Russian Crypto Industry Queries Government About Proposed Criminal Liability for Miners

The organization representing Russia’s crypto sector has asked the government in Moscow to clarify a proposal to introduce criminal liability for “gray” miners. The draft legislation seeks to punish those who fail to report their income to the state and share…

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Reaches All-Time High as Miners Face Second-Largest Increase This Year

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty reached an all-time high (ATH) on Feb. 24, 2023, at block height #778,176, reaching 43.05 trillion hashes and surpassing the 40 trillion mark for the first time ever. The network’s difficulty increased by 9.95%, which is the second-largest…

Iran Returns Seized Crypto Mining Equipment to Miners

A government body responsible for state property in Iran has released some of the hardware seized from illegal crypto mining farms. Its top executive explained the agency was obliged to do that by courts in the Islamic Republic, where unlicensed miners…

Amid High Energy Demand From Miners, Russia Mulls Building New Power Plants in Siberia

Growing electricity consumption in the crypto mining sector may require the construction of new power generation facilities in Siberia, the energy minister of Russia has acknowledged. Demand continues to increase in residential areas as well, after regional authorities abandoned a proposal…

While Miners Deal With Low BTC Prices, Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Target Expected to Increase 3% Higher

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty target is expected to increase on Dec. 19, 2022, after printing the largest reduction recorded in 2022 on Dec. 5, at block height 766,080. During the last 2,016 blocks, Bitcoin’s hashrate has been around 254.3 exahash per second…

Bitcoin’s Total Hashrate Slides Lower in December as BTC Miners Struggle for Profits

While bitcoin prices have been lower than the estimated cost of bitcoin production, the network’s hashrate has dropped a great deal since mid-November. Presently, the total hashrate dedicated to the Bitcoin network is coasting along at 236 exahash per second (EH/s)…

New York Governor Signs Law Partially Banning Bitcoin Mining on Fossil Fuels

A moratorium on some crypto mining operations relying on carbon-based energy has been signed into law in New York. Businesses engaged in proof-of-work mining in the state will not be able to expand or renew their permits for the next two…

Natural Gas Price Hike Hits Crypto Miners in Iran

Companies using natural gas as a power source to mint digital currency in Iran will have to deal with a sharp increase in the price of the fuel. The new rates set by the state-run supplier are almost double the previous…

The Size of Bitcoin’s Distributed Ledger Nears a Half Terabyte

Well over a decade ago, on January 3, 2009, the size of the Bitcoin blockchain was 0.285 kilobytes (kB) or around 285 bytes. Today, however, the blockchain’s ledger is nearly half a terabyte, or roughly 432 gigabytes. Bitcoin’s Blockchain Nears 500…

Vietnam Crypto Miners Complain About Losses From Ethereum’s Merge

Miners in Vietnam have expressed grievances over the loss of business following Ethereum’s transition to a consensus mechanism that does not require the energy-intensive computing they were providing. Many are in trouble, local media reported, quoting entrepreneurs and mining enthusiasts. Cryptocurrency…