Sweden’s central bank governor said he wants “as little bitcoin as possible in the Swedish financial system.”
Crypto miner Hive expands data center operations in Sweden
Hive Digital Technologies has acquired land and a data center to expand its operations in Sweden, house the incoming generation of ASIC servers and increase Bitcoin production.
Swedish Bitcoiners targeted by armed criminals
Swedish cryptocurrency proponent Eric Wall has flagged targeted attacks on well-known BTC community members.
Renewable energy Bitcoin mining company powers up in Sweden
Bitcoin mining lands another green energy data center as global powerhouse GDA sets up shop in Sweden.
Honk if you love Bitcoin! Lightning takes the wheel of a European rally car adventure
With a comically loud horn, a candy machine and a jukebox filled with Mozart, metal and more, it’s the “Bitcoin Ambassadors” rally car adventure.
EU needs further efforts to implement crypto regulations: Btc. x CEO
The CEO of Btc. x mentioned the possibility of governments deeming the MiCA framework inadequate, leading to a two-sided power dynamic.
Sweden Drives Final Nail Into Its Bitcoin Mining Industry With Tax Hike
The 6,000% increase in taxes per kilowatt hour of energy will likely kill any potential bitcoin mining investments in the country.
Swedish Riksbank report looks at collaboration with potential e-krona in retail payments
The Swedish central bank’s third report on a potential CBDC raised several issues while focusing on a rather narrow question.
European banks launch ‘sustainable’ blockchain platform for digital bonds
The platform makes the first use case of a so-called “Proof of Climate” blockchain protocol.
Swedish pension fund Alecta dumps First Republic Bank shares after price plummets
The Swedish fund was the bank’s fifth largest shareholder; the fund’s CEO said the uncertainty surrounding First Republic was too great.
CBDCs could provide smooth cross-border payments, says Bank of Israel official
Yoav Soffer, the advisor to the deputy governor and CBDC project manager, spoke at Tel Aviv FinTech Week, explaining how a recent CBDC experiment proved efficient in cross-border transactions.
BIS Says ‘Hub and Spoke’ Cross-Border Transfers Offer Benefits for Retail CBDC
The model explored in Project Icebreaker would offer retail users the best foreign-exchange rates and faster transactions while allowing central banks to keep almost total control of their currencies.
Binance approved to offer crypto services to Swedish customers
The decision from Sweden’s financial authority followed regulators in France, Bahrain, Spain and Dubai granting similar approvals for Binance in 2022.
The state of crypto in Northern Europe: Hostile Scandinavia and vibrant Baltics
The Nordics remain a cold place for crypto, but Estonia still leads as the public blockchain adopter.
Crypto users renew calls for Satoshi Nakamoto to win Nobel memorial prize for economics
Major figures in the crypto space argued the Bitcoin creator was the most deserving candidate for the economic award, despite the fact Satoshi’s true identity remains unknown.
Swedish central bankers snipe Bitcoin mining, cite rampant energy use
A report by the Riksbank makes the case for banning Bitcoin mining in Sweden over proof-of-work energy consumption concerns; Bitcoin Twitter was quick to react.
Sweden’s central bank completes second phase of e-krona testing
The Swedish CBDC is now technically ready for integration with banks and payment service providers, according to a report from Riksbank.
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
EU securities regulator calls for proof-of-work crypto mining ban
European regulators are concerned about crypto’s risks to climate change goals.
Nasdaq Stockholm lists Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded notes
The number of crypto-based exchange-traded products in Europe continues to expand as 2022 draws nearer.