A solo Bitcoin miner has independently solved a BTC block to earn a reward of 3.275 BTC, roughly equivalent to $200,000.

On Aug. 29, Con Kolivas, a software engineer and administrator of the solo mining pool ckpool, announced on X that the miner had successfully solved the 291st solo block in Bitcoin’s history. He congratulated the miner, stating:

“Congratulations to miner 36AisvWi1UiwLTeTZxLzindAkorqeUc3tT for solving the 291st solo block on solo.ckpool.org! This hefty miner with 38PH would solve a block on average once every ~4 months.”

Blockchain data confirms that the miner successfully mined block number 858,978 on the Bitcoin blockchain, which included 2,391 transactions.

Centralization concerns

This achievement comes at a time when concerns about the centralization of Bitcoin mining are growing within the community.

Data from BTC.com reveals that four mining pools—Foundry USA, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool—have produced about 80% of Bitcoin blocks over the past three days, raising alarms among community members.

Foundry USA and AntPool alone accounted for more than 50% of the blocks mined by these pools.

This high level of centralization has raised concerns about the future of Bitcoin. Jameson Lopp, co-founder of CasaHODL, weighed in on the issue, explaining that Bitcoin mining centralization is a conflict between economies of scale and the decentralized nature of energy sources. However, he remains optimistic that decentralization will ultimately prevail.

Notably, the risks have been exacerbated by the recent halving event, which cut block mining rewards in half. This reduction has driven many smaller miners out of the market, leaving the industry dominated by publicly traded mining companies.

Bitfinex has warned that this concentration of mining power could lead to potential censorship of transactions and increased vulnerability to coordinated attacks or regulatory pressures. The firm stated:

“This concentration of mining power among fewer entities could lead to increased centralization, which is contrary to Bitcoin’s ethos. Centralization risks could mean the potential censorship of transactions and increased vulnerability to coordinated attacks or regulatory pressures.”

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Bitcoin miner Bitfarms will hold a shareholder vote in October regarding Riot Platform’s takeover bid, according to a July 12 statement.

The miner stated that its shareholders of record as of Sept. 26, 2024, will be able to vote at the special meeting it convened at Riot’s behest.

Takeover bid

This marks the latest development in the protracted takeover battle between Riot and Bitfarms.

In April, Riot attempted to acquire Bitfarms for approximately $950 million. However, Bitfarms rejected the unsolicited offer and said it significantly undervalued the firm.

Since then, Riot has stepped up efforts, creating a dedicated website to educate Bitfarms’ shareholders and calling for a special meeting that will restructure the rival miner board by removing Chairman Nicolas Bonta and Director Andrés Finkielsztain.

Riot claimed these moves are necessary as the current board prioritizes the directors’ interests over those of shareholders.

Bitfarms, however, argued that Riot’s meeting request is part of its efforts to “opportunistically acquire” it after its botched $950 million offering in April. The miner stated that Riot’s request would disrupt its strategic alternatives review process and evaluation opportunities to maximize shareholder value.

Furthermore, Bitfarms pointed out that Riot had requested the shareholding record date be set after a hearing with the Ontario Securities Commission on July 22 and 23. It added that Riot made this request to nullify its shareholder rights plan and increase its holdings in the rival company. Riot is Bitfarms’ largest shareholder, holding a 14.9% stake in the miner.

Despite this, Bitfarms proceeded with its decision after a special committee of independent board directors, with financial and legal advisors, decided on the meeting and record date.

Moreover, Bitfarms urged Riot to engage it constructively to avoid depleting its limited cash resources and protect stakeholders’ interests.

Bitfarms recently appointed Ben Gagnon as CEO and Fanny Philip as an independent board member.

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What can regional trends tell us about the Bitcoin market?

Andjela Radmilac · 5 days ago

CryptoSlate’s latest report dives deep into Glassnode’s regional supply and price metrics to analyze their changes in the first half of the year.

The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is considering integrating Bitcoin miners as Controllable Load Resources (CLRs) to enhance grid stability.

During a Texas Senate Business & Commerce Committee hearing, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas emphasized that classifying more Bitcoin miners as CLRs would improve the reliability of the state’s power grid.

A CLR is a major power consumer that can lower energy costs by avoiding high-price periods while providing essential grid stability services.

Vegas disclosed that crypto operations in Texas consume around 2,600 megawatts of energy, but only 500 megawatts are registered as CLRs, with just 130 megawatts actively participating. He stated:

“I would like to see all crypto become Controllable Load Resources (CLRs); that would be, from a liabiity standpoint, truly advantageous.”

The crypto community has responded positively to the news, with Brian Morgenstern, Public Policy Head at Riot Platforms, calling it the most significant aspect of the hearing.

Bitcoin mining enthusiast Jacobo Pascual added:

“As grid reliability degrades with the addition of intermittent renewable capacity, the value of bitcoin mining as a balancing tool increases (add electricity demand when renewable capacity is plentiful, cut immediately when generation is insufficient).”

Texas energy needs

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has expressed strong concerns over the projected increase in the Texas power grid’s capacity, driven by Bitcoin miners and artificial intelligence data centers. The grid is expected to expand from 85,000 to 150,000 megawatts within the next decade, far exceeding the previously projected 110,000 megawatts.

Patrick commented:

“Crypto miners and data centers will be responsible for over 50% of the added growth. We need to take a close look at those two industries. They produce very few jobs compared to the incredible demands they place on our grid.”

He further noted that miners might profit more from selling electricity back to the grid than from their mining operations. Patrick prioritized supporting retail users and traditional businesses over niche industries that heavily burden the grid. He stated:

“I’m more interested in building the grid to service customers in their homes, apartments, and normal businesses and keeping costs as low as possible for them instead of for very niche industries that have massive power demands and produce few jobs. We want data centers, but it can’t be the Wild Wild West of data centers and crypto miners crashing our grid and turning the lights off.”

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Stablecoin issuer Tether has expanded its mining endeavors by collaborating with Swan’s Managed Bitcoin Mining service.

According to the press statement, the firm has dedicated an undisclosed amount of substantial capital to establish its Bitcoin mining operations through Swan.

Swan’s Managed Bitcoin Mining allows institutional investors to commit a minimum of $100 million to the Bitcoin mining ecosystem. Through the service, the firm plans to offer bespoke mining operations tailored to the specific needs of its clients.

Since August 2023, Swan Mining has spent over $330 million to increase its mining capacity to 7.5 EH. However, plans are to increase the capacity to 19.5 EH this year and about 100 EH by 2026.

Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, said:

“The collaboration with Swan in the mining sector has exceeded our expectations. Swan’s team has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to transparency and operational excellence, achieving rapid deployment of hashrate.”

Tether is the largest stablecoin issuer and revealed plans to invest approximately $500 million in mining. The company is the seventh-largest BTC holder globally, with approximately 75,354 BTC, valued at $5.23 billion.

Mining revenue dips

Tether’s foray into mining comes during a notable decline in daily revenue for BTC miners post-halving. Glassnode data showed a stark drop in total revenue from block rewards and transaction fees, hitting a low of 417 BTC as of May 7.

This downturn contrasts sharply with the initial excitement surrounding the halving and the emergence of innovative protocols like Ordinal Inscriptions and Runes. These protocols have garnered increased attention, stirred interest in the blockchain landscape, and contributed to miners’ earnings.

Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant, highlighted the transformative impact of these applications on miners’ income streams. He said:

“Building apps on Bitcoin has significantly changed miners’ income streams. Transaction fees now account for over 7% of their total revenue, up from 1% two years ago. This trend has persisted for the last four weeks and could potentially strengthen the network’s fundamentals.

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The technology company from Santa Clara, Nvidia, often associated with the topic of Bitcoin mining, has just released version 0.4 of RTX Remix, which serves as an AI toolkit suite for gaming enthusiasts.

The new modding platform is available in open beta, therefore testable by everyone, and aims to add new gameplay features and improve graphic textures.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s stock hits another record and reaches a new all-time high at $603: many analysts believe that the stock could undergo a similar transformation to what Apple experienced during its recent years of boom.

All the details below.

From Bitcoin mining to AI gaming: Nvidia releases version 0.4 of RTX Remix and stocks soar

Nvidia keeps innovating: the graphics processor development company, often used in the field of Bitcoin Mining, has dropped another bombshell by announcing the release of version 0.4 of the RTX Remix modding platform.

This is a technology based on a collection of tools that modders (basically those who modify games) can use by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to create new images, integrate new resources, and even add some special features like DLSS, Reflex, and ray-tracing.

The goal of Nvidia’s RTX Remix is to improve the graphics of games that use DirectX 8 and 9 technologies, aiming to enhance lighting, make textures more detailed, and add new gameplay elements.

The technology company from Santa Clara has repeatedly demonstrated its support for the modder community, actively collaborating with them to enable RTX technologies in titles such as Half Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project, Call of Duty 2, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Garry’s Mod, Freedom Fighters, Need for Speed Underground 2, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.

Currently, Nvidia’s RTX Remix 0.4 is available in open beta version, usable by anyone as a testing phase, and features an updated DXVK implementation, fixing issues related to capture, geometry corruption, stability, and more.

In the new version of the platform, improvements have also been introduced in terrain baking performance, perfecting parallax occlusion mapping and anti-culling for in-game lights.

It is important to note that RTX Remix does not allow for full game remastering due to copyright constraints. Therefore, mods must be manually added by users. To use the tool, the recommended minimum hardware is an RTX 3060 Ti, while for optimal performance, an RTX 4070 is recommended.

The launch of this new product by Nvidia reflects its commitment as an innovator and leader in the chip and graphics card industry, bringing back the focus on gaming and gradually shifting away from speculative attention towards Bitcoin mining.

The US action NVIDIA reaches new highs on Nasdaq: Melius Research analysis

While Nvidia focuses on creating new technologies for its modder audience, in a detached vision from the classic (and primordial) use of graphics cards in the field of Bitcoin mining, its stock price on the Nasdaq reaches new all-time highs.

According to a report yesterday by CNBC, analysts at Melius Research believe that the stock could be on the verge of a transformation similar to the one experienced by Apple during its phase of maximum expansion, as it too is focused on the development of software and services.

According to them, the company’s growing revenue in this field is reducing volatility and pushing NVIDIA’s stock into a phase of maturity.

Investors usually assign a premium to software-related earnings compared to hardware-related earnings, as software sales are generally recurring and more predictable. This change could lead to a “multiple expansion” for Nvidia’s stocks, potentially increasing their value.

To underline how Nvidia’s software and services division, which includes the DGX Cloud AI supercomputer, could be able to generate an annualized revenue of $1 billion by the end of fiscal year 2024. This figure is expected to rise to $3 billion within a few years, providing long-term margin support.

All these reflections have led Nvidia’s stock quotes to record a market capitalization of 1.47 trillion dollars, second only to Amazon, Alphabet, Saudi Aramco, Microsoft, Apple, and gold.

Bitcoin currently has a market capitalization of just over half of NVIDIA’s.

Looking at the chart of the stock in question, we notice that the all-time high of $603.3 was reached yesterday at the opening of the US markets at 3:30 PM Italian time, before closing the day’s trading at $596.5.

At the time of writing the article, the pre-market indicates an estimated price of $597.90, slightly higher than yesterday’s closing but at the same time lower than its last ATH.

The optimism of Nvidia investors continues undisturbed for over a year, during which the stock has recorded a 216% increase, surpassing every record in the Nasdaq stock market.

However, in the short term, a slowdown in the explosive trend can be expected, with the daily RSI indicating the possibility of a price contraction.

The overall outlook remains largely positive, with bulls eagerly awaiting the financial data for the first quarter of the year to see if the technology company has recorded increased profits.

What is most frightening at the moment are the statements of Jim Cramer, an American television personality and host of Squawk on the Street, known for his predictions that always turn out to be completely wrong.

In this regard, Jim Cramer recently suggested to his followers to buy Nvidia stock and not sell it anymore due to its bullish potential.

This unfortunately changes everything for Nvidia, which could experience a strong retracement after Cramer’s “jinx”.