Month: May 2020

In the early stages of trade, when economizing individuals are only slowly awakening to knowledge of the economic gains that can be derived from exploitation of existing exchange opportunities, their attention is, in keeping with the simplicity of all cultural beginnings, directed only to the most obvious of these opportunities. **The following essay was written by the father of Austrian Economics, Carl Menger, and was published in 1892. “The Nature and Origin of Money” was originally published after Menger testified before the Currency Commission in Austria-Hungary the same year. The…

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for a mining strategy throughout the oil-rich nation. The latest statements from the Iranian President follows Iran’s moves to restrict specific crypto trading platforms over “currency smuggling” mandates. On May 20, 2020, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told the press that the country needs to spur a cryptocurrency mining strategy, in order for the country to prosper economically amid U.S. sanctions. Reports stemming from the regional news outlet Arzdigital which claims Rouhani has told his administration to start drafting a crypto mining strategy for Iran…

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Bitcoin mining rig manufacturer Canaan Creative reported a net loss of $5.6 million for the first quarter of 2020, down from $9.5 million a year earlier. The Chinese company cut prices of its ASIC-based machines by over 50% in an effort to improve sales, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the heavy loss. Demand slumped as the coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted the movement of goods worldwide, took its toll. Shares of Canaan fell as much as 3.51% to $3.85 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, at Press time. The stock has…

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The cryptocurrency community has noticed a number of bitcoins from the August 2, 2016, Bitfinex breach has been moved. A small 30 BTC transaction ($282,000) from the stash has moved from the hacker’s address to an unknown bitcoin address. The last time coins from the Bitfinex incident moved was June and August 2019, as the bitcoins hadn’t transferred for three years since then. On August 2, 2016 the popular cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex was hacked for approximately 119,756 BTC, which is worth a touch over $1 billion using today’s exchange rates.…

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On May 21, 2020, the infamous Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, submitted a list of blocks and bitcoin addresses to the court that stem from the alleged Tulip Trust. However, armchair sleuths and blockchain analysis shows that a few blocks recorded in Wright’s recently filed list have been spent. Craig Wright Files a New List of Bitcoin Blocks and Addresses That Allegedly Belong to the Tulip Trust(s) The ongoing Kleiman vs. Wright lawsuit is heating up once again, as Craig Wright submitted a list on…

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A well-known hedge fund manager has warned that governments may ban private gold ownership. He explained that central banks may attempt to demonetize gold, making it illegal for private individuals to own, as the authorities lose control of inflation amid the coronavirus-led economic crisis. Is Gold Safe? Governments May Make Owning Gold Illegal for Private Individuals Central banks might outlaw private gold ownership if they lose control of inflation amid the coronavirus crisis, London-based hedge fund manager Crispin Odey warned clients in a letter seen by Bloomberg on Wednesday. He…

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It’s been 11 days since the third bitcoin block reward halving. Data now shows that the overall SHA256 hashrate lost around 47 exahash per second (EH/s), since the all-time high of 140 EH/s on May 3. With more than 33% of the hashrate lost, reports stemming from Sichuan China indicate that bitcoin mining operations have been dealing with electrical shortages, and some operations have been forced to shut down machines. Bitcoin Hashrate Lost 47 Exahash of Hashrate Since the ATH, Difficulty Sees a 6% Downward Adjustment Just before the third…

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Africans rank atop global cryptocurrency ownership rates, according to a new report by Arcade Research. South Africa ranks third globally with 13% of its internet users owning or using cryptocurrencies, while 11% of connected Nigerians own cryptocurrencies in the fifth-placed populous West African country. Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana are listed in the report among the top 10 countries where “cryptocurrency” is most searched on Google. Economic challenges work both ways, as the digital divide slows the adoption of cryptocurrency while high financial fees make virtual currencies an…

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Gox Rising has offered to buy out creditor claims from the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox. The Brock Pierce-led outfit will pay $800 per bitcoin claim, either in BTC or cash, to creditors who are unwilling to wait for the finalization of the ongoing civil litigation. “Our payment would be put in escrow and made within 10 business days of the claim transfer confirmation,” the company announced in a statement Thursday. “We recognize that some investors may not wish to wait any longer to see what the final resolution and…

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Since the market rout on March 12, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ bitcoin futures and options contracts have seen significant demand. On May 14, CME Group saw the total number of outstanding derivatives contracts (open interest) touch a high of $142 million. Four days later, CME broke records again. Data from the researchers at Skew.com detailed that CME’s regulated bitcoin options open interest is up 10x this month. Deribit’s Massive Options Volumes and CME Group’s Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives Markets Touch New Highs Ever since the halving on May 11, there’s…

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