Category Archives: Bitcoin

After bitcoin miners caught a break ten days ago when the difficulty dropped 1.49% lower, the networks hashrate increased more than 15% since then. Currently, the processing power has been coasting along above the 200 exahash per second (EH/s) zone but another difficulty increase is expected to occur in less than four days.

Bitcoins hashrate slipped two weeks ago on February 27, 2022, to 169 EH/s after touching an all-time high (249 EH/s) on February 15. Following the drop in processing power, bitcoin miners caught a break when the difficulty decreased for the first time in months.

On March 3, the difficulty dropped 1.49% lower after six consecutive difficulty increases prior. Currently, Bitcoins mining difficulty is 27.55 trillion and following the last adjustment, processing power has improved.

Bitcoins hashrate increased over 15% since the difficulty change and 29% since the hashrate hit 169 EH/s two weeks ago. Currently, the networks processing power is roughly 218.11 EH/s and over the last ten days its managed to stay above the 200 EH/s range.

However, the next epoch mining difficulty adjustment is slated to happen in less than four days and its expected to rise 1.03%. If the rise above 1% is takes place, the mining difficulty will change from 27.55 trillion to 27.83 trillion.

Three day hashrate distribution statistics show that Foundry USA has been the top miner over the last 72 hours. The American mining operation has 42.42 EH/s dedicated to the Bitcoin blockchain which equates to 21.19 % of todays hashrate.

The second-largest miner in terms of hashrate over the last three days is F2pool with 30.93 EH/s of processing power which represents 15.45% of the global hashrate. At the time of writing, there are 11 known mining pools dedicating SHA256 hashrate toward the BTC chain.

Theres 1.33 EH/s or 0.66% of the global hashrate operated by unknown or stealth miners. While the Bitcoin network is once again coasting along at near-record highs, a few other networks have been recorded record highs as well.

Monero is coasting along at near all-time highs (ATH) at 2.92 gigahash per second (GH/s) and Ethereum is around 1.04 petahash per second (PH/s). Like Bitcoin, both networks are just below the hashrate ATHs.

What do you think about the Bitcoin networks hashrate increase over the last 10 days and the upcoming difficulty increase? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Bitcoin's Hashrate Jumps 15% Higher in 10 Days, Mining Difficulty Expected to Rise Mining Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

The Mighty Woz has spoken.

Apple (AAPL) - Get Apple Inc. Report co-founder Steve Wozniak put in his two cents about bitcoin recently, saying that he believes the cryptocurrency will reach $100,000.

Wozniak made his comments on the podcast "Steve-O's Wild Ride," hosted by the "Jackass" star.

He discussed his experience with bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Wozniak noted how bitcoin prices have soared a few times when he owned it and he now only has a small amount to experiment with.

"I think Bitcoin is going to go to $100,000," he said. "I dont know where I get that feeling. I cant put any mathematics to it. I just really feel it based on all the interest. The interest in crypto is so high."

Bitcoin was down 8.6% to $38,807 Friday at last check, according to CoinGecko.

Wozniak,who founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976,cited the increasing number of cryptocurrencies, saying "everybody has a way to create a new one, and you have a celebrity star with it."

"It seems like theyre just collecting a bunch of money from people who want to invest at the very earliest stage, when its worth pennies," he added.

He also said that the number of people getting ripped off with crypto and NFTs, or non-fungible tokens "is just outrageous."

"Bitcoin is safe because it's the big elephant on the block," he said. "It's stable."

Wozniak, who left Apple in 1985, has had his own experience with crypto scams.

Last year,Wozniak has lost his lawsuit to sue YouTube over scam videos that claimed he was the host of a fake bitcoin giveaway and used his image.

Santa Clara County (Calif.) Superior Court Judge Sunil R. Kulkarni ruled that YouTube and its parent company Google (GOOGL) - Get Alphabet Inc. Class A Reportwere protected under federal law from responsibility for their users' posts.

Images and a video of Wozniak were used by YouTube scammers to trick viewers into believing he was hosting a live giveaway, in which anyone who sent him bitcoin would receive double the amount in return, according to the lawsuit.

Wozniak is involved with a realityshow called "Unicorn Hunters", which introduced its own cryptocurrency, Unicoin, last month.

In 2020, Wozniak launchedEfforce, a Malta-based blockchain project for funding energy-efficient businesses.The company's cryptocurrency token is named WOZX.

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Will Bitcoin's Price Hit $100,000? Apple's Wozniak Thinks So - TheStreet

As Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] revel in distant dreams of their long lost highs and struggle to break past their old resistance levels, is it possible that weary investors are looking towards more energetic alts instead? Heres what the data said.

Santiment revealed that while Bitcoin and Ethereum volumes were sliding, those capitalizing on the loss included Terra [LUNA] and Solana [SOL].

In fact, a closer comparison reveals just how drastic this reversal in fortunes has been. Towards the beginning of 2022, Bitcoin and Ethereum dominated the market in terms of volume while Solana and Luna registered smaller spikes.

Fast forward three months, however, and we can clearly see that LUNAs volume has surged high above that of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even Solana.

As for Solana, the alt has been surpassing Bitcoin in terms of volume. Alas, it is yet to definitively overtake Ethereum.

However, SOL and LUNA investors are far from being over the moon as weighted sentiment for both assets was in the negative territory at press time.

This suggests that investors are well past the excitement of the buy the dip stage. Now ready with their newly acquired assets, most seem ready for a bull run.

Looking at the price action of both assets, SOL was trading at $80.94, having risen by 0.67% in the last 24 hours while falling by 3.75% over the last seven days. Meanwhile, LUNA was changing hands at $93.04 after appreciating by 5.81% in a day and rallying by 12.82% in seven days.

While investors might take this as a sign to gather some alts for their portfolio, both coins come with their own baggage. For instance, Solanas total value locked [TVL] share has been on a certain downtrend since the fall of 2021.

Meanwhile, Terras TVL is on the rise and with a 12.95% share, it is just behind Ethereum itself. And yet, analysts are concerned that LUNA could be due for a correction soon.

Furthermore, DeFi players are questioning the yield sustainability of Terras Anchor lending protocol.

While Terras current trump card might be its formidable DeFi presence, Solana has an ace up its own sleeve. To be specific, this is Solanas growing influence in the NFT space as it tries to outpace Ethereum.

In fact, on 13 March, Solanas NFT standard Metaplex announced that it had hit a milestone of minting nine million NFTs.

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New dream team? Solana, LUNA taking on Bitcoin and Ethereum in volumes - AMBCrypto News

What happened: A Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) whale just sent $393,077,696 worth of Bitcoin off Coinbase.

The BTC address associated with this transaction has been identified as: 1J9eoDbkVYMYHCKbHZ6M6EjCXcsYKJd9M5.

Why it matters: Bitcoin Whales (investors who own $10 million or more in BTC) typically send cryptocurrency from exchanges when planning to hold their investments for an extended period of time. Storing large amounts of money on an exchange presents an additional risk of theft, as exchange wallets are the most sought-after target for cryptocurrency hackers.

The best way to secure Bitcoin is through holding it on a hardware wallet, which cant be done through holding digital assets on an exchange. Hardware wallets store ones private keys in an offline device, making it impossible for funds to be hacked via the internet.

According to Glassnode, only 13.47% of the total supply remains liquid across all centralized exchanges.

The removal of BTC from an exchange reduces potential sell side pressure, allowing the price of Bitcoin to increase more easily.

See Also: Best Crypto Apps 2021 and Best Crypto Portfolio Trackers

Price Action: Bitcoin is down 0% in the past 24 hours.

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin

Public Blockchain data sourced from Whale Alerts Twitter.

This article was generated by Benzingas automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

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Bitcoin Whale Moves 9,901 BTC Off Coinbase - Benzinga - Benzinga

Steve Adler the mayor of Austin, Texas proposed two initiatives to turn the city into a global leader in the crypto space. The first includes further promotion of the benefits of blockchain technology and Web3, while the second is orientated towards adopting bitcoin as a payment method.

According to a recent statement, the Mayor of Austin Steve Adler seeks to utilize new technologies and innovation to improve government processes and better serve Austinites. As such, he has turned his focus towards blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Apart from being the backbone of the digital asset industry, blockchain has many other potential use cases for both the private and public sectors, the politician said. In his view, the technology could be employed to create innovative solutions for people experiencing homelessness or introduced to other individuals struggling with social problems.

It is worth noting that there are thousands of homeless people in Austin, as most of them live with a disability.

Adler believes his city should dive into the Web3 universe, too. Engaging with the technology could enable Austin to develop its supply chain management and enhance its presence in the arts and media sectors:

The City Manager is directed to ensure the City is helping to create a 37 environment within city government and in the community generally that supports 38 the creation and development of new technologies, including without limitation 39 blockchain and other Web3 related technologies, protocols, and applications.

In addition, the mayor touched upon bitcoin. He praised its merits, saying it is a store of value, has enhanced security, and provides instantaneous transactions across geographical and political boundaries.

In his view, Austin should follow Miamis and New Yorks examples and interact deeper with the leading digital asset. Specifically, he proposed the acceptance of BTC as a payment method for municipal taxes, fees, and penalties.

It is safe to say that the two giant cities are the US leaders speaking of digital assets and blockchain technology. This is mainly due to their mayors Miamis Francis Suarez and New Yorks Eric Adams both bitcoin proponents.

The former personally invested in BTC and ETH. He also became the first politician to receive his salary in the primary digital asset instead of fiat currency. On top of it, last year, he said his administration is working on enabling the city residents to pay their taxes in BTC:

We want to do it with bitcoin because its what we know and what we trust. We think its the most verifiable and most trustworthy network out there.

The recently elected mayor of New York Eric Adams also got his paycheck in crypto instead of US dollars. The former police officer has stated numerous times he wants to transform the Big Apple into the global center of digital asset technology.

Another idea that he called upon is adding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as a subject in schools. Adams argued that digital assets represent the future of the monetary system, and as such, pupils should study the matter at an early age.

Featured Image Courtesy of CBS Austin

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Austin Mayor Proposes Bitcoin to be Accepted for Payments for Taxes, Fees, Penalties - CryptoPotato

A record 775,000 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) changed hands at the $38,700 price level.

What Happened: According to data from Glassnode shared by Lex Moskovski, on-chain volume at around $39,000 is the largest in the entire history of Bitcoin.

Much of that is from non-whales too (<1000 BTC wallets) which I consider bullish smaller BTC hodlers are not rattled by 50% drawdowns nearly as much as in 2018 and before, commented another on-chain analyst,The Chain Reaction,on Twitter.

According to The Chain Reaction, the large scale of volume moved by smaller Bitcoin holders is indicative that retail investors dictate the overall tone of price action even amid whale manipulation.

Glassnode analysts find that current market conditions point to a late-stage bear market.

Despite weaker short-term demand, HODLing remains the preferred strategy, with the proportion of younger coins now at all-time-lows, said Glassnode, in the latest edition of its weekly newsletter examining the state of the network.

As of Mar. 14, 82% of Bitcoin supply held by short-term holders was held at a loss, while the total supply held by long-term Bitcoin holders is near all-time highs.

With over 2.51M BTC held by Short-term Holders at an unrealized loss, there remains a risk that sellers have not yet been fully exhausted, stated the Glassnode analysts.

However, HODLing does continue to dominate investor behavior, and the longer-term accumulation trends are still impressively constructive.

Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $39,000, gaining 2.21% in the last 24 hours.

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Bitcoin Records Largest On-Chain Volume In Its History At $39,000 Can Retail Investors Hold Sway Over Whales? - Benzinga

A man convicted of drug charges in federal court in Boston has been ordered by a judge to forfeit about $2 million worth of Bitcoin, the first judicial forfeiture of cryptocurrency in the federal District of Massachusetts, prosecutors said.

Binh Thanh Le, 25, of Brockton, described by prosecutors as the leader and organizer of a sophisticated drug trafficking operation that did its business on the dark web, was also sentenced last week to eight years in prison, according to a statement from the U.S. attorneys office in Boston.

Le was indicted in June 2019. According to court records, he received large quantities of drugs in the mail from international sources, including ecstasy, Ketamine and Xanax. The drugs were sold on the dark web and shipped to customers throughout the U.S., prosecutors said.

Le was arrested in March 2019 when he met with undercover agents at a Norwood hotel to exchange $200,000 worth of Bitcoin for cash. More than 42 pounds of ecstasy, almost 15.5 pounds of Ketamine, nearly 2 pounds of cocaine and more than 10,000 counterfeit Xanax pills were seized during the investigation. He pleaded guilty in September.

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Feds to seize $2M in Bitcoin from convicted Brockton drug dealer - Boston Herald

In mid-March, the top five blockchains in terms of total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) currently command more than 82% of the $198 billion TVL in defi across all blockchains. Each of these chains offers different types of defi protocols like decentralized exchange (dex) platforms and lending applications, allowing people to designate their finances in various ways.

Today, theres just under $200 billion in defi and thats just the total value locked (TVL), as it doesnt include the large quantity of tokens tied to these specific protocols. Right now, five different blockchain TVLs represent 82% of the $198 billion locked in defi protocols. The chains include Ethereum, Terra, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Solana.

Ethereum currently holds the largest TVL with $108.51 billion or 54.59% of the value locked in defi protocols. On March 14, the top decentralized exchange (dex) platform tied to Ethereum is Curve Finance, with its $17.72 billion in TVL. Ethereums top collateralized debt position (CDP) application is Makerdao, which is just under Curve as the second-largest TVL in defi today.

In terms of liquid staking, Lido is the top defi protocol and Convex Finance is Ethereums top protocol for yield. Lastly, Ethereums largest lending protocol is the defi application Aave, with its $11.35 billion TVL.

The second-largest chain in terms of TVL in defi is Terra, with $25.79 billion or 12.98% of the aggregate TVL. Terras most popular dex is Astroport, and Lido is the largest in terms of liquid staking. In terms of yield, Pylon Protocol is Terras most popular product with the highest TVL.

Currently, there is no CDP application for Terra but the blockchains largest lending application is Anchor with $13.03 billion total value locked. The defi lending protocol Anchor has seen a 63.23% TVL increase during the last 30 days.

The Binance Smart Chain (BSC/BNB) is the third-largest blockchain today in terms of defi TVL with $11.73 billion or 5.9% of the aggregate held in defi. The top dex on BSC is Pancakeswap, and the largest CDP application is the Mars Ecosystem.

Theres no liquid staking via BSC but in terms of yield, Alpaca Finance is the largest on the network. When it comes to defi lending, the largest protocol in terms of value locked on BSC is Venus.

Avalanche holds the fourth-largest position in decentralized finance this week with $10.88 billion or 5.47% of the $198 billion locked in defi protocols. Todays top Avalanche dex application is Trader Joe and the blockchains most popular CDP is Defrost.

In terms of yield, the protocol Yield Yak is the leader on Avalanche, and Benqi holds the top liquid staking position. Like Ethereum, Aave is the biggest lending protocol on Avalanche at the time of writing.

Lastly, Solana is the fifth-largest defi blockchain in mid-March 2022 with a $6.69 billion TVL or 3.37% of the aggregate held in defi today. Solanas top dex is Serum and the blockchains CDP leader is Parrot Protocol.

Marinade Finance leads Solanas liquid staking apps and Quarry is the leading protocol in terms of yield. The largest lending application on Solana this week is Solend with $575.3 million locked.

While the five different blockchains and the dozens of aforementioned protocols is where most of the money is in defi today, theres a large assortment of other blockchains and applications available. At the time of writing, there are 384 dex applications that allow people to swap coins and there are 125 lending defi protocols that allow people to borrow and lend crypto. 328 defi apps offer some sort of yield and there are 16 different liquid staking apps. Furthermore, theres at least 30 different CDP protocols that issue stablecoin assets via collateralized backing.

What do you think about the top five blockchains offering different applications for dex platforms, CDPs, liquid staking, yield, and lending? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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More Than 80% of the Funds Locked in Decentralized Finance Are Kept on 5 Chains, 21 Different Defi Protocols Defi Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Abras CEO has predicted that the price of ether could reach $40,000. Hes more bullish on Ethereum than Bitcoin. The use cases are through the roof, said the executive.

The CEO of crypto trading platform Abra, Bill Barhydt, shared his thoughts on why he is more bullish about Ethereum than Bitcoin in an interview with CNBC Friday. He also predicts that the price of ether (ETH) could reach $40,000, a significant increase from the cryptocurrencys current price.

Barhydt explained, Ethereums network effect is based on this idea that it could become the worlds computers. Its being used for stablecoins, NFTs [non-fungible tokens], defi [decentralized finance] and gaming now.

The CEO expects that with staking coming, there will be a massive influx of people trying to hold ethereum. Comparing the network effects of Ethereum to Bitcoin, he opined:

The network effects for Ethereum in the short-term are actually more bullish to me because of the use cases that are just starting to play out.

He continued: If the gas fees and the transaction fees come down, which is the promise of the proof-of-stake, look out, because now all of the impediments of those network effects are taken out of the way.

However, the executive warned: We may have a bit of a sell-the-news effect after the initial rush to stake happens with the upgrade in June or July whenever it happens, the upgrade to proof-of-stake so you may see kind of sell-the-news pullback.

Nonetheless, Barhydt said without mentioning a specific time frame:

I think you are talking potentially $30,000 $40,000 ethereum.

He opined: Its deflationary. The use cases are through the roof. Its just all the stars are lining up for ethereum in my opinion right now.

Meanwhile, a panel of fintech experts at Finder.com is less bullish than the Abra CEO. The panel previously predicted that ETH would reach $50,788 by 2030. That estimate has been lowered to $26,338. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at $2,518 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets.

What do you think about Barhydts ethereum price prediction? Let us know in the comments section below.

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Abra CEO Bullish on Ethereum, Predicts ETH Could Hit $40000 Markets and Prices Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

There's a new conspiracy theory in town, coming from Robert Kiyosaki.

The author of bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad said Joe Biden will seize all cryptocurrencies, calling him a communist.

Kiyosaki has sold 32 million copies of his book, and he has 1.8 million followers on Twitter. Nevertheless, there's no evidence or plans for the US Government to seize cryptocurrencies or that Joe Biden is a communist.

The second one is even less likely than the plans to seize cryptos.

Before tweeting the new crypto conspiracy theory, six hours later Kiyosaki said to "entrepreneur, stay out of stock market, create own assets, use debt as $, save G,S, BC, guns."

Cryptocurrencies are known for being an alternative to the stock market. In other words, he encouraged his followers to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Kiyosaki often recommended buying gold, silver, and bitcoin against inflation. His "predictions" are heavily criticized by the crypto community.

Joe Biden issued an executive order on cryptocurrencies last Wednesday.

Nevertheless, his purpose was not seizing crypto assets. Biden's executive order is based on taking care of the consumers, supporting technological advances, addressing the risks, and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets.

"Under the executive order, Treasury and interagency partners will build upon the recently published National Risk Assessments, which identify key illicit financing risks associated with digital assets," Yanet Yellen said.

Reports from Crypto Head, a cryptocurrency news outlet that used Federal Trade Commission data to analyze cryptocurrency crime trends in recent years say that since the creation of cryptos, crimes increased 312% per year.

Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency with most crime reports. It is the oldest form of payment.

Bitcoin is not an asset that can be frozen or seized. Senator Ted Cruz described "one of the reasons why I'm so bullish on bitcoin is because it is decentralized and not controllable."

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Bitcoin: Is the US government seizing all bitcoin with executive order? - Marca English