Bitcoin

Biden bans Chinese Bitcoin mine near US nuclear missile base

Published

8 months ago

14 May, 2024

Biden bans Chinese Bitcoin mine near US nuclear missile base

President Biden on Monday ordered a Chinese-owned company to close and sell the Wyoming cryptocurrency mine it built a mile from an Air Force base that controls nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The cryptomining facility, which operates high-powered computers in a data center near the FE Warren base in Cheyenne, “presents a risk to the national security of the United States,” the president said in a executive orderbecause their equipment could be used for surveillance and espionage.

The New York Times reported Last October, Microsoft, which operates a nearby data center that supports the Pentagon, flagged the China-connected cryptocurrency mine to the Federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, warning that it could allow the Chinese to “pursue intelligence collection from full spectrum operations.” A committee investigation identified risks to national security, as ordered by the president.

The order did not detail these risks. But Microsoft’s report to the federal committee, obtained last year by The Times, said: “We suggest the possibility that the computing power of an industrial-grade cryptomining operation, coupled with the presence of an unidentified number of Chinese nationals in direct proximity to Microsoft. The Data Center and one of three strategic missile bases in the US provide significant threat vectors.”

Now, the mine must immediately cease operations, and owners must remove all of their equipment within 90 days and sell or transfer ownership within 120 days, according to the order, which cites the risks of mining equipment. “of foreign origin” of the installation. The vast majority of machines powering cryptomining operations in the United States are manufactured by Chinese companies.

Cryptomining operations are carried out in large warehouses or containers filled with specialized computers that typically run 24 hours a day, performing trillions of calculations per second, searching for a sequence of numbers that will reward them with new cryptocurrencies. The most common is Bitcoin, which is currently worth more than $60,000 each. Crypto mines consume a huge amount of electricity: At full capacity, Cheyenne’s would consume as much energy as 55,000 homes.

Chinese-owned cryptocurrency mines have boomed in the United States since facilities were effectively banned in China in 2021. While some cryptocurrency mining has since restarted in China, Chinese crypto entrepreneurs are drawn to the United States for its relatively cheap electricity and well-developed legal legislation. system.

The Times discovered Chinese-owned or operated Bitcoin mines in at least 12 states, including Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, which together use as much energy as 1.5 million homes. Some are owned by people or companies linked to the Chinese government or the Communist Party. Until recently, the main supplier of equipment to the mines operated from an office at a Communist Party facility on Hainan Island, The Times has learned.

President Biden’s order comes on the heels of signing a bipartisan bill in late April to ban the social media app TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese owner sells it.

This is also the second time in recent weeks that Chinese-owned cryptomining operations have been targeted by elected officials.

This month, Republican Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed two laws restricting foreign ownership of crypto operations in the state. The legislation prohibits ownership of crypto mines by foreign citizens of China, Iran, Cuba and other countries subject to State Department rules known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Arkansas has seen a large influx of Bitcoin mining operations in recent years. In October, The Times reported that Chinese investors with ties to the authoritarian government operated at least three mines in Arkansas. A former employee linked to the operations wrote about the exploration of “more than 200 target mining sites” in more than 10 states.

O laws Restricting ownership of crypto operations in Arkansas aims to amend last year’s so-called Right to Mine law, which offered broad protections to the industry while limiting local regulation and triggered a violent backlash among residents near mines. One such operation, with links to Chinese citizens, is the target of a lawsuit filed by residents who say the incessant whining of thousands of fans cooling computers has ruined their lives and depressed property values. In addition to the new restrictions on noisy operations, the amended law requires that cryptocurrencies held anywhere by foreign citizens subject to arms regulations be completely disposed of within one year.

Mr. Biden’s order is directed at an offshore company called MineOne Partners Limited and related MineOne entities registered in Delaware. A lawsuit against MineOne by a Wyoming cryptocurrency company has forced the disclosure of its owners, who included Chinese nationals. In 2022, Bit Origin Ltd., a former Chinese pork producer that turned to cryptocurrency mining, became a partner in a MineOne entity and built the mine, which began operating in early 2023.

Li Jiaming, president of Bit Origin Ltd., was not immediately available for comment. In an interview last year, Li said the investors chose the location because they had secured a contract with the local power company to supply their electricity, not because of its proximity to the base or data center.

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Bitcoin

RIOT, MARA and CLSK shares at risk

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

TokenTrends Staff

Bitcoin price nears key support: RIOT, MARA, and CLSK stocks at risk

Bitcoin (BTC) Mining stocks like Riot Platforms (RIOT), Marathon Digital (MARA) and CleanSpark (CLSK) retreated in pre-market trading as BTC retreated.

RIOT, MARA and CLSK all fell more than 2%, while other crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN) fell 1.5%.

Bitcoin sell-off continues

Crypto-linked stocks retreated as Bitcoin resumed its downtrend on Wednesday. After rising to $63,750 on Monday, BTC is hovering at $60,0000 and it is unclear whether it will recover.

More importantly, Bitcoin is dangerously close to the crucial support at $58,273, which is the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The next support level for Bitcoin is $56,426, representing its lowest level in May.

Bitcoin Price Chart

If Bitcoin drops below this price, it will be a sign that the bears have prevailed, which could take it to the $50,000 level, if not below.

This decline happened after a whale deposited nearly 2,000 Bitcoins to Binance in two separate transactions. While this isn’t always the case, deposits to exchanges often happen when holders are exiting their positions.

The whales’ action coincided with a period in which the German government continues to sell off its Bitcoin holdings. It transferred $52 million worth of coins to exchanges on Tuesday.

As a result, data from CoinGlass shows that the volume of Bitcoin balances on exchanges has started to increase. The volume rose to 2.49 million on Tuesday, from last month’s low of 2.47 million.

Bitcoin Balances

Bitcoin balances on exchanges

Bitcoin Mining Companies at Risk

If the Bitcoin sell-off continues, it will put Bitcoin mining companies like Marathon, CleanSpark, and Riot Platforms at risk. These companies have tended to have a close correlation with Bitcoin in the past.

This drop is happening a few months after the halving event, reducing the amount of Bitcoins that miners receive.

To compensate for this drop, most of these companies have added their mining equipment. CleanSpark has reached a hash rate of 20 EH/swhich helped her mine 445 coins in June after mining 417 coins the previous month. She did this after purchasing 5 mining sites in Georgia.

Digital Marathon mined 590 coins in June, down 40% from the same month in 2023 and flat from May.

Riot Platforms, on the other hand, focused on acquiring Bitfarms, a company that mined 189 coins in June.

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Bitcoin

Michael Saylor Issues Statement on Bitcoin Amid Crypto Market Sell-Off by U.Today

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

TokenTrends Staff

Michael Saylor issues statement on Bitcoin amid crypto market sell-off

U.Today – Amid an ongoing sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, Michael Saylor, a prominent advocate and president of MicroStrategy, made a statement on X (Twitter) that reverberated across the crypto space: “Just Bitcoin.”

This two-word tweet comes as the cryptocurrency market faces significant sell-offs as the price of Bitcoin plummets.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, began its decline in Tuesday’s trading session, hitting $63,223 at one point before falling further.

Losses deepened on Wednesday as investors considered remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with Bitcoin hitting intraday lows of $59,509. At the time of writing, BTC is down 2.85% over the past 24 hours to $60,274.

According to data from CoinGlass, the sell-off has resulted in a significant amount of cryptocurrencies being liquidated in the past 24 hours, totaling over $166 million. However, this has not deterred Saylor’s confidence in Bitcoin, as he reiterates his longing for the crypto asset in his tweet.

Cryptocurrency market crashes

Cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank needs to see more progress on inflation before cutting interest rates, which are now at 5.25%-5.50%. Powell revealed at a monetary symposium in Sintra, Portugal, that the United States is moving closer to a disinflationary path.

“We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably downward toward 2% before we begin the process of tapering or easing policy,” Powell said.

Market losses deepened after Wednesday’s economic releases that indicated the labor market is cooling. Recent data showed weaker-than-expected private payroll growth in June, but weekly jobless claims were higher than economists had forecast. The latest figures come ahead of the highly anticipated June nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.

As the cryptocurrency market goes through a period of uncertainty, the coming days and weeks will be crucial in determining the direction of BTC’s price.

This article was originally published on U.Today

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin and Ethereum in GTA 6? Still rumors — for now

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

TokenTrends Staff

Bitcoin and Ethereum in GTA 6? Still rumors — for now

Rumors that the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 will use cryptocurrency that has been circulating for more than a year now—and they’re spinning again.

On Wednesday, a pseudonymous Crypto Twitter influencer named Gordon — apparently named after Gordon Gekko from the iconic 1987 film “Wall Street” —shared to his nearly 500,000 followers that “GTA 6 will allow cryptocurrency payments” and that “so far only Bitcoin, EthereumIt is USDT [are] confirmed.”

But in reality, no cryptocurrency has been confirmed for Grand Theft Auto 6, despite ongoing chatter about the rumors. Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two have made no such announcements this week on the subject, nor have they made any prior announcements, and official trailers and announcements have made no mention of cryptocurrency being included.

However, the tweet — which also included a fake trailer for the game — quickly went viral, with over 500,000 views as of this writing in a matter of hours. When Twitter users asked Gordon for his sources, he would jokingly respond that his “uncle works there” or say that previous reports on the matter were “old” at this point.

But really, nothing has changed since then. DecipherGG’s reported in previous rumors in May 2023, not even since the first official trailer — which initially leaked with “BUY BTC” stamped on itApparently by the leaker in question—premiered last December.

DecipherGG reached out to Rockstar Games for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Could Grand Theft Auto 6 implement a crypto element when it releases in 2025? It’s certainly possible, and if so, it would be a transformative moment for cryptocurrency adoption by the traditional gaming industry.

Take-Two Interactive has explored the space before, acquiring casual gaming giant Zynga in early 2022, when Take-Two founder and CEO Strauss Zelnick suggested there were “Web3 opportunities” that they could explore better as a team. Zynga has launched its first blockchain game on Ethereum, called Sugartownbut Take-Two has yet to get involved with other brands.

Rockstar Games, on the other hand, prohibited the use of cryptocurrency or NFTs on player-run Grand Theft Auto 5 servers in late 2022, following a rise in the use of NFTs to represent unique player-owned assets on modded game servers.

And given Grand Theft Auto’s satirical tone, the game may be more likely to criticize cryptocurrency and poke fun at caricatures of crypto fans and NFTs, for example, rather than trying to launch its own on-chain currency. But that’s all speculation at this point, as there are relatively few official details about GTA 6.

For now, at least, don’t believe the hype. While Rockstar Games hasn’t officially closed the door on cryptocurrency usage in Grand Theft Auto 6, it hasn’t confirmed anything about it either. However, it’s sure to remain a hot topic in the long run leading up to release, which is currently scheduled for fall 2025.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.

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Bitcoin

Crypto President Trump’s ‘Lesser’ Regulation Will Bless Coinbase’s Bitcoin Leverage, Expert Says – Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

TokenTrends Staff

Crypto President Trump's 'Lesser' Regulation Will Bless Coinbase's Bitcoin Leverage, Expert Says - Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

Chris SenyekChief Investment Strategist at Wolfe Researchrecently expressed his opinion on the potential impact of a Donald Trump win the 2024 elections in the cryptocurrency market.

What happened: Senyek suggested that a Trump presidency could ease cryptocurrency regulations, benefiting companies like Coinbase Global Inc. COIN due to its importance Bitcoin BTC/USD Leverage.

“Trump would be less harsh on crypto regulation, and Coinbase would be a big beneficiary of that given its influence on bitcoin,” Senyek said during CNBC’s “Last Call” on Tuesday.

See too: Enhance Your Retirement Portfolio: The Benefits of Adding Cryptocurrency

Why does this matter?:Senyek’s comments come in the context of the former president Donald Trump‘s reported plans to participate at the Bitcoin 2024 convention, which could reinforce his image as a “Crypto President”.

Trump’s potential participation in the Bitcoin 2024 convention, a major event on the cryptocurrency calendar, could have significant implications for the industry.

Pratik KalaHead of Research in DigitalX Limitedhe has predicted a Trump victory in the upcoming elections, but warns that immediate cryptocurrency-friendly regulations may not be a priority.

A recent report by 10x Search explore the recent rise in Bitcoin price and its potential connection to Trump’s strong position in the 2024 election race. The report, titled “Is the Bitcoin Trump Pump Sustainable?”, highlights a 4% spike in Bitcoin’s price following the news that the president Joe Biden will remain in the race despite a poor performance in the presidential debate.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading 2.10% lower at $60,860.66, according to Benzinga Pro.

Read next:

Image created using photos from Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari

News and market data brought to you by Benzinga’s APIs

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