that while ideally, there should be no untested edge cases, the vastness of the codebase and continuous updates make it challenging to anticipate every possible scenario.
The Avalanche co-founder further clarified that thorough testing is conducted on testnets, but the intricacies of the mainnet environment can introduce “unforeseen challenges.”
At present, no further official statement has been issued by the Avalanche protocol, awaiting additional reports and updates from the development team to gain further insights into the situation.
AVAX Price Dips
During the occurrence of the block production halt, the AVAX price, which serves as the native token of the Avalanche protocol, exhibited a negative reaction, further extending the ongoing decline observed since Thursday when the price was at .
As of now, the AVAX price has reached .13, indicating a decline of over 2% within the past 24 hours, accompanied by a substantial drop of 11.7% over the course of the previous seven days.
The subsequent actions taken by the Avalanche team in response to this situation, as well as the consequential effect on the AVAX price, are yet to be determined.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Solana Mobile’s Chapter 2 Reaches 100K Preorders, Guarantees Production
Solana Mobile, a smartphone-focused subsidiary of Solana Labs, has announced that its second mobile phone, Chapter 2, has reached 100k preorders in less than 30 days, hitting a milestone that now guarantees the production of the hardware device. The company reported that the preorder price of 0 will be maintained only for the next two […]
Bitcoin News
Tecpetrol Raises Crude Oil Production Fivefold With Crypto Mining In Argentina
Tecpetrol, an Argentina-based oil and gas company, has reported the benefits of including crypto mining operations in its oil explorative activities. According to Tecpetrol CEO Ricardo Markous, including on-site vented gas generators to mine cryptocurrency has allowed oil production to rise fivefold in Los Toldos II, an exploration project located in the Vaca Muerta oilfield. […]
Bitcoin News
Paypal Faces SEC Scrutiny Over New Stablecoin PYUSD, Cooperates With Document Production Request
After releasing its new stablecoin PYUSD, the payments giant Paypal disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoenaed the company concerning the stablecoin. Paypal stated in its Form 10-Q for the third fiscal quarter that it had been asked to produce documents for the SEC and is “cooperating” with the securities regulator.
Paypal Subpoenaed by SEC Over PYUSD Token
Paypal is engaged with the SEC in matters related to its stablecoin asset PYUSD. This information came to light in the company’s latest financial disclosure, showcasing the firm’s third-quarter earnings.
“On November 1, 2023, we received a subpoena from the U.S. SEC Division of Enforcement relating to Paypal USD stablecoin,” the filing notes. “The subpoena requests the production of documents. We are cooperating with the SEC in connection with this request.”
The filing also notes that Paypal allows its customers to buy, hold, sell, convert, receive, and send bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, litecoin, and the PYUSD stablecoin. Additionally, the document details that in August 2023, Paypal partnered with the third-party issuer Paxos to issue PYUSD, subsequently launching it for Venmo customers in September 2023.
“We have selected custodian partners and the PYUSD Issuer, and may in the future select additional custodian partners and stablecoin issuing entities, that are subject to regulatory oversight, capital requirements, maintenance of audit and compliance industry certifications, and cybersecurity procedures and policies,” the 10-Q filing adds.
The Paypal earnings report follows the company receiving approval from the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom. After recently pausing crypto purchases in the U.K., it is expected that Paypal will resume services following the regulatory approval. However, the company may not be able to add new customers moving forward.
What do you think about Paypal getting probed by the SEC over its new stablecoin PYUSD? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
JPMorgan Adjusts Bitcoin’s Production Cost: What This Means For BTC And Its Miners?
Recent adjustments by JPMorgan in its estimation of Bitcoin’s production costs have garnered attention. Previously standing at ,000, JPMorgan’s revised Bitcoin production cost has now been pegged at ,000.
This move is closely tied to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index’s (CBECI) decision to update its methodology, highlighting the interconnectedness of financial analyses and industry metrics. Notably, the CBECI is known for its critical role in tracking and estimating the electricity consumption of the Bitcoin network.
Revised CBECI Methodology’s Impact On Mining Costs
JPMorgan analysts, under the guidance of Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, noted in a recent report that the new methodology changes the landscape of Bitcoin’s production cost estimations. The report revealed:
The current Bitcoin production cost falls to around ,000 with the new methodology vs. ,000 with the old methodology.
According to the analyst, this shift implies that future changes in electricity prices will have a comparatively lesser effect on mining costs.
The CBECI’s adjustments have a broader impact than simply changing estimates. Analysts have discovered that changes in electricity costs can significantly reduce the cost of producing 1 Bitcoin.
With the new CBECI methodology, this sensitivity has decreased slightly to approximately ,800, compared to the previous ,300 change for every one cent per kWh (kilowatt hour).
According to the analyst, this sensitivity is expected to double after the 2024 halving event, which will decrease miners’ rewards by half. This change will amplify the importance of cost management due to the higher impact of electricity costs on the overall mining expenses.
Bitcoin Latest Price Action
So far, Bitcoin is still very much in the red. Following the asset’s 13% drop in the past month, slipping below ,000, Bitcoin hasn’t made any significant movement aside from a continued downward trend. However, over the past 24 hours, BTC has seen some gains.
The top crypto currently trades for ,902 at the time of writing, up by nearly 1% in the past day. Over the past month, more than billion has been erased from the asset’s market cap.
Nevertheless, the past 24 hours have seen the asset record an inflow of billion. While BTC’s price and market cap suffered a bloodbath, its trading volume was negatively impacted.
Bitcoin has seen its trading volume fall from a high of billion last Wednesday to as low as .5 billion yesterday and billion in the past 24 hours. This is a significant plunge compared to the daily trading volume of more than billion recorded early last month.
Featured image from iStock, Chart from TradingView
Shibarium Launch Saga: Block Production Resumes Despite Stuck ETH
The Shibarium didn’t get off to a flying start following its launch on August 16. However, the network aims to move past these incidents as block production resumes.
Developers Restarts Network
Data from Shibariumscan.io shows that the layer-2 network is up and running again. Shibarium had on August 17 paused block production following the traffic surge, which overwhelmed the blockchain upon mainnet launch.
Close to .7 million in bridged funds had reportedly gotten stuck on the Shibarium bridge, with lead developer Shytoshi Kusama confirming that the funds were irrecoverable. However, in a blog post titled “Shibarium: ALL IS WELL,” Kusama termed this FUD and stated that contrary to earlier reports, there was no bridge issue and all funds were “safu.”
He stated that Shibarium experienced a “massive influx of transactions and users that happened at the same time” upon the network going live. That led to the network going offline and not due to its functionalities as earlier thought.
To highlight the magnitude of the traffic surge that the network experienced, Kusama referenced data from the Web3 development platform Alchemy. Shibraium was allotted 400 Million compute units monthly, but the network experienced 160+ million compute units in just under 30 minutes. At that rate, the network could experience billions of compute units daily, putting it on par with the most active layer-2 blockchains.
Plans To Scale After Shibarium Launch
Lead developer Kusama admitted that the team did not expect that level of trading activity on the network. However, he noted that they were “working tirelessly” to scale the chain and increase its computing power to handle and process more transactions. He further emphasized the team’s commitment to position Shibarium as one of the major players in the DeFi world.
Shiba Inu developer Kaal Dhairya provided further updates in a subsequent blog post dated August 18. Following an investigation, the team discovered that one particular block had been loaded with several transactions, which caused it to go into “fail safe mode” to protect the funds.
He mentioned that the team had “identified multiple possible plans of action” to scale the network and ensure it could handle any substantial traffic on the chain.
Dhairya also confirmed that the bridged funds were safe and that in a show of good faith, the team has chosen to obtain a million insurance cover to protect against any potential challenges that could arise from retrieving the funds upon restart of the network.
SHIB’s price has recovered considerably since the launch saga. However, the token is still down about 1.78% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.