Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network agreed to let Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific shut off more than 37,000 mining rigs it had been hosting for Celsius during the miner’s bankruptcy proceedings. Core Scientific filed a revised proposed order on Jan. 3 which incorporated “revisions acceptable to Celsius” noting “all Celsius rigs will be powered down effective January 3, 2023 and will not be restarted during the transition period.” Previously, Core Scientific accused Celsius of failing to pay its power bills on Oct. 19 citing the non-payment as a major factor leading to its liquidity issues after the Bitcoin miner filed …

According to a recent report by Hash Rate Index, publicly-listed Bitcoin (BTC) miners took on more than $4 billion worth of debt during the run-up to the crypto bull market. Mesmerized by rising prices, industry rushed hand over fist to purchase Bitcoin application-specific integrated circuits miners on easy credit. However, in today's context of Bitcoin price collapse, skyrocketing electricity prices, lower market prices for mining rigs, and record-level mining difficulty, 2022 became an extremely difficult year for sector players. That said, some are holding on better than others. Top 10 publicly-traded Bitcoin miners by liabilities | Source: Hashrate Index On …

Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy is showing no signs of backing down on its Bitcoin gambit. Right around the time that Sam Bankman-Fried was being exposed as a fraud, MicroStrategy was scooping up more Bitcoin (BTC) — this time, the firm bought as close to the bottom as it’s ever gotten. While Bitcoin can always go lower, seeing a MicroStrategy buy around $17K is refreshing. Interestingly, MicroStrategy also sold some BTC earlier this month — but not for the reason you think (more on that below.) The final Crypto Biz newsletter of 2022 discusses MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin buy, Fidelity Investments’ foray into …

Galaxy Digital Holdings CEO Mike Novogratz has called the Helios mining deal a “transformative acquisition” for the firm as it works to increase its exposure to the Bitcoin mining sector. The crypto investment firm’s $65 million acquisition of Argo Blockchain’s flagship mining facility was announced on Dec. 28 as part of Argo’s drastic action to stave off bankruptcy. Tweeting about the deal on Dec. 29, Novogratz emphasized that Galaxy is a “strong believer” on the long-term future of Bitcoin (BTC) and the the company will continue to ramp up its mining initiatives: “Bear markets are for building. We’re long-term believers …

The severe winter storm in North America shut down Binance's cloud mining products between Dec. 24-26, according to an official announcement on Dec. 28. As a result of the power outage, the company announced that users' subscriptions to cloud mining products were extended for three days. Binance has noted that further outages as a result of the weather conditions will extend the duration of cloud mining subscriptions. The exchange's cloud mining service, launched nearly a month ago, allows users without mining equipment to earn mining rewards from Binance Pool. Subscriptions are required to buy hashrates and Bitcoin mining on Binance's …

Publicly listed Bitcoin (BTC) miners sold off almost 100% of all the Bitcoin they mined throughout 2022, leading to a debate over whether the sales created "a persistent headwind" for the Bitcoin price or not. Analyst Tom Dunleavy from blockchain research firm Messari shared the data in a Dec. 26 tweet which indicated that approximately 40,300 of the 40,700 BTC mined by Core Scientific, Riot, Bitfarms, Cleans Park, Marathon, Hut8, HIVE, Iris Energy, Argo and Bit Digital from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 was sold off. BTC miners sell roughly 100% of the coins they mine The 10 public bitcoin …

Bitcoin mining firm Argo blockchain has suspended trading of its American depositary shares (ADS) on NASDAQ, according to a Dec. 27 press release. The company says that it needed to suspend trading because of an announcement that will come on Wednesday morning and because the London Stock Exchange is closed on Tuesday. Argo says that it expects shares to resume NASDAQ trading on Wednesday. At our request, @Nasdaq temporarily suspended trading of Argo’s ADSs and unsecured notes for today - Tues Dec 27. We’ll be making an announcement tomorrow (Dec 28) via RNS before the @LSEplc opens in the UK…we …

Bitcoin ASIC miners — machines optimized for the sole purpose of mining Bitcoin — are currently selling at bottom-of-the-barrel prices not seen since 2020 and 2021, in what is being viewed as another sign of a deepened crypto bear market. According to the latest data from Hashrate Index, the most efficient ASIC miners, those generating at least one terahash per 38 joules of energy, have seen their prices fall 86.82% from May. 7, 2021 peak of $119.25 per terahash down to $15.71 as of Dec. 25. Miners in these category include Bitmain’s Antminer S19 and MicroBTC’s Whatsminer M30s. The same …

Major cryptocurrency mining pool BTC.com has suffered a cyberattack resulting in a significant loss of funds by the company and its customers. BTC.com experienced a cyberattack on Dec. 3, with attackers stealing around $700,000 in client assets and $2.3 million in the company’s assets, the mining pool’s parent firm BIT Mining Limited officially announced on Dec. 26. BIT Mining and BTC.com reported the cyberattack to law enforcement authorities in Shenzhen, China. The local authorities subsequently launched an investigation into the incident, starting collecting evidence and requesting assistance from relevant agencies in China. The local coordination has already helped BTC.com recover …

Bitcoin’s network hashrate has returned to regular levels again, days after freezing temperatures across the United States put a strain on the nation's electricity grid — leading to a temporary drop in hashrate. In the days leading up to Christmas, bone-chilling temperatures swept across the United States, leading to millions without power and claiming at least 28 lives. According to reports, Bitcoin miners in Texas, which accounts for a significant portion of the country's hashrate, voluntarily curtailed operations to give power back to the grid — so that residents can keep their homes heated. The disruptions appear to have put …

London-based Faes & Company filed a complaint against crypto mining firm Blockware Solutions LLC on Dec. 17, claiming it misrepresented the performance capability of its miners and lacked adequate power access to keep the machines running. Plaintiffs allege losses of $250,000 and are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. According to the complaint, the parties entered into contracts in October 2021 for Faes to buy $525,000 worth of Bitcoin miners and related hosting services. As part of the agreement, Blockware would host Faes' miners at one of its server facilities, which it allegedly owns and operates for a monthly hosting fee …

The recent bankruptcy filing of Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific despite a $72M relief offer from creditors raised questions about the overall health of the bitcoin mining community amid a prolonged bear market. Turns out, the public bitcoin miners owe more than $4 billion in liabilities and require an immediate restructuring to get out of the unsustainably high debt levels. The Bitcoin mining community took up massive loans during the 2021 bull market, negatively impacting their bottom lines during a subsequent bear market. Bitcoin mining data analytics by Hashrate Index show that just the top 10 Bitcoin mining debtors cumulatively …