Publicly-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Argo Blockchain saw a significant drop in mining activity in December due to a winter storm in Texas. On Jan. 11, Argo released its first operational update since selling its flagship mining facility Helios to Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital. The company said it mined 147 Bitcoin or BTC equivalents in December, compared to 198 BTC in November 2022. As of Dec. 31, Argo held 141 BTC, with its December mining revenue amounting to $2.49 million, the firm said. Argo’s total debt was approximately $79 million, and its bank balance was about $20 million. According to …

A New York-based law firm says it has begun an investigation into whether Bitcoin miner Core Scientific and its leadership potentially engaged in “securities fraud and other unlawful business practices" which led to its stock price falling on several occasions. According to securities class action firm Pomerantz LLP, the investigation was prompted by a report from Culper Research in 2022, which alleged that Core Scientific had "wildly oversold" its mining and hosting businesses in 2021 and also waived a 180-day lockup period of over 282 million shares, making them "free to be dumped" in Mar. 2022. This report suggested that …

Shares of publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) miners surged on Jan. 9 as traders piled into equity markets amid growing bets that the United States Federal Reserve would soon be able to relax its aggressive fight against inflation. Bitcoin miners Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Hut8 (HUT), Bitfarms (BITF), Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) and others posted double-digit percentage gains in intraday trading. The rally coincided with a broad uptick in equity markets, with the large-cap S&P 500 Index rising 1% and the technology-focused Nasdaq gaining 2% before paring gains. Markets rallied ahead of an eagerly awaited U.S. consumer price index report later this …

Xiao Yi, the former Chinese Communist Party secretary of Fuzhou, has confessed to “acting recklessly” in support of crypto mining during a state-run television broadcast. In an interview released by state-run media on Jan. 8, Xiao seemed to speak with a very subdued voice from what appeared to be prison, apologizing for being a “sinner” and causing “grave losses” to Fuzhou. The former CCP official pled guilty to corruption charges in December related to accepting more than $18 million in bribes for construction programs and illicitly promoting projects — including a localcrypto mining firm. According to a report from the …

During the winter storm in Texas in December 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) mining operators returned up to 1,500 megawatts of energy to the distressed local grid. It became possible due to the flexibility of mining operations and the ancillary services, provided by the state authorities. In his commentary to Satoshi Action Fund, Texas Blockchain Council president Lee Bratcher stated that miners returned up to 1,500 megawatts to the Texas grid. This amount of energy would be enough to heat “over 1.5 million small homes or keep 300 large hospitals fully operational,” according to the calculations from the Bitcoin advocacy group. While …

After a shocking year for Bitcoin (BTC), public miners will focus on strengthening balance sheets and minimizing costs this year, according to industry analysts. Bitcoin mining cost minimization will likely lead public miners to either go private or merge with other companies in 2023, Hash Rate Index’s Bitcoin analysts Jaran Mellerud and Colin Harper predicted. In a blog post titled “10 Bitcoin mining predictions for 2023,” the analysts pointed out that public miners are burdened with strict reporting requirements, such as spending millions of dollars on annual reporting. After many Bitcoin mining stocks plummeted 90% in 2022, public miners could …

Iranian authorities seized numerous crypto mining equipment over the past two years, citing stress on energy grids during winter. Now, a court ordered the release of crypto-mining equipment that was previously seized as a measure to conserve energy. Since 2021, Iran’s Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property (OCSSOP) has seized mining equipment — both authorized and unauthorized — due to looming power shortage concerns. However, the authorities had a change of heart amid winter as they ordered the release of the seizure. As explained by Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, the head of Iran's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance: “Currently …

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 …

Once assumed to be extinct until its unlikely return in the latter part of 2017, browser-based cryptocurrency mining dates back to 2011 when BitcoinPlus.com launched its then-innovative service. Of course, back when Bitcoin was fairly new and mining was cheap, the idea of using a website to do the work for miners was quite popular. Thanks to a surge in the cryptocurrency market circa 2017, browser-based cryptocurrency mining has made a resurgence in certain circles today. The technology’s evolution is also due in part to the advent of blockchain-based coins that are mineable with easy-to-use JavaScript application programming interfaces (APIs) …

Cryptocurrency mining giant Canaan continues to generate significant revenues from crypto operations despite the ongoing crypto mining crisis. Canaan’s total revenue for the first nine months of 2022 was roughly 4 billion Chinese yuan (RMB), or about $573 million, a spokesperson for Canaan told Cointelegraph. As the firm expects to generate another 310 million RMB ($46 million) in Q4, the total annual revenues is expected to amount to 4.3 billion RMB ($619 million). The amount is down around 14% from Canaan’s RMB-denominated revenue of 4.9 billion RMB last year. In USD, the total revenues were down about 21% from $783 …

Cryptocurrency mining firm Argo Blockchain has taken a difficult decision to sell its flagship mining facility Helios in order to survive the ongoing bear market. Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall officially announced on Dec. 28 a deal with Mike Novogratz’s crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital to sell Helios facility for $65 million. Argo has already been cashing its mined Bitcoin (BTC) to reduce the loan to Galaxy. Additionally, Galaxy will also provide Argo with a new $35 million equipment finance loan to help the troubled miner reduce its debt. “We’ve used the proceeds of that sale in a new Galaxy …

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 …