Mining refers to the process of verifying and adding new transactions to a blockchain network, such as in the case of Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies. The economics of mining refers to the economic incentives and costs associated with the mining process, as well as its impact on the broader economy. The economics of crypto mining are driven by a variety of factors, including cryptocurrency prices, mining difficulty, hardware costs, energy expenses, block rewards and transaction fees. This article will explain economics of mining, including costs, revenues and market trends. Cryptocurrency mining costs The costs associated with cryptocurrency mining can …

Anti-malware software Malwarebytes highlighted two new forms of malicious computer programs propagated by unknown sources that are actively targeting crypto investors in a desktop environment. Since December 2022, the two malicious files in question — MortalKombat ransomware and Laplas Clipper malware threats — have been actively scouting the Internet for stealing cryptocurrencies from unwary investors, revealed the threat intelligence research team, Cisco Talos. The victims of this campaign are predominantly located in the United States, with a smaller percentage of victims in the United Kingdom, Turkey, and the Philippines, as shown below. The malicious software work in partnership to swoop …

The total crypto market capitalization rejected at $1.13 trillion on Feb. 16, but there was no change in the month-long ascending channel structure. More importantly, this level represents a 43% gain in 2023, which is far from the $3 trillion level achieved in Nov. 2021. Still, the current recovery is notable. As shown above, the ascending channel initiated in mid-January has left some room for a 10% correction down to $1 trillion without breaking the bullish formation. Investors reacted positively to the 5.6% year-on-year U.S. CPI inflation increase on Feb. 14 and the 3% retail sales monthly growth on Feb. …

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on crypto-staking services could lead to uncertain consequences for the DeFi ecosystem. Cybercriminals used various methods to siphon funds through hacks and exploits in 2022, amounting to over $2.8 billion in losses. The second week of February saw the Platypus protocol exploited, leading to losses of $8.5 million. In another exploit-related update, the hacker behind Mango Markets wants to keep disputed funds paid as a …

In the latest Crypto Stories episode by Cointelegraph, Aaron and Austin Arnold share their journey of creating 'Altcoin Daily,' a crypto content platform that has amassed millions of subscribers across various platforms. Earlier in life, Aaron spent his childhood dreaming of becoming a veterinarian, and then an actor, and then a filmmaker. Dreams of breaking into the filmmaking industry led the brothers to Los Angeles, where they struggled to get into entertainment. While struggling, Aaron spent many sleepless nights contemplating purpose and how he could help make a difference in other people's lives. One day, while going to a comedy …

The upcoming Ethereum (ETH) Shanghai hardfork is slated to occur in March 2023 and the upgrade will cap off the network's move to proof-of-stake (PoS) which started during the “Merge” on Sept. 15, 2022. Once Shanghai is implemented, previously locked Ether will gradually become liquid for the first time since December 2020. According to on-chain Etherscan data, over 16.6 million Ether are currently locked in the PoS staking protocol which was valued at $28 billion on Feb. 16, 2023. Ethereum’s move from proof-of-work (PoW) to PoS has started to achieve the original goal which was to make Ether’s supply deflationary. …

On this week’s episode of NFT Steez, co-hosts Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond continue their chat with Justin and J.P. Alanis, the co-founders of StoryCo — an open media platform — on the prospect of a community of creators franchising intellectual property (IP) through collaboration and soulbound tokens. Speaking on his experience with musician Tyler the Creator, J.P. Alanis said that content creation is not limited to one particular creator, but should be open to all types, including fans. However, despite the symbiotic nature between fans and creators, there are still barriers to incentivizing the creators and navigating the bureaucratic …

The Capital Market Authority (CMA), the regulator of Oman’s financial markets, looks to establish a new regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry in the Sultanate. According to a Feb. 14 press release, the new rules would include oversight of virtual asset activities, a licensing process for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and a framework to identify and mitigate risks surrounding the new asset class. The announcement reads: “The aim of this new regulation is to establish a market regime for virtual assets that include rules to prevent market abuse, including [thorough] surveillance and enforcement mechanisms.” Several virtual asset activities …

Bitcoin (BTC) price rallied over 12% on Feb. 15, marking the highest daily close in more than six months. Curiously, the movement happened while gold reached a 40-day low at $1,826, indicating some potential shift in investors' risk assessment for cryptocurrencies. A stronger than expected U.S. inflation report on Feb. 14 presented 5.6% growth year-over-year, followed by data showing resilient consumer demand caused traders to rethink Bitcoin's scarcity value. U.S. retail sales increased by 3% in January versus the previous month — the highest gain in almost two years. On-chain data indicates that the recent gains can be traced back …

According to a new twitter post on Feb. 16, e-commerce platform eBay's nonfungible tokens (NFT) marketplace KnownOrigin will launch creator smart contracts for its artists. With the new contract, artists will be able to split earnings and earn royalties as co-creators. As told by KnownOrigin, users have been testing its Creator Contract beta release for the past few weeks, with 84 contracts thus far deployed and 250 edition of NFTs minted. From Feb. 24 onwards, all approved creators on KnownOrigin will be able to deploy and mint work on their own contract for public release. Deployment will not require coding …

The COP has also created tools to prevent climate doomsday. Such economic tools as voluntary and compliance carbon markets, carbon credits, green bonds and other green assets tied to positive environmental impact play a crucial role in decarbonization global efforts. However, they are often inaccessible to small and medium-sized companies from developing countries. The main reasons are high upfront costs and complex structuring processes in line with global green standards. Positive and negative impacts on the environment have to be forecasted and described according to approved methodologies. This information is used for the future monitoring and reporting and is verified …

While the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) continues to monitor the overheated economy, the most likely scenario is further interest rate hikes to curb inflation. The unintended consequence is the heightened government debt cost, creating a bullish environment for scarce assets such as commodities, stock market and cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s price gain practically extinguished bears expectation for a sub-$21,500 options expiry on Feb. 17, so their bets are unlikely to pay off as the deadline approaches. Bitcoin investors' primary concern is the possibility of further impacts from regulators following the staking rewards program by the Kraken exchange being halted by the U.S. …