After a tumultuous 2020 that continued into Bitcoin (BTC) setting new all-time highs in 2021, Bitcoin miners are facing a bittersweet scenario — profits have skyrocketed, but multiple issues prevent them from buying more devices and boosting Bitcoin’s hash rate. According to the founder of major mining pool BTC.Top, Jiang Zhuoer, global electronics supply chain issues are having their effect on the mining industry as well. Speaking with Cointelegraph, he said: “There is definitely a shortage of equipment right now because, since the coronavirus epidemic, the global supply chain has been interrupted and is now in the process of gradually …

In a time of global crisis, a pandemic, and a generally unstable political and social environment, cryptocurrencies have shown remarkable stability. Moreover, the pandemic-induced economic downturn played into the hands of the industry by not only attracting professional cryptocurrency traders but also reviving mining as a way of generating passive income. It is not surprising that countries experiencing difficult political and economic situations have witnessed a boom in the purchase of GPU cards in recent months. In the region of Abkhazia, where all crypto activities have been illegal since 2018, citizens spent more than $500,000 on mining equipment over a …

The Philippines SEC has released an official warning about Bitcoin (BTC) “cloud mining” company Mining City, advising the public to steer clear of the scheme and others like it. Despite the official condemnation, the price of a related cryptocurrency is on the rise. The warning describes the company as an unlicensed entity in the country and said it was not functioning “in accordance with guidelines for virtual currency exchanges,” stating: “The aforementioned scheme used by Mining City clearly shows an indication of a possible Ponzi scheme in which new investor money is used to pay ‘bogus profits’ to those who …

China-based mining pool Btc.top wants to upgrade the concept of cloud mining, which allows users to mine crypto remotely by buying a certain amount of hash power from a third-party, with what it calls “joint mining.” Announced on July 25, the company’s new “joint mining” subsidiary B.top aims to reduce the risks associated with “popular cloud mining products” by offering more flexibility. Specifically, B.top claims to charge service and maintenance fees to its users only after they have reached the break-even point, meaning that its customers start to share profits when their revenue is equal to the cost they initially …

Mexican users of public cloud networks report a surge in cryptojacking and ransomeware attacks in recent months. According to El Economista, almost three quarters of Mexican companies that use cloud networks including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, report security incidents resulting in negative perceptions by citizens. Less than a third of the locals fully trust cloud network security. Ransomware attacks Security weaknesses allow threat actors to deploy other crypto-related attacks like ransomware, including a recent case where an oil company, Pemex, was targeted by the DoppelPaymer gang. The report says that Mexican companies have been reporting instances where unknown cybercriminals are …

Antimatter Kingdom (AK), a new Chinese crypto Ponzi scheme, appears to have netted $11 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) in less than one month of operating. Upon launching at the start of April, AntiMatter Kingdom described itself as “a super mining application group” operating on the CXC chain. The press release boasts that AK reduces its supply by 18% every 90 days, urging investors to capitalize on the “huge opportunity.” CXC claims to comprise a “revolutionary blockchain business structure” allowing it to “compete with the cruel cosmic entropy law and make the development of commercial civilization lasting and orderly.” Investors …

The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) has taken emergency action against cloud mining firm Ultra BTC Mining for issuing unregistered securities. The emergency cease-and-desist order was jointly filed against Ultra Mining by the TSSB and the Alabama Securities Commission on April 8. The securities regulators accused Ultra Mining of registration violations, fraud, failures to disclose key information relating to its operations, and misleading or deceptive statements. The regulators allege Ultra BTC Mining and its agent Laura Branch were running a "recession special” to prey on economically vulnerable Texans and had refused to verify a claimed $100,000 donation to help UNICEF …

The supply of crypto mining machines failed to meet market demand in Q2 2019 despite the surge of mining hardware prices, new research says. Popular suppliers ran out of stock in Q2 Bitcoin (BTC) miner market saw significant inflation during Q2 2019, with the majority of miners from various suppliers experiencing shortages, according to Q2 2019 cryptocurrency mining industry report by crypto analytics firm TokenInsight. In the report, released on Sept. 13, the San Francisco-based crypto data supplier wrote that the mining equipment market still performed quite well in Q2 as some popular mining hardware like Antminer S17 were out …

A startup named Pyrex says it has created the “next generation cryptocurrency,” which enables untraceable payments and unlinkable transactions. Its ecosystem includes three separate but interchangeable blockchain payment methods, together with its own crypto bank, cloud mining platform and multi-currency exchange. Secure and private The first blockchain payment method is PyrexCoin (PYX), operated by a decentralized peer-to-peer (p2p) exchange network with no management or major issuer to rule it. The company assures that this cryptocurrency is untraceable, secure, anonymous and borderless. A p2p network makes all the users' transactions on the PyrexCoin blockchain unlinkable to a particular user or real-world …

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Cointelegraph.com. Cloud mining — a service that enables individual users to lease hashing power from dedicated cryptocurrency mining operations — came forth as professionalization and cartelization of the mining business began to drive out smaller and insufficiently equipped players from the scene. Since there is no way to verify that the share of the mining rig you are supposedly leasing actually exists — even if returns on your investment seem to be flowing regularly at first — the scheme is widely regarded as a …

Cloud cryptocurrency mining service HashFlare announced July 20, that it is stopping mining services and shutting down hardware on current SHA-256 contracts due to difficulty generating revenue. HashFlare is a cloud cryptocurrency mining platform founded in 2013. Cloud mining is a system where a user purchases a portion of the mining power of hardware hosted and owned by a cloud mining service provider. The service provider configures the hardware, maintains uptime and selects the most efficient and reliable pools. The decision to discontinue mining maintenance is reportedly the result of difficulties for the company to turn a profit amid market …

Mining software companies try to reduce costs of Bitcoin mining meeting the challenge brought about by the cutting in half of the block rewards. Hashflare has joined the list of Bitcoin mining companies that are working out a way to cut the cost of energy needed for their operations. Energy supply has been a topical issue of late for mining operations particularly around the halving period as it is a great determinant to ensure a lower operational cost and to maximize profit. A report says some of the mining companies in parts of China recently met to discuss how to …