Boxmining v2

Category: News

News and updates related to digital assets and Fintech

  • Boxmining Newsletter #1

    Boxmining Newsletter #1

    Boxmining Newsletter #1

    Congratulations Everyone – You’re officially a founding member of this Newsletter! We’ve already doubled our subscriptions in the past week due to increased interest (WOOT). At the same time, crypto is moving at light speed – with new projects getting created, traded, and listed on top exchanges in the space of 2-3 days. Here’s a rundown of all that’s happening:

    Post-Bitcoin Rally 

    Bitcoin made some major moves on Monday, shooting up all the way to $11,000 after a long dormant period. Initially, this shocked many traders, with many scrambling and selling their altcoins to jump on the Bitcoin train. FOMO is the name of the game these days, and many were hoping Bitcoin would shoot as high up as $14,000 / $17,000. However, Bitcoin didn’t go there – instead she seemed to settle down at $11,000 without much volatility. With the big cat sleeping, the mice (altcoins) are out to play. We’ve seen some insane rallies for YFI (+225%), Elrond(+65%), and UMA (+60%) this week. 

    Yield Farming 
    After $YFI blew up last week, yield farming is front and center on everyone’s discussion table. We covered YFI both on our website https://boxmining.com/yfi-yield-farming/ and in a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoz9CnX-52s. In a quick summary, liquidity mining is essentially saving money in different liquidity pools. Miners will then be rewarded with token distributions (such as YFI) that can yield up to 1000% APR. Obviously, with such rewards, it’s highly risky and experimental. We definitely recommend that you check out the video and Do Your Own Research (DYOR). Currently, YFI yield farming is taking a pause as a new contract is being deployed. 

    YFII Launches
    Nope, that’s not a typo. A new project called YFII has launched – forking the YFI project and allowing yield farmers to earn the YFII token. What’s unique about this project is that it distributes YFII tokens with a weekly “halving”, similar to Bitcoin. The release of this project comes at a very convenient time as $YFI mining is currently taking a break, so farmers are left with yCurve tokens wondering what to do. YFII allows the staking of yCurve tokens in a similar fashion and UI to $YFI (it is a fork after all) This is highly controversial due to it’s rushed nature of its release, with metamask, balancer, and etherscan users quickly flagging the project as a “Scam”. This is due to two reasons, as there was an initial “owner key” for YFII which allowed the owner to create infinite tokens. However, recently this key has been destroyed. This means it’s not really a “scam”, and the community for YFII is currently building up. 

    Zeus Capital Vs Linkchain
    Recently Zeus Capital has taken up a major campaign against Chainlink (LINK) calling it a “scam” and giving a valuation of $0.07 (1% of its current value). Not only have they released a long report, but recently they have been caught paying influencers to make negative price charts on LINK. It’s clear they have taken up a massive short position and will benefit from LINK’s price going down. I find this a more mature version of the FUD and HYPE cycles we experience in crypto –  and highlights the importance of DYOR – you need to be prepared for both hype and FUD. 

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. (https://www.adarsus.com/) Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • China escalates challenge to US Dollar with East Asian Digital Currency

    China escalates challenge to US Dollar with East Asian Digital Currency

    China is proposing a plan to create a digital currency for the East Asian region in an attempt to carve out a world away from dominance by the US Dollar.

    A report from Nikkei Asia this week unveiled this decision made by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s political advisory body. The proposal from 10 of the CPPCC members was to create a digital currency that would be backed by a range of fiat currencies, such as the Chinese Yuan, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen and South Korean Won.

    The strongest currencies, the Yen and Yuan, are set to be the main backers but how this will be split will be determined by the strength of each currency at the time. Initial suggestions have said the Yuan will account for 60% and Yen, just 20%. It may appear from this move that China is seeking out allies in challenging the influence of the US and the US Dollar.

    This proposal sent waves through the CPPCC as the proposing members were high profile and influential figures such as the co-founder of Chinese travel services giant Ctrip, Neil Shen and Henry Tang, a Hong Kong politician and former Chief Secretary. Both suggested the currency should be made by a private company, rather than the central bank.

    CPPCC
    The 13th National Committee of the CPPCC opened on 21st May 2020. 

    Is the the East Asian digital currency a response to Facebook’s Libra LBR token?

    What exactly prompted the CPPCC members to come up with this plan is unknown but many believe it could be in response to recent news regarding Facebook and its Libra cryptocurrency project. 

    The Company had suggested that they will abandon their Libra token plans due to the similarities with the digital Dollar proposed by lawmakers. Instead, they will focus on a multi-currency coin called LBR. It is believed it could emerge as the digital currency of the West, leaving the East behind, as the Libra project has already abandoned plans for a Yen-pegged stablecoin.

    China building a world away from US Dollar dominance

    The benefits of an East Asian cryptocurrency are clear for Xi Jinping’s China. China, which has seen her economic and political ties with the US deteriorating under Donald Trump’s leadership is actively building a monetary system away from the reserve currency of the world, the US Dollar. 

    The dominance of the US Dollar has directly enabled the US’ control of global politics. With 70-80% of all worldwide trading being conducted in the Dollar, entire nation’s economies will suffer heavily should they fall on the wrong side of the US’ favour, such as Iran.

    China, who has a history of facing the brunt of US sanctions in the past is potentially in the line of fire to be hit by even more sanctions soon. Following the Hong Kong National security law proposal last month, US lawmakers have moved quickly to outlaw it with the threat of sanctions held over China’s heads should they enforce the controversial law. 

    The threat of sanctions from the US should not be taken lightly either. Just ask Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer who has been under house arrest in Canada for the past 1.5 years for allegedly trading with sanction hit Iran. 

    Seeing this problem, China has been slowly looking to build a system away from the US. This tactic was evident when eight-member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, including China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who all decided to trade in local/national currencies instead of the US Dollar at a meeting on March 18th 2020. 

    However, the shift towards digital currencies is clearly on China’s priority list. China, much like her allies Iran and Venezuela are seeing digital currencies as the future of finance and have attempted to be the leading light in this field. 

    This was clearly evident with the acceleration of their Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) project. The currency, which will be tested in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an and Chengdu, was created with a purpose of knocking out the US Dollar’s dominance.  

    How this proposed East Asian currency will fit in with DCEP is unclear, but reports have suggested that it too will be international in its outlook. Recent reports from South Korea has suggested that DCEP could be used by Chinese tourists in the nation, although with no official date for launching the Digital Yuan, how this will work is still up in the air. 

    What is clear however is that with DCEP and the East Asian Digital Currency, China is escalating her challenge of the US’ dominance through digital currencies whilst the US continues to be tangled up in regulatory issues.

    Further Reading

    China’s National Digital Currency DCEP / CBDC Overview

     

  • How to Earn a Bitcoin Living While Stuck in Quarantine

    How to Earn a Bitcoin Living While Stuck in Quarantine

    With a third of the global population in lockdown following the rampant transmission of SARS-COV-2, people of finding new ways to generate passive income. This article will teach you how to earn a Bitcoin Living whilst stuck in Quarantine.

    The virus that causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that can prove fatal to some populations. Terms like “self-isolation”, “quarantine”, and “shelter-in-place” have been used to describe the newly placed government sanctions and guidelines, but the term people seem to be using is ‘lockdown’.

    It should come as no wonder why, as ‘lockdown’ possibly sums up feelings of being stuck at home with little to do but consume depressing media and too many calories. Italians are feeling the brunt of it, having started theirs over 9 weeks ago on March 10, quickly followed by the UK who started March 23. The US, while not the longest by far, with most states, only entering lockdown towards the end of March, have still been feeling the burn a little over a month in.

    So what are you to do? Some while away their free hours by getting into new fitness routines, baking bread, or focusing on their children’s education. While others are stuck staring at other bitcoin exchanges wondering what it is they might be able to do to secure their holdings. Good news for everyone- even if you’ve never owned bitcoin before, now may be your time to jump in. With little to no cost and effort. Always remembering that after checking out these ideas, you can always go to exchange platforms, like Bitvavo, to help you with trading and maintaining your presence in the cryptocurrency market. Which is always a good idea.

    Mining

    Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining has been a way to passively gain income for those who have the gear. When it comes to Bitcoin mining, you’re regular computer simply won’t do. You’ll need specialized hardware, called ASIC (applications specific integrated circuits) that will be able to mine Bitcoin on a consistent basis. The main benefit of ASICs is that they are extremely efficient at mining Bitcoin – but at the trade-off that they are algorithm-specific. This means that Bitcoin mining rigs will only mine coins with SHA-256 algorithm (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV).

    What it Will Cost

    Outside of purchasing the necessary hardware, and paying for any increase in electricity demand- not much. Mining is done purely by your machine, with little user requirements following set up. So all you have to do is kick back and watch your wallet cash in.

    Trading

    While effectively trading bitcoin takes a decent amount of knowledge, there’s no need to be a seasoned trader. In fact, being a dab hand in traditional markets may actually serve you up more problems than it’s capable of solving. The cost of buying into digital assets and currencies doesn’t need to be high, especially if you start with the one that isn’t as well known as bitcoin. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies worth investing in, where you can make small-time gains. Then take those gains and eventually build up to bigger investments like bitcoin.

    What it Will Cost

    Time and initial investment. Perhaps the most taxing of the two will be time. Learning how to trade bitcoin isn’t necessarily easy- but it’s very possible. You’ll need to read up on the behavior of whatever digital assets you’ll plan on using, as well as keep an eagle eye on the way that markets behave- both presently and historically.

    Writing

    There is a long and varied list of different freelance jobs that will happily pay you for your good efforts in bitcoin. Specifically those related to content writing or blogging. Some gigs only require that you help share and market their content. Certain markets, particularly newer ones that need to get the word out, will pay in their own crypto tokens just for registering with their site, following or retweeting their content, or otherwise sharing it across your social media platforms.

    What it Will Cost

    Next to nothing as long as you’ve got some spare time on your hands. Even less if you’re already a bit of a wordsmith or influencer. These types of jobs are available by the hundreds, but may not be easy to come by ideal positions immediately. It could take a fair bit of internet browsing, or some time spent building a solid Upwork or Freelancing profile, but once your foot is in the door- the bitcoins come cheap.

    Watching

    Bitcoin faucets are another solid way to collect bitcoin while in quarantine. Akin to writing and collecting airdrop content, some advertisers, firms, or crypto networks will pay you just to watch their content and fill out surveys. There are also a number of giveaways or drawings held across many social media platforms that are simple to get in on, providing your friend’s list doesn’t mind the occasional spam.

    What it Will Cost

    Again, more time and possibly a friend or two. Many of the watch programs require you to share or like their content, making your feed a bit haphazard for any of your followers. But past that, you can get by and earn bitcoin just by having a computer and reliable internet connection.

    Selling

    If you already have a business, particularly one that got shut down along with many of the rest of the mom and pop shops during this time, get online. Uploading any goods or services that you offer onto a personal website, or a sellers hub that will allow crypto payments is one way to start earning bitcoin while doing next to nothing. This works in your favor in a number of ways, as it provides better payment options to customers, helps to ensure their privacy, and keeps everyone away from any of the germs that paper money happily harbors. (https://www.kaizenautocare.com/)

    What it Will Cost

    If you don’t already have a website, paying someone to set you up with one can cost money, but it’s generally not extortionate. Assign a digital currency payment platform to your existing site is incredibly easy, and google is overflowing with excellent resources that explain just how to do it.

  • VeChain partners with Bayer China to create CSecure- a clinical trial traceability platform

    VeChain partners with Bayer China to create CSecure- a clinical trial traceability platform

    Bayer China announced its partnership with VeChain during an interview with VCBeat on 28th May 2020- a Chinese news publication focusing on health developments in China. For an in-depth guide to what is Vechain and it’s core features, check out our Vechain Coin Guide

    About Bayer China

    Bayer has links in China since as early as 1882, focusing on the core competencies in the areas of healthcare, nutrition and agriculture. Their aim is to improve quality of life through research and development on preventing, alleviating and treating diseases, as well as ensuring that consumers get healthy, safe and sustainable food. In 2019, Bayer has over 9,000 employees in the Greater China region and sales have well exceeded 3.7 billion Euros.

    VeChain becomes “Partner-for-Life” with Bayer China

    VeChain beat out dozens of competitors and won the Bayer China G4A Partnerships Program in 2019. This Program was created by Bayer to give qualified companies funding, mentorship and networking opportunities to its winners. Most importantly, to become a “partner for life” with Bayer so that the company will become a direct partner and be used with Bayer’s products and services.

    For the purposes of the Program in 2019, Bayer required competitors to solve the issue of Digitised Clinical Trial Traceability. Competitors were required to work directly with Bayer and develop a feasible solution for the issue which would eventually be ready for deployment in line with Bayer’s own milestones and planning. At the end of the competition, VeChain was the only company that was able to satisfy Bayer’s requirements with its solution- CSecure.

    Importance of Digitialised Clinical Trial Traceability

    With still so many unknowns in the medical field and novel yet incurable diseases emerging such as SARS-CoV-2, medical researchers are constantly racing against the clock for the sake of saving lives. Thus it is important to ensure that drug clinical trials are conducted efficiently and when lives are involved, without room for any error. In particular, the data that is collected forms the heart of this process, and is a critical part of the research, development and adoption process for any new medical intervention- including drugs and other forms of treatments. Any issues with this data, such as tampering or errors would hence be very detrimental to the trial process, potentially even ruining it and worse, affecting human lives.

    Hence a solution is needed to ensure that the data collected during the various stages of the trial process is transparent, secure and credible.

    What is VeChain’s CSecure platform?

    CSecure was created by VeChain as a solution to Bayer’s issue of needing digitised clinical trial traceability. The CSecure platform makes use of VeChain’s existing product ToolChain– a kit containing all the necessary hardware, software and service protocols to onboard a business onto the VeChainThor blockchain.

    With CSecure, data obtained from the various stages of clinical trials for drugs are uploaded on the VeChain Thor Blockchain. So that other stakeholders in the process such as researchers, suppliers, distributors, partners and end users can have access to this data. As the data is recorded on the blockchain, the stakeholders accessing the CSecure platform are assured that the data and transactions recorded are traceable, transparent and auditable. (bricks4kidz.com)

    Specifically, each medical product is binded with a QR code with a unique VID (VeChain ID) and recorded on the VeChainThor Blockchain. During the trial process, information that is added to the blockchain is time-stamped, user-identified and cannot be changed. So if there is a discrepancy between the product’s digital profile and real-life attributes, the party responsible can be identified and the situation remedied.

  • Bitcoin Mining firm reporting strong profits, despite “Bitcoin halving”

    Bitcoin Mining firm reporting strong profits, despite “Bitcoin halving”

    Bitmain, the world’s leading cryptocurrency mining company, has seen a huge $300 million profit in its first four months of 2020. This greatly alleviates fears of a “collapse” in the Bitcoin mining industry caused by the Bitcoin Halving – which effectively reduced miner’s revenue by half. Bitcoin mining is a multi-billion dollar industry and is set to be one of the most profitable sectors in the cryptocurrency space. Find out more about Bitcoin mining in our guide.

    In an Industry blog, Wu Said Blockchain, first reported the news after Bitmain told their staff internally of the around $300 million profit. As a reward for their hard work, Bitmain employees received big Labour Day bonuses totaling 7,000 Yuan (around $9,900). 

    An employee inspects machines for the production of bitcoin and lightcoins. Photo: AFP
    Bitcoin Mining is a Billion dollar industry

    Quite what prompted these gains was not revealed but the reports suggested that a large part came from ventures not pertaining to cryptocurrency mining. The main area is in Artificial Intelligence (AI), a field they entered in 2018. 

    Since then, Bitmain’s AIs growth has been fast and they have launched chip designs that companies can use to power their AI systems and software. The blog post mentioned a large order of their AI chip BM1684 which was said to be worth “millions” and seemed to suggest it could account for the large profit windfall.

    That is not to say that Bitcoin mining has taken a back seat. Bitmain has also opened four new mining farms and has seen a hash rate increase in its other pools. However, the headlines following Bitmain in recent times had painted a vastly different picture of life inside the company and its economic health. 

    Bitmain’s Losses and Internal Disputes

    Earlier this year, reports came out claiming Bitmain was in serious strife and were set to lay off 50% of their staff amid concerns about Bitcoin’s May halving. The company had already cut staff in 2018 and with market share decline evident in 2019 many felt Bitmain would become a tragedy of the “crypto winter”. Performance problems from their mining rigs, like the Bitmain S17/T17 Antminer, only seemed to compound their issues.

    The most notable problem though was Bitmain’s internal conflicts between the top tier staff. The two founders and CEOs of the company, Jihan Wu and Micree Ketuan Zhan have been at loggerheads for months. 

    Leaks in early 2019 had suggested Jihan Wu was set to give up his CEO position and take a limited role in the company. Yet, in October 2019 Wu made the shocking decision of ousting his longtime partner Zhan, who was Chairman of Bitmain at the time. In an email to staff, Wu told his employees to cease all contact with Zhan and that he was back to save the company. 

    Zhan has filed two lawsuits against Bitmain and the AI subsidiary, which is called Fujian Zhanhua Intelligence Technologies. The disgruntled former senior executive is looking for a way back into Bitmain and released a statement saying: “I will fight for her [Bitmain] till the end with legal weapons. I won’t allow those who want to plot against Bitmain to succeed. If someone wants a war, we will give them one.”

    The case continues but for now it would seem that Wu has the upper hand, especially with business doing so well at Bitmain. 

  • Binance announces Binance Pool, will they also dominate Bitcoin Mining?

    Binance announces Binance Pool, will they also dominate Bitcoin Mining?

    Binance, one of the world’s leading exchanges is adding yet another project to its ecosystem after launching its own mining pool called, “Binance Pool”. Supported by both Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining mechanisms, Binance Pool will mine Bitcoin initially, before more tokens are added. Binance pool hopes to add more decentralization into the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, which is currently dominated by major players such as F2Pool and Antpool. On top of this Binance pool will offer Ethereum Mining and Staking options.

    Head of Binance Pool Lisa He told Cointelegraph, that her 15 staff members were working hard to, “establish a comprehensive platform for miners that will bring more possibilities to the mining industry by bridging traditional mining to financial services.”

    Introductory offer of zero Mining Pool fees

    In an attempt to bring customers in, the Pool is operating on zero fees until May 31 but following the initial grace period, the fee will be 2.5%. Larger miners are not an exception to this rule and they too will have to pay the fee in the future. Despite this, Binance maintains that Binance Pool will have one of the lowest fees on the market. 

    As for where Binance Pool fits into the Binance group, it would seem the mining system will not be independent of other branches. Instead, it is integrated into it, allowing fund transfers between the Pool and other services Binance provides like trading, staking, and lending. Not only that, but mining rewards go directly to the participants’ exchange accounts, rather than blockchain addresses. 

    For Binance founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao the launch of Binance Pool represents a positive, not just for users but also for the larger industry as it will “enable significant growth and scale.” However, many are unconvinced at the positives of an economic juggernaut like Binance entering the mining industry.  

    Binance Receives Centralization Accusations 

    The reason for this concern stems from the Bitcoin hash rate. For many, Binance represents a real threat to the opportunities for smaller miners as they, alongside other more powerful pools, amass Bitcoin hash rate. One Twitter user aptly summed up many worries, tweeting “This hash distribution chart is soon going to be composed of just one color” next to a pie graph.

    Current hashrate distribution of top Bitcoin Mining Pools

    These concerns are only heightened when the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving event arrives and the circulation of the currency dwindles even further and with it the hash rate. Miners are already working hard to increase the hash rate prior to halving but whether smaller BTC miners will survive post halving as profits lower is the question. If not, then centralization and control could fall into a company like Binance’s hands. 

    However, for Lisa He, centralized control is not the incentive of Binance, rather they will facilitate the opposite, with the Binance Pool launch fostering decentralization in the mining sector. 

    Pointing to when Bitmain almost owned 51% of the Bitcoin hash rate (something that would give them complete control of the currency) in 2018, He argued that the entry from major companies like Binance with their computer power, has actually made the mining industry “more decentralized than it was two years ago,” as “the largest pools have less than 20% of the computing power of the whole network, and the assets on the Bitcoin network become more secure.”

  • Crypto Mining Company, Ebang, files for $100 Million US IPO

    Crypto Mining Company, Ebang, files for $100 Million US IPO

    The cryptocurrency mining and hardware production company Ebang has just filed for a $100 million USD initial public offering with the US SEC. This filing not only shows the there is a market for Bitcoin mining, but that the industry in high demand. Ebang’s annual revenue is $109 million last year, despite falling cryptocurrency prices. The annual production of Bitcoin is worth $3.5 Billion USD at current Prices. Miners need new hardware as new chip technologies, such as those produced by Ebang, is both more powerful and energy efficient. In 2019, 82% of Ebang’s revenue came from application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips.

    Moving to 10nm production is expensive

    One of the reasons for Ebang going public is to move to even more advanced technology and production techniques. In chip manufacturing, moving to smaller node sizes, such as 10nm makes the miner more powerful and power efficient. Ebang’s new mining chip, the DW1233 is independently developed and based on the new 10nm production process.

    Although the Bitcoin price started to recover in the second quarter of 2019, our operations generally lag behind the increase of Bitcoin price.

    Ebang Press Release

    Failed IPOs and Second Chances

    This is Ebang’s second attempt at an initial public offering, after they failed to file for an IPO with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in 2018. The initial IPO was not granted by the HKSE after 6 months of application, indicating it was not accepted by the HKEX. This time around Ebang has a smaller raise of $100 Million USD as opposed to the first filing, which valued the company at $1 Billion dollars.

    Cryptocurrency mining ecosystem

    Large cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturers have all been seeking Initial Public Offerings as a method to raise capital for expansion. Part of the reason is the growing market Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ecosystem.

  • Bitcoin Mining will make a HUGE comeback in 2020

    Bitcoin Mining will make a HUGE comeback in 2020

    2020 is a huge year for Bitcoin mining. Huge changes to the mining ecosystem – changes that will spark another “gold rush” for mining. This will be spearheaded by two factors – the release of new more efficient mining hardware known as ASICs and Bitcoin halvening. The release of new hardware will give new players a bigger advantage in mining due to the efficiency factor – new ASICs generate more hashpower with less power. (https://www.sliderrevolution.com) We’re already seeing large funds like Fidelity Investments building large mega-watt mining facilities in North America and other continents. You can hare about the North America mining explosion in this podcast. This marks the return of mining as a major investment opportunity this year.

    Cryptocurrency Mining is a $6 Billion+ USD per year industry

    Sizes of Exchange, Mining, DeFi and ICO industries respectively

    One well-kept secret of the mining industry is the huge profits being generated by cryptocurrency miners (Bitcoin, Ethereum, DASH and Monero mining). Let’s start off with an industry Fact – every day $19,000,000+ USD dollars worth of cryptocurrencies are being produced by miners across the world. This means a total of $6.8 Billion dollars will be mined in 2020 alone. The biggest currency being mined is Bitcoin – with a 1,800 bitcoin being produced per day totalling to a value of $15,833,340 USD. To put everything into perspective, the ICOs only raised a total of $371 Million in 2019 according to icodata.io. Mining is currently the second largest industry behind exchanges (source: Bloomberg).

    Miners upgrading and replacing older hardware (often confused with “miner capitulation”)

    Ironically the miners have perpetuated myths such
    as “mining is not profitable” or “the bitcoin mining death spiral” to deter
    new players coming into this profitable space    . Many reports in 2019 have
    featured erroneous calculations that Bitcoin mining is not profitable. This is
    because researchers have incorrectly assumed that miners are getting
    expensive commercial electricity costs     of $0.07-12 cents per kilo-watt
    hour. This is far from the truth – mining operations receive considerable
    discounts as they purchase low priority power (meaning they will get cut off
    grid in the event of a surge in power usage). The actual figure is in the range
    of $0.01 – $0.03 per kw/h. This means miners are generating large amounts of
    profit. It is the biggest industry in the blockchain space, and yet it is
    surrounded by both mystery and false information.

    New
    Hardware (ASICs) is game changing

    New high efficiency Bitcoin mining hardware is coming in 2020 will be a huge game changer. Bitmain will be releasing the new Antminer s19 based on the 7nm manufacturing process. Competing ASIC manufactures are also making new chips, with Innosilicon and Canaan hot on the heels. This die shrink increase the hashpower of chips whilst reducing power consumption at the same time. These two factors mean these new units will be more efficient – the biggest factor contributing to Bitcoin mining profitability.

    Hashr8 – New MiningOS

    New operating systems dedicated for mining cryptocurrencies such as Hashr8 are also being launched this year. These OSes will make it easier for commercial, enthusiast and retail miners to improve mining efficiency and management. This is a huge positive trend for the industry as a whole as it makes professional tools mainstream and accessible to the general public. This will level the playing field and reduce the gap between large-scale miners.

    Sources

    Size of Defi Industry: https://defirate.com/defi-growth/
    Cryptocurrency Exchanges: https://hackernoon.com/where-the-multi-billion-dollar-cryptocurrency-exchange-industry-is-headed-f697af6fd7c0
    MinerUpdate: https://minerupdate.com

  • China’s Blockchain Initiative: Nationwide effort to adopt Blockchain

    China’s Blockchain Initiative: Nationwide effort to adopt Blockchain

    China’s Blockchain Initiative

    China has start a country wide initiative to rapidly adopt Blockchain Technology and ‘urgently’ develop use cases. China’s President Xi Jinping personally appealed for a greater urgency to develop blockchain in-front of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. This sentiment was echoed in by state media People’s Daily published a front page article on “Placing Blockchain as one of the countries core initiatives, with a target on key breakthroughs“. On top of this, national TV station CCTV-2 had various news segments dedicated to discussion blockchain technology – with a key emphasis that Blockchain, not Bitcoin is China’s key focus.

    China’s leading newspaper, People’s Daily, calls for Blockchain Adoption

    This huge initiative to push Blockchain is clearly related to the launch of China’s National Digital Currency – “DCEP” (Digitial Currency / Electronic Payment). This new currency is issued by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), and will act as both a replacement for Researve Money (M0) and as a digital cash. DCEP will initially be rolled out to banks affiliated with PBoC and eventually to the general public via Tencent and Alibaba.

    It is important to point out the DCEP will be a centralized & private blockchain. New currency on the network will be issued by the PBoC via authority from the Chinese Government. There will be no public participation in the network, unlike the decentralized Bitcoin network which uses Blockchain to form an open public consensus.

    Blockchain, Not Bitcoin

    One of the key areas of contention in the cryptocurrency space is whether a private or centralized Blockchains have value.

    • Opinion 1: Bitcoin, not Blockchain
    • Opinion 2: Blockchain, not Bitcoin

    Proponents of Bitcoin argue that Blockchain’s key value is that it allows for a decentralized network, a leaderless network where anyone can join, participate and verify transactions. The argument is that if the purpose of a Blockchain is record transactions like a database, centralized databases like MySQL or MongolDB will have higher efficiency than Blockchain. Thus, it would only make sense to use Blockchain when there is a need for public open consensus. Following this argument, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are neccessary for a Blockchain to function, as they play an intrinsic role in rewarding good actors on the network.

    Proponents of Blockchain argue that the Blockchain offers security and transparency, giving it a distinct advantage over traditional databases. China takes this argument one step further and actively discourages the use of cryptocurrencies and trading in cryptocurrencies (eg. Cryptocurrency exchanges are banned in China).

    Government condones “Air Coins” and Cryptocurrency Speculation

    State media People’s Daily have explicitly condoned cryptocurrency speculation and brought accusations against “air currency”. Air Currency, or air coins, is a chinese colloquial term used for cryptocurrencies that have no intrinsic value, very much like air. This move is designed to counter-act the surge in rushed venture capital investments into different cryptocurrencies in China, many of which don’t have a real use-case. In addition, the article explicitly called for illegal transactions and money laundering to be rectified, suggesting further enforcement actions against none state regulated cryptocurrencies. This heavy enforcement can be seen as a “stick” measure to push users away from decentralized cryptocurrencies into the centralized national currency, DCEP.

    “Blockchain is a Scam” is Censored by Social Media

    WeChat blocks articles calling Blockchain a Scam

    Experiments done by @cn_Ledger and other Chinese media sources have found that articles calling Blockchain a “scam” are actively being censored in China. Anyone posting these articles will find that they are quickly deleted and may face potential account suspensions. This type of media content control is standard in China once the Central Party issues a particular doctrine. Media platforms are quick to comply, or they will risk the removal of their ICP license.

    Cryptocurrency Mining is no longer “Banned” in China

    The Chinese Government is no longer pushing for the elimination of cryptocurrency mining (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum mining). This is a complete 180° reversal of government policy will take effect on 1 Jan 2020, meaning mining will a legal and taxable industry in China. Previously “Cryptocurrency Mining” was part of a list of industries to be eliminated. This change comes directly from the new edition of China’s Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog, where an updated revision no longer mentions cryptocurrency mining as an industry to be phased out.

    Traditionally China has always played a major role in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and DASH mining. This is mainly due to the abundant supply of cheap electricity in China (especially in the Sichuan and Mongolian regions), where electricity costs can go as low was $0.02 USD per kw/h. To find more about Bitcoin mining, check out our full Bitcoin mining guide.

    Overall this policy reversal sends strong positive signals about cryptocurrencies in China. This is a clear indicator that the Chinese Government recognizes the importance of mining and it’s role in decentralized public Blockchains. Such policy changes suggest a positive future where other policies halting cryptocurrency development could be reversed.

    Cryptocurrency trading is still banned

    China has banned cryptocurrency trading since 2017. The government has taken down chinese operation of big fiat exchanges such as OKex, Huobi and BTChina. Chinese exchanges no longer have fiat bank accounts. As users move to peer to peer trading. Alipay has made it clear that it will not tolerate crypto trading on it’s platform.

    What about Chinese Blockchain projects like Vechain and NEO

    Whilst China’s Blockchain Initiative explicitly discourages the speculation in cryptocurrencies – Blockchain projects are thriving in China. This is a Cryptocurrency is a core part of Blockchain – Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin and Blockchain together in his 2009 white paper. So whilst the Publications by the central government tries the downplay cryptocurrency speculation, every public cryptocurrency network must have an associated platform token.

    Having the Blockchain initiative being pushed forward will greatly help the adoption of projects like Vechain in China. At the end of the day, the government validated the value proposition of Blockchain, answering many skeptics who are critical of Blockchain’s real life use case.

  • FIX Ledger Nano Compatibility problems with latest Windows 10 1903

    FIX Ledger Nano Compatibility problems with latest Windows 10 1903

    Update: Official Ledger response to this issue.

    The new Windows 10 May 2019 update adds new security features that break certain browser (Chrome, Brave and Edge) based dapps for Ledger Nano S (and Nano X). This is the latest “big” update that is part of Microsoft’s plan to add additional functionality and security to Windows 10. Currently the update has already been scheduled for public release, although it is not mandatory. A new pop-up will display when connecting to the hardware wallet labeled “Windows Security“.

    New Windows Security Prompt to interact with Ledger Nano S

    This prompt is not present in previous versions of Windows 10 and is a new feature that is meant to prove hardware security. Unfortunately some websites like MyEtherWallet, MyCrypto and IDEX will have certain delay issues when unlocking the wallet.

    Unlock Device error: UNKNOWN_ERROR (0x6804)

    Fixing Ledger Nano issues on Windows 10 1903 Update:

    To fix comparability issues between Ledger Nano (S or X) and Windows 10, try the following:

    • Install Latest Ledger Live
    • Update to the Latest Ledger Nano Firmware
    • Do not click or interact with the pop-window.

    This is not an issue with hardware wallet itself but rather an interaction issue with various websites. These websites need to be updated to reflect changes with hardware security in Windows 10. As of now, there are no known methods to disable new security features in Windows 10. Please refer to the official response from Ledger on this compatibility issue.

    Ledger Live is Unaffected

    Ledger Live App’s operation is not affected by the new security changes. Currently asset management and Leger Manager operations are fully functional as of this update. It seems that the new security changes only affect the web based applications.