Bitcoin Makes Progress in Clearing Backlog, but Lightning Network Capacity and Channels Dropped Amid Congestion

In the past week, the Bitcoin network has made progress in resolving its congestion issues. On May 7, 2023, the number of unconfirmed transactions reached an all-time high of over 500,000 transfers, causing a major backlog. However, as of today, that…

Large Immersion Cooled Crypto Mining Farms to Extract Bitcoin in Middle East Desert

A project to build two large-scale facilities for cryptocurrency mining is underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The high-tech data centers will rely on a full immersion solution to cool the power-hungry miners as the desert climate renders air-cooled mining…

A ‘Tremendous Variety of Possible Transaction Types’ — A Look at the Conversation Between Nakamoto and Andresen

The Bitcoin mempool, otherwise known as the network’s transaction backlog, is still clogged with over 390,000 transactions waiting to be processed by miners. To clear the mempool, more than 190 blocks need to be mined. As the scaling issues continue to…

Iran Shuts Down Over 8,000 Illegal Crypto Mining Farms in 3 Years

Authorities in Iran have closed down more than 8,000 underground facilities for cryptocurrency mining in the past three years, local media reported. Despite the government’s crackdown, illegal crypto mining continues to account for a serious amount of energy consumption, official figures…

Bitcoin Network Overwhelmed by 390,000 Unconfirmed Transactions and Surging Fees

In just under two weeks, the number of unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network has skyrocketed from 134,000 to over 390,000, causing a bottleneck in the mempool. This surge in unconfirmed transactions has resulted in a staggering 343% increase in transaction…

Bitcoin Network Hits 75% Progress Towards Next Reward Halving

At 11:06 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on April 29, 2023, at block height 787,500, the number of blocks left to discover until the next Bitcoin blockchain halving is now fewer than 52,500 blocks. This means the network has progressed 75% through…

Terawulf Energizes 50 MW at Nuclear-Powered Bitcoin Mining Facility Nautilus

Bitcoin mining company Terawulf has announced the full deployment of its 50-megawatt (MW) stake in the nuclear-powered Nautilus Cryptomine facility. The behind-the-meter bitcoin mining facility is powered by 100% nuclear power and benefits from a fixed power cost of $0.02 per…

Latam Insights – Inflation Skyrockets in Argentina, El Salvador Processes Digital Assets Licenses, Venezuelan Crypto Corruption Probe Continues

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue: Inflation in Argentina goes over 100%, El Salvador issues its first digital assets licenses, and the…

Police in Kosovo Seize Crypto Mining Rigs From Serbs

Kosovo police have seized dozens of crypto mining devices from residents of a majority Serb region in the north of the country. Authorities in Pristina and Belgrade exchanged accusations over the move, which has the potential to raise tensions in the…

Brazil’s President Lula Urges Developing Countries to Abandon Dollar as Global Reserve Currency

According to Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, developing countries should abandon the U.S. dollar and strengthen their own national currencies. During a speech at the New Development Bank in Shanghai, Lula expressed his nightly pondering: “Why do all countries…