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Green Mining Company HIVE Secures Deal To Buy A Number Of Intel’s New ASICs

The ESG-focused mining company HIVE is the latest organization to sign a deal with Intel. It joins Block, Argo Blockchain, and GRIID, as the first clients and testers of the giant’s new ASICs. Intel’s Bonanza Mine project is quickly becoming one of bitcoin’s stories of the year. It’s funny that, so far, no one has seen the equipment. The idea of a bitcoin miner made in the US is appealing, though. Plus, the project’s rollout has been masterful so far. 

The headline here is that “HIVE owns state-of-the-art, green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland, where we source only green energy to mine.” In a recent press release, the company announced the Intel deal and its intention to expand into the US. “The Company is planning for a 100 MW deployment at one of Compute North’s renewable energy campuses in Texas.” 

HIVE self-proclaimed itself “the first cryptocurrency mining company with a green energy and ESG strategy”. The company’s other significant characteristic is that they’re holders. “Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of its ETH and BTC coin mining rewards.” That goes in line with new data that shows that miners are quietly accumulating bitcoin as the market bleeds.

BTC price chart for 03/08/2022 on Capital.com | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Do We Know About HIVE ‘s Deal With Intel?

Not much, really. “HIVE has entered into a Supply Agreement with Intel which is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, for their upcoming blockchain accelerator.” Notice how HIVE calls the ASICs “blockchain accelerators,” just as Intel did in the company’s blog. Will the name catch on?

The press release doesn’t specify how many bitcoin miners will HIVE buy, but, it provides some relevant data: 

“These miners are expected to be delivered over a period of one year starting in the second half of calendar 2022, the effect of which, if they are all installed, would be an expected increase of up to 95% in our aggregate Bitcoin mining hashrate from 1.9 Exahash per second.”

It also quotes HIVE ‘s president, Aydin Kilic, who about the deal said:

“After months of careful planning, we are very excited to take this step forward with a global technology leader like Intel. HIVE is committed to implementing these next-generation blockchain accelerators in its green energy infrastructure.”

The ESG aspect of the whole endeavor is another important point here.

Bitcoin Keeps Going Greener And Greener

Recently, GRIID’s filling with the SEC revealed several characteristics of Intel’s new bitcoin miners. As always, NewsBTC got you the 411:

“When the world first heard about Intel’s ASIC ambitions, the company cleverly described the machines as “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient.” How efficient will they actually be? Tom’s hardware answers:

“According to the listing, BMZ2’s performance weighs in at 135 TH/s with 26 J/THs of efficiency. Additionally, the miner is roughly half the cost of a competing Bitmain S19 Pro while being 15% more efficient, rivaling the best hardware on the market from competing companies.”

Would 15% really make that much of a difference? If it can rival the S19 Pro, it would. And Intel wouldn’t make this much noise if they didn’t have a winner in their hands, would they? Maybe HIVE ‘s president, Aydin Kilic, can shed some light on that:

“Intel’s energy-efficient and high performance blockchain accelerator is expected to reduce our power consumption over current ASIC miners on the market. HIVE will participate in the system development process from design verification, through to the prototype stages, and then factory & test engineering regimens to arrive at a production model; we are well-positioned and excited to undertake the process ahead.”

That’s right, the first few clients will help with the testing and development of Intel’s final product. That makes all the sense in the world. Let’s wish them luck, because an ASIC miner made in the US would certainly help break Bitmain’s quasi-monopoly. The bitcoin ecosystem needs more decentralization in that aspect. 

Featured Image: HIVE’s logo, screenshot from this video | Charts by TradingView

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What’s Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Saying While Promoting The Bitcoin Mining Chip?

What is Intel ’s Pat Gelsinger doing? Who is he talking to while promoting Intel’s new bitcoin mining chips? In a recent Bloomberg interview, Gelsinger uses every ESG buzzword in the book to promote their “energy-efficient ASIC chip.” Is this the right strategy? Who will be Intel’s clients? And why is this man lying about bitcoin’s energy consumption when the real numbers would do just fine?

The host, Emily Chang, starts by asking him about 2019, when the Intel CEO said that Bitcoin was badly designed, “extreme, and climate intolerant.” Does Gelsinger still hold that opinion? Of course, he does. And that’s just the beginning. 

Intel CEO regurgitates ESG FUD talking points while shilling for his new #Bitcoin mining chip. Feb 14 2022 pic.twitter.com/x7r31FCwp9

— 🐝🇸🇻⚡BITC0IN 🐦🐦🐦 (@BITCOINALLCAPS) February 17, 2022

The Intel CEO Is Here To Fix Bitcoin

Gelsinger starts by saying that when he misdiagnosed bitcoin that one time, “most of the uses where illicit.” In 2019? Nothing could be further from the truth, Sir. Bitcoin’s first use case, the unbanked, were discovering the solution to their problem little by little. And the seeds for everything that has happened in the last few years were already planted.

Was bitcoin also used for illicit purposes? Of course. Bitcoin is money for your enemies. Everyone can use it. 

Another thing the Intel CEO believed about bitcoin is that “it couldn’t be regulated, so it couldn’t become a currency for nations and for people to use broadly.” Well, considering it’s already currency in one nation, El Salvador, we could say that Gelsinger’s predictions are pretty much off the mark.

The idea of an American ASIC mining chip, though, that’s a great one. And if it consumes less energy, so be it. Even though people will probably just push the pedal to the metal and mine more. In any case, the Intel CEO informs us that one of the company’s mantras is that they’re “shaping technology as a force for good.” It sounds like Google’s “Don’t be evil,” and we all know how that turned out.

In any case, Gelsinger thinks the easily debunkable attack points he exposed make bitcoin a controversial character. However, “that doesn’t mean it’s not a good technology, but we’re not using it good yet.” So, Intel is here to fix it.

BTC price chart for 02/19/2022 on Fx | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What’s Gelsinger Promising, Exactly?

One thing’s for sure, Intel is very confident about their product. The CEO said:

“Intel is about to bring forward a blockchain chip that’s dramatically better. That is orders of magnitude better in terms of power performance. So, we’re helping solve the climate issue.” 

Are they, though? In any case, a “dramatically better” chip is always welcome. When the company announced their first clients, we quoted their press release:

“Today, we at Intel are declaring our intent to contribute to the development of blockchain technologies, with a roadmap of energy-efficient accelerators. Intel will engage and promote an open and secure blockchain ecosystem and will help advance this technology in a responsible and sustainable way.”

And we, jokingly and earnestly, applauded their efforts:

“That’s right, they’re tackling the problem “in a responsible and sustainable way.” And they’re calling the mining chips “accelerators” for some reason.”

However, the Intel CEO raises doubts. “We want to work with the industry to find ways that technologies like blockchain can be properly regulated, managed, as well. So they truly can be fully realized,” he said. Forgetting that Intel just arrived to the space and was here to make chips.

“This is one of those areas that, yeah, we’re going to work on fixing this one. Because this is a powerful technology. An immutable leveraged digitized entry system can transform currency, transactions, supply chain, so, yeah, this one is exciting.”

This man doesn’t have the faintest clue about bitcoin’s real power. And, what’s an “immutable leveraged digitized entry system” anyway? There’s a popular saying in the bitcoin community: “You don’t change bitcoin. Bitcoin changes you.” It seems like Intel is going to find that to be true the hard way.

Featured Image: Gelsinger on Bloomberg, screenshot from this video| Charts by TradingView

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Intel Announces Mining Chips’ First Clients: BLOCK, Argo Blockchain, and GRIID

Intel ’s play to get into the bitcoin mining market might end up being the story of the year. In a post titled “Blockchain and the New Custom Compute Group,” Raja Koduri reveals a little of the company’s playbook. At Intel, he’s the senior vice president and general manager of the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group. 

Related Reading | Jack Dorsey’s Block To Democratize Bitcoin Mining With Open Source Mining System

In the article, Koduri says, “we are focusing our efforts on realizing the full potential of blockchain by developing the most energy-efficient computing technologies at scale.” Intel’s play is deeper and harder than previously thought. They’re going all-in in the blockchain business. With a twist that every corporation is claiming for.  

“Today, we at Intel are declaring our intent to contribute to the development of blockchain technologies, with a roadmap of energy-efficient accelerators. Intel will engage and promote an open and secure blockchain ecosystem and will help advance this technology in a responsible and sustainable way.”

That’s right, they’re tackling the problem “in a responsible and sustainable way.” And they’re calling the mining chips “accelerators” for some reason. Will the name catch on?

“Intel Labs has dedicated decades of research into reliable cryptography, hashing techniques and ultra-low voltage circuits. We expect that our circuit innovations will deliver a blockchain accelerator that has over 1000x better performance per watt than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256 based mining.”

This new line of Intel products responds directly to the ESG crowd. The bitcoin-consumes-too-much-energy FUD people. Soon enough, they’ll have to face Intel ’s PR machine.  How can bitcoin consume too much energy if Intel’s product “has over 1000x better performance per watt than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256 based mining”?

BTC price chart for 02/14/2022 on Kraken | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Who Are Intel ’s First Clients?

We can’t prove it, but, all of these companies probably knew years ago about Intel’s plans to release a bitcoin mining chip. Again, Raja Koduri:

“Our blockchain accelerator will ship later this year. We are engaged directly with customers that share our sustainability goals. Argo Blockchain, BLOCK (formerly known as Square) and GRIID Infrastructure are among our first customers for this upcoming product. This architecture is implemented on a tiny piece of silicon so that it has minimal impact to the supply of current products.” 

When NewsBTC analyzed Intel’s chip announcement, we summarized the situation as:

“This could be huge. Intel plans to enter the Bitcoin mining space with a cleverly marketed “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient” ASIC chip. Considering that the chip shortage severely delayed the next generation of ASIC miners, this is tremendous. And, more importantly, it opens up the door for Bitcoin miners manufacturing in the USA. And in the rest of the Western world, even. ”

After that, we analyzed the situation’s implications:

“Now, the open-source Bitcoin miner that Jack Dorsey’s Block is working on makes a lot more sense. Theoretically, the silicon chip is the only part of an ASIC machine that can’t be bought in a hardware store. With that problem solved, by no less than an industry leader with immense manufacturing power, the sky’s the limit. If this whole thing materializes, expect a huge leap forward in the further decentralization of Bitcoin mining.”

Notice how Block is one of the first clients. And how Intel had the energy-efficient ASIC chip marketing ready from the get-go. And how Koduri even addressed the chip shortage in the last line there.

Intel’s Bonanza Chip’s Future

Reading between the lines, it’s clear that this is not a secondary project for Intel. They have high hopes for this low-energy chips play. Here, Koduri discusses the Custom Compute Group:

“The objective of this team is to build custom silicon platforms optimized for customers’ workloads, including blockchain and other custom accelerated supercomputing opportunities at the edge.

Onward, we aspire to leverage technologies from our zetta-scale computing initiative to deliver energy-efficient solutions.”

Related Reading | Green Energy: In NY, Bitcoin Mining Saved The Oldest Working Hydroelectric Plant

You read it here first, Intel ’s play to get into the bitcoin mining market might end up being the story of the year.

This is not financial advice, though.

Featured Image by geralt on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView

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ESG Organizations Send Letter To Congress About PoW Mining, Bitcoin Responds

Will the ESG FUD ever stop? As a Congressional subcommittee prepares to take a good look at Proof-Of-Work mining, “more than 70” national, international, state and local organizations wrote a letter to the “Congressional leadership.” In it, they use old and unreliable data to get their point across. They completely ignore all of 2021’s research and progress on the matter, because it would invalidate their argument.

The question is, will Congress buy their poorly researched, alarmist letter? The ESG FUD hit PoW mining like a ton of bricks in 2021. It might be based on a poor understanding of the subject at hand, but the public in general definitely bought it. And they quote the bogus numbers that their authorities invented left and right on social media. 

Related Reading | Despite Crackdown, Bitcoin Mining Is Still Alive And Well In China

Also, the whole argument completely ignores Bitcoin’s main virtue. The orange coin provides a framework and tools for the world’s transition to a disinflationary system. Paraphrasing “The Price Of Tomorrow’s” author Jeff Booth, in the inflationary system that we live in, there’s a clear incentive for consumption. If your money’s purchasing power decreases by the minute, everybody will logically buy, spend, and consume everything in sight. That is the real monster that the planet’s facing. And Bitcoin fixes it. 

In any case, Bitcoin’s resident ESG FUD expert, Nic Carter, took it upon himself to reply to the ESG organizations that sent misinformation to Congress. Let’s see how each part did.

The ESG Organizations Make Their Point, Nic Carter Counterpoints

The ESG organizations come out swinging from the introduction on: 

“We, the more than 70 climate, economic, racial justice, business and local organizations, write to you today to urge Congress to take steps to mitigate the considerable contribution portions of the cryptocurrency markets are making to climate change and the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, environmental, and climate justice impacts it will have.”

And their accuracies start from the get-go, also:

“In 2018, scientists writing in Nature warned that Bitcoin’s growth alone could singlehandedly push global emissions above 2 degrees Celsius within less than three decades.”

Those numbers are ridiculous. The study assumes a progression relative to the number of users of the network, and that’s simply not how Bitcoin works. Even if the whole planet adopted the Bitcoin standard, the network would still produce one block every ten minutes. Energy consumption is not directly related to the number of users.

What did Nic Carter respond? That the claim is “false, based on a debunked paper with a completely erroneous model of bitcoin.”

2. bitcoin's energy consumption will 'only get worse over time'

most likely will trail off over time, after peaking in the next decade (see https://t.co/8x0koM6nR9 for actually rigorous projections)

— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022

Right after that, the ESG organizations even throw Ethereum under the bus:

“The Digiconomist’s Ethereum Energy Consumption Index estimates that the Ethereum blockchain will consume 71 terawatt-hours this year, nearly the same as the energy consumption of Colombia.”

Since the letter is about PoW mining, it makes sense. The Ethereum community seems to have completely ignored the letter, at least over at Twitter. 

BTC price chart for 01/07/2021 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Bitcoin Incentivizes Green Energy Infrastructure

The ESG organizations continue their poorly-researched attack with:

“The GHG emissions from this exorbitant and unnecessary energy consumption is staggering.”

It’s not unnecessary at all. In fact, PoW mining is absolutely essential for a decentralized, permissionless system. And the energy consumption is directly proportional to the security of the network. Plus, it anchors it to the real world. Not to mention the fact that Bitcoin actually incentivizes and finances green energy infrastructure.

Then, the ESG crowd accuses Bitcoin of “exacerbating” the global chip shortage:

“Increased demand for these machines are exacerbating a global shortage of semiconductors. A bipartisan bill by Senators Maggie Hassan and Joni Ernst has called for a report on how cryptocurrency mining operations are impacting semiconductor supply chains.“

With ease, Nic Carter counterattacks with: “Bitcoin miners are not tier 1 clients, they don’t compete with Apple/Qualcomm/NVIDIA for space; the shortage is due to money printing and the demand shock. See section on semis here.”

5. Atlas/ greenidge increased power prices in NY.

The Atlas mine brought back online a fallow coal plant (converted to natgas) which now provides energy to the grid (in addition to mining). That's energy supplied to the grid which wasn't being produced beforehand

— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022

Texas Doesn’t Know What Its Doing, The ESG Crowd Does

Then, the ESG researchers make wild, unbacked assumptions about Texas power:

“Following a crackdown on cryptocurrency miners in China, many miners are moving to Texas, due to its deregulated grid, taking away the power that Texans need.”

This completely ignores the fact that the state of Texas went to great lengths to attract those miners. And that, unlike the ESG organizations that signed the infamous letter, power companies in Texas regularly attend Bitcoin meetings. They are making an effort to understand the technology and the opportunities it brings to them. Also, as Carter puts it, “Majority of mining is in west texas where transmission bottlenecks mean prices routinely go negative. Huge overcapacity and limited demand for power outside of mining.”

Miners also participate in demand response, meaning they aren't online when the grid is overburdened. Their presence dramatically improves economics for renewables and does not compete with households during scarcity events.

— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022

The state of Texas knows what it’s doing, they see Bitcoin’s future is bright. These ESG organizations think they know better, though:

“Adding more energy-guzzling crypto mining operations to Texas could exacerbate the sorts of blackouts the state already saw during the extreme cold in February — outages that reporting shows hit communities of color the hardest.”

Wow, playing the race card there. So low. And unrelated. Anyway, answering the claim that miners “could exacerbate” the February blackouts, Carter says. “Miners were/ would have been offline during this time, as we demonstrate here. They also help alleviate ‘black start’ issues through primary frequency response.” 

9. Stronghold mining with coal waste is bad (implied)

The coal waste was going to oxidize naturally. It was going to combust anyway. This is an incentive to clean up a nasty site leeching into groundwater etc. Neutral from a CO2 perspective and ++ from an ecology view

— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022

Three Other Prominent Bitcoiners’ Response

Are these direct responses to the ESG organizations’ letter? It’s not clear, but the authors published them in the same timeframe. The first one refers to SHA256, the set of cryptographic hash functions that Bitcoin uses. Nunchuk founder Hugo Nguyen said, “Once you understand that SHA256 is close to being 100% efficient at what it does, you’d stop calling it a “waste”. In fact, 100% efficiency is the exact opposite of “waste”. There’s nothing else like it.”

Once you understand that SHA256 is close to being 100% efficient at what it does, you’d stop calling it a “waste”. In fact, 100% efficiency is the exact opposite of “waste”. There’s nothing else like it. https://t.co/SLuVrAPfU2

— Hugo Nguyen (@hugohanoi) January 7, 2022

For his part, Swan Bitcoin’s Brandon Quittem attacks the concept of energy consumption being inherently bad. “Energy consumption is directly correlated with GDP. Want to help developing countries? Help them harness more energy. Interestingly, Bitcoin acts as a free market subsidy for energy investment.”

3/ Energy consumption is directly correlated with GDP.

Want to help developing countries? Help them harness more energy.

Interestingly, Bitcoin acts as a free market subsidy for energy investment.

Incentivizes developing otherwise uneconomical energy sources. pic.twitter.com/DJ6yYoz6WO

— Brandon Quittem (@Bquittem) January 6, 2022

And Kraken’s Dan Held states that “Bitcoin’s energy consumption is not “wasteful.” Why? Because “It is much more efficient than existing financial systems.” And we’re talking orders of magnitude, here. Not only that, “No one has the moral authority to tell you what is a good or bad use of energy (ex: watching the Kardashians).”

1/ Bitcoin’s energy consumption is not “wasteful.”

– It is much more efficient than existing financial systems– No one has the moral authority to tell you what is a good or bad use of energy (ex: watching the Kardashians)

Let's debunk this FUD👇

— Dan Held (@danheld) January 6, 2022

Do you know how much energy American households use for their Christmas lights? As much as the whole Bitcoin network, that’s how much. 

Related Reading | Is This The Reason China Banned Bitcoin Mining? Carvalho’s Mind Blowing Theory

Where is the letter to Congress protesting  Christmas lights, ESG organizations?

Featured Image by Karsten Würth on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView

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Five Bitcoin Short Films For A Lazy Holiday Evening: Energy, Money, &… Basket?

Happy Holidays from the NewsBTC team. We come bearing gifts. The cure for those suffering from cryptocurrency withdrawal syndrome. Spend the evening learning about Bitcoin in the most relaxed way possible. These five films were released throughout 2021 and contain the alpha everyone needs for the years ahead. At least the first four do, the fifth one has nothing to do with Bitcoin except for one small detail.

Related Reading | The First Interactive NFT in the World – VR Movie on Mars

Our sister site Bitcoinist covered the films and most of the accompanying text comes from those articles. Is there a better time for these films to make an appearance in NewsBTC than this lazy evening? Grab your beverage of choice, heat up those leftovers, and hit play in the one that interests you the most. Chances are you’ll end up watching them all.

Once again, happy holidays and happy watching!

Bitcoin Short #1- “This Machine Greens” (38 mins)

Is Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption a bug or a feature? This documentary’s “thesis is that the process is “a net positive for the environment.” The aim was to “dispels many of the misconceptions about Bitcoin mining.” Directed by  Jamie King, of “Steal This Film” fame, and produced by Enrique Posner and Swan Bitcoin. 

From the Bitcoinist’s coverage, in Part 1 they focus on the Petrodollar system:

“Watch “This Machine Greens” to learn how the US Military literally backs the Petrodollar. And, of course, the US Military uses infinite energy year after year. Learn about the deal that the US made with Saudi Arabia. The US was to protect the Middle East. The Saudis promised that “The global oil market will be denominated in and conducted with dollars. Ensuring a constant global demand for the currency.” Think about the results of this crucial deal.”

From Bitcoinist’s coverage, in Part 2 they explain how Bitcoin mining will fund green energy initiatives:

“According to Alex Gladstein, Bitcoin can fund the “Electrification of new areas and creation of new economic activity.“ This machine greens, if you will. And if we’re talking infrastructure for clean energy, Magdalena Gronowska breaks it down:

 “It’s derisking constructions of renewable energy facilities. It’s derisking it because it’s willing to buy 24/7, 365. And when you have a predictable buyer, a predictable revenue stream, it’s easy to plan out your operations. And that certainty means that that site gets built.”

Bitcoin Short #2- “Human B” (73 mins)

This recent German documentary is one of the best introductions to Bitcoin produced to date. On top of that, directors Aaron Mucke and Eva Mühlenbäumer created a slick audiovisual piece that flows like a river and is an aesthetical pleasure to watch. 

In Bitcoinist’s coverage of the documentary, they introduce it like this:

“Human B” shows us how people in Germany and Austria view the Bitcoin phenomenon. This is a worldwide movement, and it’s important to listen to all the voices out there. In the documentary, we get to hear from Bitcoin authors like Der Gigi and Anita Posch. From economist and punk rocker Marc Friedrich and journalist Friedemann Brenneis. Plus, from a normal person like Jan, who ends up being the star of the show.

The documentary takes a surprising left turn when it travels to Caracas, Venezuela. There, we hear from Alessandro Cecere AKA El Sultán del Bitcoin, and from Juan José Pinto from Doctorminer.”

#3- “Hard Money” (34 mins)

This one is not about Bitcoin per se. This Bitcoin short is about money. To understand why Bitcoin is so important for the planet, people might need a refresher course on what money actually is.  This documentary is analogous to the first few chapters of Saifedean Ammous’ “The Bitcoin Standard,” and features sound bites from some of the most important Bitcoin philosophers out there. Directed by Richard James.

In Bitcoinist’s coverage of the film, they convince you to watch it with this:

“Watch the “Hard Money documentary and you’ll be able to answer these questions: Why was gold chosen as the premier form of hard currency? What were gold’s “severe flaws”? What is inflation and how does the government hide it? How breaking the relationship between the Dollar and gold broke the relationship between the market and reality. What is low and high time preference?  What does fractional reserve banking create? Why are the institutions that issue debt effectively printing new money?”

BTC price chart on Bitbay | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Bitcoin Short #4- “Bitcoin Is Generational Wealth” (15 mins)

This one is not a documentary, even though it uses some of the genre’s techniques. Also, this is the only specimen on this list that didn’t get a positive review from Bitcoinist. Why is that? We won’t spoil it for you. Watch the film first and then read the linked text. Directed by Matt Hornick. Written and narrated by Tomer Strolight.

In Bitcoinist’s bad review of the film, we find this quote:

“Half speculative fiction, half predictive programming, “Bitcoin is Generational Wealth” is in a genre of its own. Using high-quality stock footage to produce a professional montage, the film should work. But it doesn’t. Is the script to blame? Probably. The film shows an idyllic future that every Bitcoiner has dreamt about, but it doesn’t explain how we get there. It takes the “Bitcoin fixes this” meme to its ridiculous extreme.”

#5- “Lynchpin” (21 mins)

This one is about amateur basketball. Its only link to Bitcoin is that Swan and the Bitcoin Movie Club financed and produced it. Is this the first of many or a one-time thing? Word on the street is that the companies will finance several chapters of this story, but don’t quote us on that. “Lynchpin” was supposed to be a TV show, so it sounds possible on that end. We’ll keep you all posted. Directed by Mike Nicoll.

In Bitcoinist’s presentation of the short film, they introduced it as follows:

“Compton Magic’s Etop Udo-Ema, “America’s most recognized basketball powerbroker,” is “Lynchpin’s” star. Before Covid hit, this charismatic man receives an offer that he can’t refuse. The whole short film follows him trying to change sponsors and create a league. That carries Etop to Roc Nation and its boss Jay Z, who happens to be Puma’s creative director. The whole enterprise seems to be on its right track. No one could predict the monkey wrench that hit the world’s engines.”

Related Reading | Miramax Sues Quentin Tarantino Over “Pulp Fiction” NFTs. Tarantino Moves Forward

And that’s enough Bitcoin for tonight. Happy holidays!

Featured Image by Bru-nO on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView

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Since China’s Mining Ban, Bitcoin Hashrate Has Recovered by 68% And Counting

Bitcoin is a perpetual motion machine. The Bitcoin hashrate is slowly climbing to pre-China-ban levels, and the service continued uninterrupted without a hiccup. Such is the power of well-placed incentives. Pantera Capital’s CEO Dan Morehead adds one more factor to the equation. “The bitcoin network has recovered 68% of the drop in hashrate that our difficulty model attributed to China’s ban—likely in places with cleaner energy.”

The recovery is happening exactly as forecast.

The #bitcoin network has recovered 68% of the drop in hashrate that our difficulty model attributed to China's ban—likely in places with cleaner energy.

The transition to renewables is underway.

Sep Letter: https://t.co/xLyaLpPQQN pic.twitter.com/UsK9ML3BU8

— Dan Morehead (@dan_pantera) September 9, 2021

In the company’s newsletter, Pantera fleshes out the argument:

“Although difficult to know with certainty, it seems very likely that much of the reboot in mining power is occurring in places with cleaner energy than those utilized by Chinese miners. 

The transition to renewables is well underway.”

Regarding The Bitcoin Hashrate, Are ESG Concerns Even Important?

Here at NewsBTC we’ve determined that China’s Bitcoin mining tended to go to provinces with abundant green energy. Bitcoin incentivizes that. The Bitcoin hashrate tends to go where the energy is cheap. We’ve also determined that the environment doesn’t seem to be the reason for the Bitcoin mining ban.

“The fact that the electricity for crypto mining in Sichuan came from clean hydropower meant that many thought the province would be a safe haven for Bitcoin miners. As pressure on local governments to cut carbon emissions mounts, projects were successfully shuttered in some other provincial-level regions — such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia — where the mining was chiefly fueled by coal.” 

The only thing we can know for sure about the Chinese government’s plan is this: the environment is not on their radar. They’re closing these mining operations for other reasons altogether. 

It’s also important to remember that China’s Bitcoin hashrate dominance was already on decline before the mining ban. 

“According to Arcane Research, CBECI numbers say that:

China’s share of total Bitcoin mining power has declined from 75.5% in September 2019 to 46% in April 2021 — before the restrictions on Chinese miners were even imposed. That figure is much lower than the older estimate of 65%.

That’s a sharp decline. Why did China’s miners lose so much ground before the ban?”

None of this invalidates Pantera Capital’s original thesis, though. “The transition to renewables is well underway,” that certainly seems to be the case. And the Bitcoin hashrate keeps climbing. 

BTC price chart for 09/09/2021 on Timex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Do Bitcoin Halvins Imply Cuts In Energy Consumption?

Another interesting idea present in the mentioned newsletter is this one:

“Bitcoin has a built-in mechanism to reduce energy consumption over time.  The number of bitcoin issued in the every-ten-minutes block reward is cut in half every four years.  Ceteris paribus, the amount of electricity Bitcoin consumes will be cut by 50% every four years.  For comparison, the Paris Accord only requires 7% cuts every four years.”

Of course, Bitcoin’s price fluctuates when related to fiat currencies. So, the value of every Bitcoin stays the same, but the price might – and usually does – increase more than twofold. Even though the miner’s rewards are cut in half, their earnings might increase. That extra money could bring even more competition and a Bitcoin hashrate increase with it. 

Taking that into account, Pantera poses:

“Perhaps a more realistic scenario is if the price of bitcoin were to double every four years in parallel with the halvings – putting bitcoin at $320,000 /BTC in 2032 – electricity consumption would be no greater than it is today.”

Enough About The Bitcoin Hashrate, What About The Price?

Another point that the newsletter makes is this one.“This is China’s third ban of Bitcoin.  The reverse hex is still working – the price is up 57%.”

Related Reading | New To Bitcoin? Learn To Trade Crypto With The NewsBTC Trading Course

Is this a bullish signal? Bitcoin’s price has “only” increased by 57% since the Chinese mining ban sent the Bitcoin hashrate in death spiral for a few seconds. Bitcoin paid the price and resisted sabotage like a hero. We’re not sure if a “reverse hex” could be considered reliable information, but… maybe this IS a bullish signal?

Featured Image by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash – Charts by TradingView and Pantera Capital

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How Blockchain Tech Can Help Drive a Sustainable Future

In this second Consensus 2021 episode, our guests address subtleties and niches within environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG). These range from indigenous resource allocation and tracking to building sustainable supply chains from the ground up and applying big data to consumer water conservation.