Bitcoin rallied on Monday, advancing past $12,000 to its highest level in a more than a year amid a wider risk-on rally in equity markets.

The worlds largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 5.3% to around $12,473 in New York, the highest since July 2019. Crypto peers including Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Monero also gained, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index rising to its highest since June 2019.

After trading sideways for much of the summer, Bitcoin has re-gained its mojo as a rally in the stock market nudges the S&P 500 to near a new all-time high. And in an environment of ultra-low rates, a number of analysts and crypto fans say Bitcoin -- along with other assets such as gold -- could potentially act as an inflation hedge, should prices start to rise.

Inflation is currently low but real yields are across the board negative -- negative real yields and the monetary stimulus/spending has driven investors to seek out inflation hedges such as gold, said Seamus Donoghue, vice president of sales and business development at METACO. Given its limited supply and growing institutional acceptance, Bitcoin will also likely benefit from the market seeking inflation hedges.

At the same time, some Wall Street veterans have taken a greater interest in the coin. Paul Tudor Jones made waves when he said hes been buying Bitcoin amid central bank money-printing, while Michael Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital Holdings, told Bloomberg Television last week that about 25% of his net worth is tied up in the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoins advance past $12,000 makes it one of the best-performing asset classes this year. Its gained about 70% since the end of December and is up more than 100% since mid-March, when it briefly traded below $4,000. This years surge still leaves it about 40% below the all-time-high of almost $20,000 reached in December 2017.

And technical indicators painted a positive outlook for the token: Bitcoins surge took it to the upper limits of its trading envelope indicator, a measure that smooths moving averages to map out higher and lower limits. While a breach of this level typically indicates a reversion to the mean -- and, therefore, a price decline -- technicals suggest this time might be different. Bitcoin, with a 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading of 69, isnt overbought, signaling that further gains could be ahead.

The best analogue for today is perhaps the Great Depression, said Nicholas Pelecanos, head of trading at NEM. From the conclusion of this crisis to the years that followed, the price of gold more than doubled, rising with inflation, and it is this macroeconomic backdrop that makes Bitcoin so appealing to investors.

With assistance by Kenneth Sexton

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Link:
Bitcoin Surges Past $12,000 With Advocates Heralding New Era - Bloomberg

Canadian miner Hut 8 Mining Corp has reported that second quarter revenue tumbled 67% to $6.9 million from $21.2 million a year ago, as Bitcoins supply cut in May forced production to decline.

The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company extracted just 795 bitcoin (BTC) in the April to June quarter, compared to 1,165 BTC in the preceding three-month period.

However, Hut 8 posted a net profit of $2.1 million thanks to the revaluation of its bitcoin holdings, which generated $7.6 million.

Still, Q2 net earnings show a decline of 91% from the $22.7 million reported a year earlier. The firm said profit from mining activities came in at $440,000, down from $13.4 million the year before.

Altogether, Hut 8 ended the review quarter with 2,954 BTC on its balance sheet.

Management blamed the decline in profits to the Bitcoin third halving event of May 11, which slashed miner rewards by 50% to 6.25 BTC per block.

The network difficulty decreased subsequent to the halving by 15%, but quickly returned back to levels prior to the halving, said the company, in its earnings release on August 13.

This posed a difficult challenge to many bitcoin miners as they saw the bitcoin block reward drop by 50% with similar network difficulty rates meaning that revenue dropped by nearly 50% for all bitcoin miners, including Hut 8, it added.

During the quarter, Hut 8 raised $6.2 million from a share sale. The funds have been used to buy new mining hardware, which is expected to add 275 petahash per second to the companys existing mining capacity.

Shares of Hut 8 rose 4.4% to $0.89 in Toronto trading Friday. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has reached a low of $0.38 and a high of $1.98.

What do you think and Hut 8s second quarter earnings? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Read this article:
Miner Hut 8 Reports Q2 Revenue Plunged 67% to $6.9 Million Due to Bitcoin Halving - Bitcoin News

Wyre creates the payment APIs that make many a crypto app tick, with partners such as MetaMask, MakerDAO, Compound, Coinlist, and OpenSea on its extensive list of allies. And soon, you may see those apps offer savings sub-accounts to earn you interest on your cryptocurrency holdings.

Today, the firm announced the launch of the Wyre Savings API, which makes it possible to establish a savings sub-wallet within your main Wyre wallet within partners apps. Should partners enable the API, their users can deposit cryptocurrency into the sub-wallet and begin earning interest on the funds.

Wyre has been focused on lowering the barriers to entry for Fintech entrepreneurs around the world, and now we want to help our partners be prepared for the next market cycle, reads a post about the new API. When the next bull market hits there will be a huge influx of new users and speculators. Theyll come for the speculation, but we want to make sure were giving them a reason to stay.

Out of the gate, the Wyre Savings API supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, DAI, and USDC, with the company working with both centralized and decentralized finance (DeFi) partners to deliver the best-possible interest rates. While the company will source rates from numerous partners, the post says that Wyre aims to stay consistent rather than have rates fluctuate wildly.

The current interest rates offered are: 2.431% for BTC, 2.401% for WBTC, 3.374% for ETH, 5.873% for USDC, and 5.788% for DAI. Theres no fixed term needed for the funds to stay in the wallet to earn interest beyond the initial 24-hour period. Funds can be added and withdrawn at any point.

Wyre didnt name any specific partners that have agreed to add savings functionality, but if the API is as easy to implement as the firm claims, then its hard to believe that partnered app makers would resist the ability to offer users interest on their crypto holdings.

The firm is also a regulated Money Service Business in the United States and some other countries, which Wyre used in its blog post to claim an advantage. While the crypto space has been relying on the goodwill of hackers to return funds, Wyre is placing security as a top priority, it reads, while pointing to a story about Aprils dForce hack.

Link:
A new way to earn interest on Bitcoin, Ethereum from crypto apps - Decrypt

It feels like just a few weeks ago we were talking about Bitcoins $10,000 breakout, and now the cryptocurrency is positioned to go past $12,000. This wouldnt be the first time Bitcoin has broken over this level in the past few days, but if it manages to stay above the same for at least a day, it will be the first time in over a year that the cryptocurrency has managed this feat.

On August 2 between 0400 to 0500 UTC Bitcoin rose over $12,000 for the first time since July 2019, but within an hour it crashed below $11,000, owing to a bear trap at the price mark. During this time both retail investors and institutional investors were buying up Bitcoin, pushing up the cryptocurrencys demand, even when a large portion of the market was selling. Last week over 231,000 Bitcoins which had amassed a profit of 25 percent were sold as the price recovered, but still, the price level stayed over $11,000.

At this point, with $12,000 looking primed to break, these two groups are slowly moving in the same direction for the first time in months. According to a recent report by Ecoinometrics, the retail players, who have been net long for a long time are now trending higher which is forcing smart money institutions to follow along.

The report stated, last week, that smart money investors are using a mix of cash and carry to harvest premium and hedge the price of Bitcoin on spot markets versus going long on Bitcoin Futures. While this as a short term strategy works out, retail investors have put longer positions and are eating up the profits, which is why, the report notes, that long positions are gaining momentum, and smart money are taking notice,

There is only so much juice you can extract from arbitraging between futures and spot. So Id expect that over time the smart money will shift towards the net long side.

Owing to this change of heart, institutions are not buckling under price pressure. This week as the price dropped from over $11,800 to $11,200, open interest i.e. the number of open and outstanding positions on Bitcoin Futures held strong and didnt open the door for mass liquidation like panic. Further, volume and spreads looked unscathed to the price turning down.

This move isnt just limited to derivatives exchanges on the west of the Atlantic either, big retail driven exchanges like Binance have seen similar movement. Speaking to AMBCrypto, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, told AMBCrypto that in the previous quarter, open interest on the exchange increased from USDT 220 million to USDT 580 million, a 180 million jump marking the exchanges fourth consecutive month of OI growth. He noted,

The crypto market can see highly-volatile periods as well as relatively stable periods, and we wont really be able to make predictions as its driven by demand and supply.

Given such bullish-leanings, Binance is aiming to cater to both sides of the market. CZ referred to retail and institutional traders as indispensable clients, in the hope of building a sustainable market ecosystem.

Go here to read the rest:
Bitcoin over $12,000 A collective goal for retail and institutions? - AMBCrypto English

Bitcoin yet to clear $12,000 hurdle

Ethereum Gas prices skyrocket

Small-cap cryptos shine

Watch the Bitcoin and gold correlation

This week, the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market roared into Monday like a lion only to end the week more like a lamb. Going into the weekend, lets take a look at the major developments that have shaped the past week and what can be expected for the price of Bitcoin during the weekend.

Bitcoin (BTC) price tested its year-to-date high, briefly surging past $12,000 only to fall back down into the same mid-$11,000 range it has been stuck in for the better part of the past couple weeks.

Ether (ETH) also surged, along with Gas fees, largely on the back of DeFi growth and speculation. But the big story was a previously unknown token that shot astronomically higher only to fall back to earth almost as quickly.

Moving over the $12,000 hurdle was always seen as the key to Bitcoin retesting all-time highs. Overcoming the gauntlet of resistance levels between the $12,000-14,000 level would be followed by a vacuum all the way to record highs, some analysts believe.

Heading into the week, Bitcoin made a run at the $12K key psychological barrier. But despite leveraged interest, the lack of follow-through resulted in Bitcoin falling back below it. In turn, the market was forced to try again, in part helped by flat to minor positive perpetual funding rates.

Alongside the technical price rejection, it is worth noting that Ethereum transaction fees began to creep ever so higher and, in fact, over the subsequent day, the rise was such that transaction fees reached $6.04 on Wednesday night, the highest since 2015.

Ethereum network fees. Source: Etherscan

Various network upgrades are supposed to solve this issue or, at the very least, alleviate the immediate pressure, but these developments are believed to be months away.

Still, despite the aforementioned price swings, the in-vogue DeFi sector continued to grow from strength to strength and the total amount locked across the ecosystem remained largely unaffected by the swings in the secondary market.

In turn, this resilience and the appetite to take on risk to experiment with DeFi, AMM, and yield farming, as evidenced by the ongoing surge higher in the total amount of value locked across the DeFi ecosystem, pointed to strong dip-buying interest.

Total value locked in DeFi (USD). Source: DeFi Pulse

Strong dip-buying interest was subsequently confirmed over the following days when the initial unwind of bullish price expectations in the options market, as seen by the evolution of Bitcoin and Ethereum front-end options skew, was gradually retraced.

ETH 25d skew and implied volatility. Source: skew.com

Whats more, this was driven by the front-end of the futures curve, while the back end held largely steady. A much more significant development, rather than profit-taking, would result in a much more significant and broader market repricing.

However, while the media focused on yet another round of price swings by Bitcoin and ETH, the real movement was in small-cap tokens, which outperformed large-cap counterparts by a ratio of 3:1.

The fast-growing world of DeFi is not without its risks and as well documented by CoinTelegraph earlier in the week, Yam Finance, an experimental DeFi protocol, made major headlines.

The Yam protocol initially gained steam as the second purely decentralized DeFi project after Yearn Finance. It deployed a decentralized governance model that enabled YAM holders to have a say across the protocol. Within 24 hours, nearly $500 million worth of capital was locked in only for it to soon crash back down to zero after the discovery of a rebase bug.

Initially, Yam opened staking pools for Compound, Aaves Lend, Chainlinks Link, Wrapped ETH (WETH), YFI, Synthetix (SNX), Maker (MKR), and Uniswap V2 LP tokens.

But most of the tokens that were used in Yam staking pools crashed after the bug occurred. Despite the harsh lesson and reminder of the high risks that are involved, the market staged a strong recovery.

Bitcoin was able to gradually recover into the $11,500 zone, but the total value locked on DeFi tracked near record highs.

On a macro level, the one-month correlation between Bitcoin and gold has begun to grow closer by the day, climbing all the way to 68% before a slight correction.

However, caution is warranted before extrapolating the thesis from the above, as the more prudent measure, the three-month correlation coefficient currently sits at 15%.

It is also worth noting that while gold has advanced past $2,000 per ounce in the wake of rising uncertainty surrounding the ongoing monetary policy easing stance by the Federal Reserve and other central banks, continued uncertainty will make the correlation worth keeping an eye on for the foreseeable future.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

More:
Will Bitcoin Break $12,000? 4 Things to Know Heading Into the Weekend - Cointelegraph

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) rejected the $12,000 resistance level for the second time in the past 10 days. Traders are generally optimistic about the short-term trend of BTC, following its extended consolidation below a critical resistance level.

When an asset stays relatively stable near a major resistance area, it typically suggests a bullish continuation is likely. It shows that sellers do not have enough pressure to push BTC down to a pivotal price point. Many traders seemingly anticipate the price of Bitcoin to remain in the $10,500$12,000 range. If BTC does not drop below a key support level at $10,500, technical analysts say that the bullish market structure will remain intact.

The confluence of a positive global macro backdrop and a robust market structure are just some of the encouraging sentiments around Bitcoin, but investors have also expressed concerns about some short-term roadblocks facing it.

The primary factor behind predictions for a bullish continuation of Bitcoin in the near term is its long-term market structure. Analysts say that the high time frame charts of BTC, like the monthly chart, indicate a clear breakout, with BTC escaping a prolonged price range that often leads to an extended rally, especially if the breakout occurs on a high time frame chart. Raoul Pal, CEO of Global Macro Investor, stated:

Super early days for what is likely to be a very big move as institution finally follow what retail BTC investors have known all along that this is the future and its wildly under priced.

Since its peak in 2017, when it almost achieved the $20,000 mark, BTC has ranged within a multiyear price range, bottoming out at $3,150 in 2018 while seeing a local high of $14,000 in July 2019 and establishing a three-year range. But when the price of Bitcoin recently surpassed $11,500, it confirmed on the weekly and monthly charts that the dreaded range has been broken. Various market data could also supplement the uptrend of Bitcoin over the longer term.

Kyle Davis, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, hinted that there is a small gap between $14,000 and $20,000 in the options market. Citing data from options exchange Deribit, Davis said, $BTC air above $14k up to $20k, which suggests that a breakout above $14,000 could fuel the next BTC rally.

Some Bitcoin traders also emphasized that the current market structure of Bitcoin is highly optimistic. Scott Melker, a cryptocurrency trader, said that the absorption of Bitcoins dips shows that the trend of BTC is bullish: Its dip buying season and that any chance to grab a higher low is welcome. This is a bullish chart, period.

In the four-hour price chart of Bitcoin published by Melker, Bitcoin recorded four higher lows, or four local low points that are higher than previous lows. A higher low pattern in technical analysis is considered a positive formation because it demonstrates strength from buyers. Every dip in the past 10 days was bought by Bitcoin buyers.

The positive technical factors surrounding Bitcoin have been complemented by encouraging on-chain data points. According to on-chain market data provider IntoTheBlock, the number of Bitcoin HODLers has substantially increased:

The HODLING trend for #Bitcoin continues. As can be seen in the graph below the number of $BTC hodlers has increased by almost 4 million within the last twelve months. As of August 9, a total of 20.47 million addresses were holding 11.51m BTC for over a year.

In the short term, Bitcoin faces two obstacles: first, a historically relevant fractal, and second, a slight drop in liquidity. Both factors could impose selling pressure on Bitcoin in the near term, but compared to a few weeks ago, the overall sentiment around BTC remains positive.

Nik Yaremchuk, a cryptocurrency trader, said that historical fractals hint at a short-term pullback. He compared the current price action of Bitcoin to that seen in May. Three months ago, BTC also saw a similar trend where the price looked to break out and then recorded a correction: We now have a fractal since May 2020, where we have been in range for a while, I do not think that we are here for long, but it seems to me that we will get another dip.

The fractal coincides with a slight decline in the liquidity of Bitcoin. Market research firm Glassnode said that while the overall transaction rates of BTC are healthy, they declined slightly in the past week:

Liquidity also saw a slight decrease, losing 3 points due to a drop in the transaction liquidity subcategory. This, in turn, was caused by the above-mentioned decrease in the number of on-chain transactions over the past week. However, overall transaction rates remain high relative to pre-bull market levels.

Still, speaking to Cointelegraph, Denis Vinokourov, head of research at exchange and brokerage platform BeQuant, said that Bitcoin being rejected at $12,000 is not necessarily bad. The pattern of an upsurge followed by consolidation stabilizes the market and provides investors some breathing room:

Price discovery and consolidation following a strong run up is an indication of a healthy two way market flow. Price rejection is not necessarily a bad development, as it gives market participants an opportunity to take stock of the situation and look to align the interest of both leveraged/speculative flow and those of long-term holders.

In the upcoming weeks, there are several variables that could affect Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies. The most prominent factor that might impact Bitcoin is likely the upward run of altcoins.

In recent weeks, altcoins, especially in decentralized finance, have gained substantially against major cryptocurrencies. Band Protocols native BAND token and Chainlinks LINK, for example, rose by 348% and 88%, respectively,from Aug. 1 to their monthly highs.

In the near term, whether profits from altcoins will flow into Bitcoin remains in question. Vinokourov noted that the willingness of the market to take on additional risk with altcoins demonstrates a positive market sentiment:

Interestingly, year-to-date (YTD) the MVIS 100 small caps index is up 74.51% and large caps index is up 74.23%. Markets willingness to take on more risk, as evidenced in capital flow into small cap assets is a net positive overall.

The combination of a favorable high time market structure and positive on-chain data has lifted the sentiment around Bitcoin in the longer term. But in the short term, some predict a minor pullback, which would make the market less overheated.

More:
Bitcoin Price Keeps Rejecting $12K Heres What Can Happen to BTC - Cointelegraph

All eyes are on Bitcoin (BTC), crypto's largest coin by market cap, and Tesla, a future-centric car company run by eccentric billionaire Elon Musk, thanks to a standout year for both assets.

Tradable equity in Tesla, under the ticker TSLA, has captured more of the American public's attention than any other investable asset, according to July figures from financial charting platform TradingView, posted on Aug. 13. Bitcoin held the spotlight as the second most popular asset charted on the platform.

TradingView also pointed out that Bitcoin interest is on the rise specifically in Washington, California and Oregon. "The west coast loves crypto the most," the article said. "Boeing was the third most viewed stock and American Airlines the 10th," the article added, detailing the airline sector an industry that saw the brunt of COVID-19 restriction consequences.

Bitcoin and Tesla earned their spots in the limelight as both have rallied tremendously in price over 2020. Bitcoin hit a low near $3,800 back in March as COVID-19 fears were ramping up. The asset recovered fast, however, flying up past $12,000in the following months, tallying a radical comeback.

Looking back on a similar story, TSLA's price fell down near $350 in March before flying up past $1,750 by July, as if riding one of its CEO's SpaceX rockets.

Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is no stranger to the crypto space, although he reportedly onlyowns 0.25 BTCas of May.

Original post:
TradingView Confirms It: People Love Bitcoin And Tesla - Cointelegraph

Chainlink, an ethereum-based cryptocurrency token that powers a decentralized network designed to connect smart contracts to external data sources, appears unstoppable.

The price of Chainlink's link token has soared by almost 80% over the last seven days, adding to gains of 120% this month and a staggering near-600% rise over the last year.

Chainlink has now knocked bitcoin cash, an offshoot of the original bitcoin, from the top five cryptocurrencies by value, according to CoinMarketCapwith its total value now an eye-watering $6 billion.

Cryptocurrency traders have sent the price of Chainlink tokens to over $17 per link, with the ... [+] cryptocurrency knocking bitcoin cash out of the top five cryptocurrencies by value.

"Its been pretty wild," Thomas Kuhn, an analyst with money management company Quantum Economics, said via Telegram, pointing to Chainlink's role in the "trinity"along with bitcoin and ethereumof tokens required for the "effective execution of smart contracts" as compelling.

Kuhn also thinks current sky-high equity valuations are forcing investors to look for elsewhere.

"With tech stocks at all-time-highs and without yield to be found, I think that we are seeing renewed institutional interest in digital assets, especially in those trading higher when bitcoin is weak or down on the daythese have been DeFi assets."

The price of Chainlink's link token has soared amid a flurry of interest in decentralized finance (DeFi)using crypto technology to recreate traditional financial instruments such as loans and insurance.

Chainlink's blockchain network can be used by DeFi and broader projects to connect external data sources, APIs, and payment systems.

Chainlink is "one of the more accessible ideas," related to DeFi, according to Kuhn.

"On the micro level, the asset has an incredible community, born in 4chan meme culture," Kuhn said, referencing a group of highly vocal Chainlink supporters on Twitter and other social networks, as well as messaging apps such as Telegram, that have become known as Link Marines.

"A major aspect of pricing in link is the question of whether it will be used as an escrow asset for smart contracts," Kahn added.

"If it is, large values would be needed to be held in escrow for contract execution which would reduce velocity as well as act as an upward price pressure."

Elsewhere, Chainlink is rumored to be close to offering "staking"something that will allow link holders to earn passive income from the tokens.

The chainlink price has more than doubled over the last month, adding to massive gains over the last ... [+] year.

Last week, Michael Anderson, the co-founder of one of the largest private holders of link tokens, Framework Ventures, said Chainlink was still "wildly undervalued" and predicted the cryptocurrency's total value could eventually eclipse ethereum's near $50 billion price tag.

Meanwhile, other DeFi related projects have also soared in recent months. The price of Tezos' XTZ tokens has almost doubled since early July and the two-day-old DeFi project Yam soared to around $60 million over the last two days only to crash to zero after a last-minute attempt to fix a bug in its code failed.

Read this article:
Surging Chainlink Pushes Bitcoin Cash Out Of The Crypto Top Five As Wild Value Tops $6 Billion - Forbes

Coinbase will allow U.S. retail customers to borrow fiat loans against as much as 30% of their bitcoin holdings in the fall, the San Francisco-based exchange announced Wednesday.

Coinbase is one of the largest and most regulated crypto exchanges to get into the lending business, and the exchange is setting conservative parameters on the product, capping credit lines at $20,000 per customer and offering an interest rate of 8% for bitcoin-backed loans with terms that are a year or less.

Customers will need to fill out a brief application but wont have to go through a credit check, however, and borrowers will be able to receive their loans in two to three days.

Customers may use bitcoin-backed loans in different ways depending on their financial needs, including for large expenditures like home or car repairs, financing major occasions like a wedding, or helping to manage higher-interest personal loans or credit card debt, Max Branzburg, head of product at Coinbase, said in an emailed statement.

The product is available in only 17 states but Coinbase is pursuing licenses in other states and countries to be able to expand its lending service, he said. A waitlist opened Wednesday afternoon, including the tagline:

Have you ever needed cash for something urgent, like a car or home repair? In the past, you might have sold Bitcoin to cover it and incurred a taxable gain or loss. Now you dont have to.

Adding a lending product can be a way for exchanges to keep customer funds at the exchange instead of moving them elsewhere, said Joseph Kelly, CEO and co-founder of crypto lender Unchained Capital. Squares bitcoin-friendly Cash App also announced this week that it is testing a lending product that will offer customers short-term loans of between $2 and $20.

Coinbases low interest rate will also allow it to operate in many states that would otherwise require additional licensing to avoid usurious lending practices.

Its a good bull-market product when customers have excess capital theyd like to do something with, Kelly said. Weve almost never seen a monopoly lending market Id expect other exchanges to follow suit.

The new Coinbase product is only available in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Nebraska, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Read the original here:
Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin-Backed Loans to US Customers - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

During the last few months, crypto proponents have focused their attention on Iran. The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani initiated a new mining strategy last May, and the government-licensed 14 bitcoin mining farms in July. According to the Chinese mining operation Lubian, it claims to operate one of these regulated bitcoin mining farms in the oil-rich nation.

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index or Bitcoin Mining Map attempts to visualize the geographic distribution of global Bitcoin hashrate. Iran is the sixth most powerful country in terms of global hashrate.

Of course, China consumes a vast amount of the global hashrate and Chinese miners also have a strong relationship with the oil-rich nation of Iran. Back in April 2019, news.Bitcoin.com reported on Chinese miners migrating to Iran for cheaper electricity rates.

At that time, it was difficult for the bitcoin miner, Liu Feng, to get his ASIC mining rigs into the country. However, when miners got into Iran, they had access to extremely affordable electric prices ($0.006 per kilowatt-hour).

However, the Iranian government caught wind of these unlicensed operations when certain subsidized organizations like mosques were caught mining bitcoin with near-free electricity.

The government then mandated licensure for mining farms and the electric rate was upped to fluctuating export prices depending on the season. More recently, President Hassan Rouhani initiated a bitcoin mining strategy and the government is focused on bolstering the industry.

The Chinese mining operation Lubian.com recently told the financial columnist Vincent He that the company operates one of the largest regulated farms in Iran.

Lubians cofounder Liu Ping detailed that it has a partnership with a power facility in Iran and the investors are both Iranian and Chinese. Power companies in Iran are now allowed to house bitcoin mining operations. Unlike the Chinese miner Liu Feng who had an awful time dealing with customs getting ASIC mining rigs across the border, Liu Ping said his firm has no problems with clearance.

We have our own customs clearance channels as we have the experience of establishing the logistics company, Liu Ping stated. And we have good local resources in Iran, and we have maintained good relations with the Ministry of energy, the Ministry of foreign affairs, and even the army in Iran, the miner added.

Lubian is a relatively new mining operation and more recently it was the sixth most powerful mining operation in terms of hashrate. Today, Lubian has around 3% of the global hashrate or around 3.86 exahash per second (EH/s).

This puts the firm in the eleventh position among a number of mining pools and giant operations like Poolin, F2pool, and Antpool. Liu Ping said that the Iranian farm is housed in containers within the power plants property lines.

The Chinese miner also said the operation pays the power company in shares of bitcoin (BTC), as well as traditional means of payment.

Compared with traditional industries, crypto mining is a profitable business, Liu Ping concluded. Apart from the mining pool business, at present, there is no other crypto financial service business conducted by Lubain.com. At present, their purpose is only mining and accumulating Bitcoin.

At the time of publication, the BTC hashrate has been high at around 135 EH/s and there are 18 mining operations mining the BTC chain.

What do you think about Lubian.coms cofounder statements about mining bitcoin in the oil-rich nation of Iran? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Visit link:
Chinese Bitcoin Miners Develop Strong Relationships and Crypto Mining Facilities in Iran - Bitcoin News