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    Tether’s BTC holdings questioned in CryptoQuant’s whale analysis

    In a recent Twitter post, the on-chain data provider addressed the growing skepticism around Tether’s BTC holdings.In its quarterly report, Tether disclosed its possession of around $1.67 billion in Bitcoin. This revelation ranks Tether as the 11th largest holder of the asset.However, CryptoQuant’s analysis reveals discrepancies that deviate from Tether’s official report.Moreover, Tether’s Bitcoin accumulation journey further underscores the intricacies of on-chain data interpretation. The company’s previous Q4 report did not reflect any Bitcoin holdings. However, subsequent data indicated an acquisition of the asset.CryptoQuant further highlighted the potential presence of multiple Bitcoin wallets held by Tether, beyond what meets the eye.The challenges in defining Bitcoin whales come to the fore in CryptoQuant’s analysis.Conventionally, whales are defined as entities with holdings exceeding 1,000 BTC. The blind spot arises from misclassifying specific wallets as whales due to the absence of discerning individual characteristics. For instance, wallets on exchanges could be erroneously classified as whales when they are, in fact, internal storage mechanisms. This critical observation cautions against overgeneralization and underscores the importance of precise categorization.Between May and July, the movement of Bitcoins within different brackets — from 1,000 to 10,000 and above — was particularly pronounced. Additionally, a surge in exchange withdrawals was detected. Currently, Bitcoin is down by 0.8% in the past 24 hours and trading at around $29,500.BTC price – Aug. 10 | Source: Trading ViewHowever, the noteworthy point is that this movement is primarily attributed to wallets associated with the Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) app rather than representing widespread whale activity. Interestingly, the Bc1 wallet saw an influx of 118,300 BTC coins over three months.Meanwhile, Santiment data suggests an uptick in accumulation among BTC whales, with large transactions worth at least $1 million recently witnessing a spike.This article was originally published on Crypto.news More

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    Y00ts shifts from Polygon to Ethereum, returns $3m grant

    DeLabs’ profile picture (PFP) project y00ts has been through several transitions, having migrated from Solana (SOL) to Polygon in April before this new move to Ethereum (ETH). The date for the y00ts migration is yet to be disclosed but is expected to be announced “shortly.”This migration decision came after DeGods, another project developed by Los Angeles-based DeLabs, began its migration from Solana to Ethereum at the start of April.Rohun “Frank” Vora, the founder of DeLabs, explained that the shift makes the most sense for y00ts to be on the same chain as DeGods. He stated, “We tried our best to make it work, but we just need to bring our two communities together.”Polygon Labs had supported y00ts with a $3 million grant to facilitate team expansion and growth. However, as part of the migration, y00ts has decided to return the entire grant, with Polygon Labs redirecting $1 million of the funds to support “Polygon-native builders and creators.”In an expression of goodwill, the project leader of DeGods, Rohun Vora, also known as Frank, tweeted that there is “all love” between the parties and thanked Polygon Labs for being a “truly incredible partner for y00ts”.Polygon’s co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, also appeared supportive, expressing that Frank and his team played a vital role in expanding Polygon’s growing NFT ecosystem.Though Polygon will redeploy the funds for NFT ecosystem growth, the decision has received mixed reactions. While most of the community supported the move, some concerns have arisen about the potentially diminishing state of Polygon’s NFT ecosystem.According to NFT Price Floor data, the floor price of y00ts, representing the lowest listed NFT price, has remained static at 1.35 ETH in the last 24 hours. In contrast, the floor price of DeGods, another associated collection, has dropped by 10.5% to 7.9 ETH.This article was originally published on Crypto.news More

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    Biden administration launches AI cybersecurity challenge to ‘protect Americans’

    In spring 2024, a preliminary phase will select up to 20 high-performing teams to progress to the semifinals of DEF CON 2024, which is a major cybersecurity conference. Of these, a maximum of five teams will earn $2 million each and move on to the DEF CON 2025 finals. The top three teams will compete for extra prizes, including a $4 million award for the best safeguarding of vital software, according to the official press release from The White House.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More

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    BNB Chain hard fork to improve security and compatibility with EVM chains

    The Plato and Hertz upgrades are scheduled for Aug. 10 and Aug. 30, respectively, following extensive testing. The Plato upgrade, which has already taken place, introduces BEP-126. The latest evolution proposal implements a fast finality mechanism that is expected to rule out the ability for blocks to be reverted.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More

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    Blockchain giants pour investments into Bitcoin mining | Opinion

    Over the past 14 years the Bitcoin mining market has undergone rapid development which continues today as well. The crypto industry of 2023 is witnessing a new trend where market giants are investing heavily in mining and the technological initiatives around this sector.A recent example of this is Binance – in June one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges announced the launch of a subscription-based cloud mining service dedicated to mining Bitcoin. Tether, the largest stablecoin company, also revealed a mining project in Uruguay and a $1 billion investment in the Volcano Energy initiative. Even more interestingly, major Bitcoin miners Hut 8 Mining and U.S. Bitcoin Corp are set to merge to form one of the largest public miners in North America.What could be driving this prominent trend? Based on my experience and knowledge of the mining market, I am going to outline the potential reasons in this article.Bitcoin mining contributes to mass adoptionInitially mining was something that regular Bitcoin users could accomplish on their computers, but it didn’t take long for new methods of enhancing mining efficiency to come forward. In 2010 the crypto market saw graphics processing units (GPU) introduced, and the first set of ASIC devices followed in 2013. Both of these new technologies became widely popular as methods of optimizing and improving upon the mining process.The emergence of new technologies has resulted in bolstering this industry and making it more competitive. Bitcoin mining has come a long way from its early days, and today there are entire farms and data centers dedicated to mining operations. To my mind, this shift reflects the natural evolution of the industry and the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies as a mainstream investment asset.And as the market continued to grow, concerns regarding mining’s impact on the environment gained prominence. The energy-intensive nature of mining Bitcoin raised questions about its sustainability as a business venture, resulting in the need for innovations that would improve this situation.To address these concerns, various initiatives were undertaken. As we can see from the current news agenda, major blockchain players are putting a lot of focus on things like more energy-efficient mining equipment and renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. All of this is aimed at improving upon the mining process, making it more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.These efforts and advancements underscored the growing recognition within the crypto community of the need to balance the industry’s expansion with environmental responsibility. And they are also contributing to the rapidly growing popularity of the crypto-mining field, since lowering its environmental impact can attract environmentally conscious investors who are concerned about the carbon footprint of their investments.Lucrative rewards at stable rates Bitcoin mining can undeniably be a hard and expensive industry to enter. Not only do you want to find a good location with access to a lot of energy, but you will also require access to advanced hardware that comes with a hefty price tag. And that’s without bringing in the ongoing costs for maintenance and electricity that will also need to be taken into account when running a mining operation.As a consequence of all this, the financial barriers associated with Bitcoin mining can be quite daunting, deterring many potential participants who either lack the necessary resources or are simply unwilling to take on considerable financial risks.Yet for those who are willing to take these risks, Bitcoin mining can be a lucrative avenue to invest in due to its high return on investment (ROI). Recent estimations show that miners in 2023 are mining approximately $20 million worth of Bitcoin per day. This means that as long as you have access to efficient and continuously working mining equipment, it can be a great source of steady daily income.One of the ways for miners to earn their income is by receiving rewards for verifying transactions on the blockchain. As the popularity of Bitcoin increases, so does the number of transactions performed with it. And, in turn, the value of the rewards gained by miners grows as well.Not only that, but rewards are generated at regular intervals regardless of market conditions or fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price. This allows miners to have a degree of predictability in their income, making it easier to project returns and plan for future investments.All in all, so long as you take time to properly plan your investments and long-term mining activities, this industry can offer ample opportunities for generating profit. Not only that, but the technological advancements and increasing efficiency of mining equipment that I touched on earlier have made it possible for some individuals or groups to start small-scale operations at a relatively lower cost than before.Meaning for the industry in the long termGlobal Bitcoin mining hashrate is almost 400EHs, and large-scale miners account for a significant share of it. This indicates that Bitcoin mining is becoming a more attractive venture than many other industries from a financial point of view. The mining market is also likely to see overall growth going forward as the technological innovations continue.As a result, I believe more key players in the crypto space are likely to enter the mining industry as large-scale miners or offer mining-related services, as we have seen with the case of Binance.In the long run, the hash rate will also increase. Besides, the difficulty of mining could rise as the number of active miners grows, thus increasing the competition for Bitcoin rewards.As a personal observation, I believe this trend is a sign that the crypto-mining industry is maturing. Big players tend to be cautious of passing fads, but in this case crypto mining has already proven itself to not be one of those, so they are more willing to invest time and money into it.Looking back to where crypto mining started in 2009, we can acknowledge that seeing crypto giants develop interest is part of the natural evolution of the mining industry. This space also offers excellent investment opportunities to investors looking for a high ROI and steady income. Above all, as miners look for new ways to achieve efficiency in mining, we’re set to see more technological advancements that will drive the growth of the crypto mining industry in the coming years.Author: Didar BekbauovDidar Bekbauov is the founder and CEO of Bitcoin Group mining company, Xive. He is an entrepreneur with ten years of leadership experience and a Bitcoin miner. Bekbauov has a strong financial background, attaining a UK Master’s degree in Financial Management. He also acts as a mentor at the Founder Institute startup accelerator program in Houston, Texas.This article was originally published on Crypto.news More