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Saudi Arabia is dipping its toes on both sides of the aisle by blowing hot and cold with the US and BRICS. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had paused the BRICS invitation by not providing a straightforward answer about joining the bloc. It is maintaining a friendly stance with both the US and the alliance and leveraging various trade deals to its benefit. The Kingdom wants the help of both to keep its Vision 2030 target afloat. Also Read: BRICS: Only 33% of Trade Settled in US Dollars The nation is diplomatically sitting on the fence and pausing BRICS membership to seal trade deals with the US. The Mohammed bin Salman-led government sees more value in the US but also wants the support of the alliance. They are weighing the pros and cons of the bloc before giving out a final decision and are hedging the invite to their advantage. This gives the kingdom ample room to initiate deals and gain the upper hand in trade policies. Also Read: BRICS Alliance: 2 New Countries Apply to Join Before 2025...

2023 saw an overall trend reversal as crypto entrepreneurs took charge of the situation and helped regain investor confidence. The Bitcoin (BTC) mining community recorded its annual all -time high (ATH) on Nov. 12 after raking in over $44 million in block rewards and transaction fees.  The revenue from Bitcoin mining primarily comes from rewards for confirming Bitcoin transactions and creating new blocks using high-tech computer equipment known as mining rigs. Miners currently receive 6.25 BTC for every successful block creation in addition to the transaction fees.  On Nov. 12, the daily Bitcoin mining rewards crossed $44 million for the first time in 2023, a number last seen in April 2022, according to data from blockchain.com.  Bitcoin mining revenue annual chart. Source: blockchain.com In between the timeline of April 2022 and November 2023, several factors contributed to the dip in the revenue of Bitcoin miners globally. They include a prolonged bear market, negative investor s...

The firm managed to narrow net loss in the quarter as it ramped up Bitcoin production. Colorado-based Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms narrowed its second quarter net loss to $27.7 million as it ramped up its Bitcoin production and reached record hash rate capacity. The crypto miner posted total revenue of $76.7 million — up 5.2% from Q2 2022 — which was primarily driven by a 27% year-on-year increase in Bitcoin (BTC) production, offset by a decline in Bitcoin prices, according to the firm’s Aug. 9 results filing. The firm’s mining revenue of $49.7 million attributed to 64.7% of the firm’s total revenue over the quarter. An additional $13.5 million was made through the firm’s power curtailment credits. Meanwhile, its Q2 net loss was a massive reduction from the prior year period, which was $353.5 million. It was also around half the net loss posted in the first quarter of 2023. Riot Platforms managed to cut its net loss to $27.7 million in Q2. Source: Riot Platforms The firm produc...

It's been one of the most lucrative quarters for those that profit from Bitcoin transaction fees in nearly two years. Bitcoin (BTC) miners made a lofty $184 million from transaction fees in the second quarter, far more than what they pocketed over the entire 2022 — as Bitcoin’s price surged and BRC-20 tokens flourished. The $184 million payout is more than a 270% increase from the first quarter of 2023 and it is the first quarter to have surpassed the $100 million mark since Q2 2021, according to a July 5 report from cryptocurrency analytics platform Coin Metrics. Bitcoin miners earned more from fees in Q2 than the previous five quarters combined. Source: Coin Metrics Bitcoin miners receive transaction fees whenevea new block has been validated, the amount of which is determined by the data volume and the user demand for block space. Coin Metrics said the jump in fees was due to Bitcoin’s recent price surge bolstered ‘top-line revenues” and the advent of BRC-20, a new token stand...

Although mining may no longer generate significant profits for the majority of individuals, investing in mining still holds promising long-term prospects. As the network continues to expand and undergo advancements, miners may discover fresh avenues to earn rewards. Moreover, investing in mining not only provides an opportunity to contribute to the development of the cryptocurrency network but also offers a means of supporting its growth. Source: CoinDesk What happened to Ethereum mining? Cryptocurrency mining has indeed been a lucrative and widely pursued venture, with Ethereum (ETH) being among the most favored cryptocurrencies to mine. Non ETH eless, the recent shift to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism from a proof-of-work (PoW) has raised concerns regarding the viability of mining Ethereum 2.0. With the implementation of proof of stake (PoS), Ethereum is transitioning from the traditional mining process to a more energy-efficient and secure model. With this...

The tax is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, electricity costs and local environmental pollution, but has not been kindly received by the crypto community. Cryptocurrency miners based in the United States could soon face a tax equal to 30% of the cost of electricity they use if President Joe Biden’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2024 is approved by Congress, but the proposal has sparked debate about whether it would actually decrease global emissions and energy prices. Cryptocurrency mining is a resource-intensive process that attempts to solve increasingly complex equations in order to create new blocks which can then be validated and added to the blockchain. This process consumes a significant amount of energy, with some estimates placing the global energy consumption of Bitcoin (BTC) mining alone at around 0.59% of the world's energy usage, which is roughly equivalent to the energy usage of Malaysia, according to Worldometer. Biden’s  Council of Economic Advis...

New Mexico is the cheapest US state to mine Bitcoin in terms of average electricity cost, while Hawaii is the by far the most expensive. It now costs Bitcoin (BTC) miners at least $17,000 to produce one BTC in the U.S. versus the $5,000-10,000 range a year ago, according to  Bitcoin Mining data resource Hashrate Index and Luxor. Bitcoin hashprice has dropped 58% in a year Unsurprisingly, soaring electricity rates across the U.S. states have contributed to rising Bitcoin mining costs. Notably, between January 2022 and January 2023, the commercial electricity tariff surged at an average of 10.71% per U.S. state, higher than the average consumer price index surge of 6.4%. Average industrial rate rise between January 2022 and 2023. Source: EIA/Hashrate Index/Luxor Coupled with Bitcoin's downward performance in 2022, which saw a maximum drawdown from around $48,000 to below $15,000, it is evident that active miners generated consistent losses due to the increase in operational costs a...

Bitcoin difficulty and hash rate stop at nothing in their quest to surge to new levels never seen before. Bitcoin (BTC) may be struggling at $30,000, but under the hood, all-time highs of a different kind keep coming. The latest data shows that Bitcoin network fundamentals — difficulty and hash rate — will hit new records this week. Bitcoin mining difficulty, hash rate refuse to slow down Bitcoin’s 2023 recovery has been about more than just BTC price action, with miners seeing a significant turnaround of their own. As BTC/USD added 70% in Q1 alone, pressured mining participants saw some much-needed relief after the bear market squeezed profit margins to practically zero. The comeback for miners is evident in difficulty, which among other things, reflects competition for block subsidies. This has made new all-time highs for the past two months, and this week will be no exception. According to data from BTC.com, the difficulty will increase by approximately 2.1% on April 20, reaching 4...

Bitcoin’s prolonged breakout above $22,000 is easing pressure on razor thin profit margins for BTC miners. Bitcoin mining powers network transactions and BTC price. During the 2021 bull run, some mining operations raised funds against their Bitcoin ASICs and BTC reserves. Miners also preordered ASICs at a hefty premium and some raised funds by conducting IPOs.  As the crypto market turned bearish and liquidity seized within the sector, miners found themselves in a bad situation and those who were unable to meet their debt obligations were forced to sell the BTC reserves near the market bottom or declare bankruptcy Notable Bitcoin mining bankruptcies in 2022 came from Core Scientific, filing for bankruptcy, but BTC’s early 2023 performance is beginning to suggest that the largest portion of capitulation has passed. Despite the strength of the current bear market, a few miners were able to increase production throughout 2022 and on-chain data shows Bitcoin miner accumulation began to ...

Gridless Compute, a hydro-powered Bitcoin mining initiative, tweeted that the project has successfully powered a rural community and lowered its existing energy rates. A hydro-powered crypto mining project based in Africa released an update on its efforts to bring energy developments to rural communities via Bitcoin (BTC). On Dec. 9, Gridless Compute tweeted photos and commentary on how their hydro- power BTC mining rigs are power ing an entire rural settlement while also lowering Energy rates for 2,000 people, the equivalent to 500 families. According to the tweet, costs decrease from $10 per month to $4. All of this while securing BTC’s underlying blockchain network.  Powering a rural Kenya village and securing the #Bitcoin network with excess hydropower, all while lowering rates to 2000 people (500 families, ~$10/month to $4). @GridlessCompute pic.twitter.com/9GUlAU6265 — jack (@jack) December 9, 2022 Earlier this week, the project also shared results of a successful $...

Bitcoin miners have been on a slippery slope over the past few months. To cater to their costs, they had been collectively selling their holdings. In fact, they’ve been so distressed that on Halloween, there were suggestions floating on social media platforms to dress up like a miner. Also Read – Bitcoin: Top mining company sells 1576 BTC as sell-pressure rises Marathon records most productive month ever Yet, digital asset and mining company Marathon Digital Holdings produced 615 Bitcoin in October—its highest-ever monthly total of mined coins. Interestingly, the amount of Bitcoin mined in October was merely 1 BTC short of the 616 BTC mined throughout the third quarter [July: 72 BTC, August: 184 BTC, September: 360 BTC]. As a result, its total Bitcoin HODLings rose to 11,285 BTC. The fair market value of the same stood at approximately $231.3 million as of October 31, 2022. Alongside, a hash rate growth was also noted by the company. Commenting on how ...