Bitcoin Mining Accounts for 0.9% of Global Carbon Emissions in 2030

 On September 22, the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) published a research paper entitled "Bitcoin Net Worth" this month.

Research shows that “even in our most radical and highest-priced situation, that is, by 2030, when Bitcoin reaches 10 trillion U.S. dollars, its emissions will only account for 0.9% of the world’s total, and its energy expenditure will only account for the world’s total. 0.4%."

It is reported that this study was written by Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter and NYDIG founder Ross Stevens, and discussed how the network's carbon emissions will change in the future. The influencing factors include the price of Bitcoin, the difficulty of mining, and energy consumption. fluctuation. 

Bitcoin Becomes Legal Tender, the Central American Country in Chaos

A few days ago, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador announced the latest achievements of the "Bitcoin Experiment" on Twitter: 1.1 million Salvadorans are using Chivo e-wallets!

If you remember, Bitcoin is now legal tender in this small, poor and turbulent Central American country with a population of only 6.5 million.

From the high-risk hype "virtual gold" to the spread of payments across the country, things have not been smooth sailing. In the past two weeks, El Salvador has been in a frenzy due to the collapse of the official app, with a frantic influx of one-star negative reviews; the people are confused and distrustful, and opposition crowds took to the streets to protest, and even violently smashed and burnt Bitcoin ATMs.

Bitcoin made headlines in local newspapers in El Salvador on Sept. 7.

There are reports describing the Bitcoin experiment in El Salvador as "a farce"!
Compared with the rise and fall of Bitcoin, what is even more maddening is:
On September 7, Bitcoin officially became the legal tender of El Salvador along with the U.S. dollar. In order to encourage use, the Salvadoran government launched an e-wallet App "Chivo", and distributed $30 worth of bitcoin to each user (can only be used but not withdrawn).

China's Virtual currency regulation further intensified

 China prohibits overseas exchanges to provide Virtual currency services to domestic residents.

Four months after the voices of the three major associations, the virtual currency market has again undergone tremendous changes, and the central bank once again "proclaimed" the risks of virtual currency speculation.

On September 24, the Central Bank and other ten departments issued the "Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Hype" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), clarifying the essential attributes of virtual currencies and related business activities, and establishing a sound response to the risks of virtual currency trading hype To strengthen the monitoring and early warning of the risk of virtual currency trading speculation, and build a multi-dimensional and multi-level risk prevention and disposal system.

The relevant person in charge of the People's Bank of China said in response to reporters that the "Notice" once again emphasized the virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc., that have the characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology, distributed accounts or similar technologies, and existing in digital form. The so-called stablecoins, including TEDA coins, do not have the same legal status as legal tender, and cannot be circulated in the market as currency. The "Notice" clearly stated that virtual currency exchange, virtual currency trading as a central counterparty, provision of matching services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and virtual currency derivative transactions are all illegal financial activities and are strictly prohibited. , Resolutely banned in accordance with the law; overseas virtual currency exchanges to provide services to Chinese residents through the Internet are also illegal financial activities.

As of press time, the price of virtual currency has plummeted again. Within 24 hours, Bitcoin fell 4.24% and Ethereum fell 8.29%.

NDRC Lists CryptoCurrency "Mining" as Industry to Eliminate

Virtual currency "mining" activities refer to the process of calculating and producing virtual currency through special "mining machines". On September 24, the official website of the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Departments on Regulating Virtual Currency "Mining" Activities." 

CryptoCurrency Mining: More Negative than Possitive

The energy consumption and carbon emissions by cryptocurrency mining are large, while the contribution to the national economy is very low. And the driving effect on industrial development and technological progress is limited. In addition, the risks derived from virtual currency production and trading are becoming more prominent, and its blind and disorderly. Development of cryptocurrency mining will have an adverse impact on the promotion of high-quality economic and social development and energy conservation and emission reduction. Remediation of crypto currency "mining" activities is of great significance to promote the optimization of my country's industrial structure, promote energy conservation and emission reduction, and achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality on schedule.

Strengthen the dual control of energy consumption in the newly-added virtual currency "mining" project. Incorporate the prohibition of new virtual currency "mining" projects into the energy consumption dual control assessment system, strictly implement the energy management and control responsibilities of local governments, and conduct energy dual control assessments in areas where new virtual currency "mining" projects are discovered and verified Calculate energy consumption by doubling the energy consumption of new projects.

Chinese Central Bank Defines Cryptocurrency Business as Illegal

 Recently, ten China's governmental departments including the People's Bank of China issued the "Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of the Risks of Hype in Virtual Currency Transactions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). The relevant person in charge of the People's Bank of China answered reporters' questions on related issues.

1. What is the context of the "Notice"?

In recent years, Bitcoin and other virtual currency trading hype activities have become widespread, disrupting economic and financial order, breeding money laundering, illegal fund-raising, fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities, seriously endangering the safety of people's property. In accordance with the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the People’s Bank of China, in conjunction with relevant departments, has issued a series of policies and measures to clarify that virtual currencies do not have legal tender status, prohibit financial institutions from developing and participating in virtual currency-related businesses, and clean up and ban domestic virtual currency transactions and token issuance financing The platform continued to carry out risk warning and financial consumer education, and achieved positive results. In order to establish a normalized work mechanism and always maintain a high-pressure crackdown on virtual currency trading activities, the People's Bank of China and other departments have combined the new risk situation and drafted the "Notice" based on the previous work experience.

2. How does the "Notice" characterize virtual currencies and related business activities?

Challenge of cryptocurrency: a currency war is coming?

With the digitization of currency, come both dangers and opportunities.

Cryptocurrencies are challenging the U.S. dollar's long-standing dominance of world finance.

The war on currencies is intensifying: for the first time in a century, the dominance of the dollar has been challenged. The rise of cryptocurrencies and "stable currencies" has prompted people to rethink what currency is, who is the regulator of currency, and what it means when currency is not controlled by a national government. The U.S. dollar itself may need to be completely reformed and transformed into a digital currency that can move instantaneously to rival Bitcoin or any other token.

Affected by the rise of cryptocurrency, the old front of the national currency is being redrawn. These privately issued currencies are dividing the monetary system, banks, and payments. This scene reminds people of the "Wildcat" currency period in the mid-nineteenth century, when many banks issued their own currencies, prompting the Federal Reserve to issue national currencies. If there is no "no doubt" currency, the efficiency of business operations will become lower. If there is competition among multiple currencies in economic activities, the government runs the risk of losing control of fiscal and monetary policies.

What kind of storm will the new currency set off? Nobody knows. On the blockchain network, there are many cases of cryptocurrency and applications. But this technology is so disruptive that it is spurring a wave of new regulatory measures. Governments all over the world have an incentive to consider digitizing currencies, at least to maintain competitiveness and maintain their control over economic interests. The Fed itself will also release related reports in the near future.

Innovations Required to deal With Virtual Currency Challenge

On September 24, Wen Xinxiang, an official from China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBC), delivered a speech at the 10th China Payment and Settlement Forum. Wen said at the meeting that the challenge of virtual currency is huge. The traditional financial system is facing the "reinvented" virtual currency and its related "dark web" world. At present, it mainly focuses on the link between "virtual currency" and the traditional financial system, and adopts measures such as "Payment Break" to monitor and intervene. To prevent, punish and punish also requires legal basis and innovative application of technological means.

Virtual Currency Challenge

Wen pointed out that in recent years, the rapid development of virtual currencies represented by Bitcoin has attracted widespread attention from regulatory agencies in various countries. As of now, the total market value of Bitcoin has reached approximately US$800 billion, and the overall market value of stable coins has exceeded US$120 billion. Generally speaking, virtual currencies can be roughly divided into two types. One is represented by Bitcoin, and the attributes of virtual assets are more prominent, which to a certain extent become a "reservoir" of excess liquidity; the other is based on TEDA coins. The stable currency represented is more of a payment tool. From the perspective of infrastructure, the blockchain is equivalent to a virtual currency payment system and a virtual currency transaction database; a virtual currency exchange is equivalent to a central counterparty, which partially assumes the functions of a market maker.

Chinese Central Bank's Actions Against Cryptocurrency: Will Mining Machines Sales Be Affected?

On September 24, the People's Bank of China issued a notice to further prevent and deal with the risks of virtual currency transaction speculation, and stated that it strictly prohibits illegal financial activities related to virtual currency. This means that "mining" in China is becoming increasingly impossible.

The Notice pointed out that virtual currencies have no legal standing in the country and cannot be used as currency in the market. In addition, the state strictly prohibits and cracks down on financial activities such as the exchange business of legal currency and virtual currency, the exchange business between virtual currencies, the buying and selling of virtual currencies, the provision of information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, and illegal fund-raising.

The matter of "mining" is an illegal activity in China, and it must be held accountable in accordance with the law. However, although "mining" activities are not as active and obvious in China as abroad, many technology companies still smell the business opportunities, and produce and sell various "mining" mining machines and other equipment. With physical stores in some areas, it can be said that the mining wave has brought considerable economic benefits to these technology companies.

When it comes to mining boom, the graphics card is definitely the biggest influence on netizens. As the main hardware part of "mining", the graphics card is naturally the favorite of many "miners". Due to the mining boom and the global shortage of cores, the price of graphics cards can be said to advance all the way. Not only has the price not dropped, what's even worse, it's hard to get a single card even at such rocketed prices.

Fate of Virtual Currencies Under Strict Regulatory Measures

 September 24, 2021 is another unforgettable day, at least for virtual currency stakeholders!

Just as the whole of China was immersed in the beautiful anticipation of the upcoming National Day holiday, a heavy blow from the governmental sectors made these uninteresting. Everyone must have seen the content. The first is that ten departments including the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on the rectification of virtual currency mining activities, requiring all regions, departments and related companies to attach great importance to the rectification. Prevent and dispose of the risk of speculation in virtual currency transactions.

After the announcement was issued at 17:01 on the 24th, the currency circle was in an uproar, the market plummeted, almost all currencies plunged, and market sentiment was panicked. If these two explosive news are strictly enforced, users will basically be prohibited from participating in virtual currency transactions in the future. Later, we will see the intensity of the policy tightening. It is estimated that the currency circle will not be very good in the next short period of time. At this point, everyone must be psychologically prepared.

We might as well pay close attention to the impacts of this incident over the coming weekend. Although the previous precedents are all gone without severe aftermaths, this time I personally don't expect it to end hastily, and there should be follow-ups. This heavy blow has already caused market panic yesterday. Most retail investors have begun to sell their chips to realize cash, and the number of people who have realized cash and flees has continued to increase.

China: Virtual currency does not have equal legal status as official currencies

Today (Sept. 24th), the People's Bank of China issued a notice to further prevent and deal with the risks of speculation in virtual currency transactions. The notice pointed out that virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, and TEDA have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed accounts or similar technologies, and exist in digital form. They are not legal and should not and cannot be used as currency in the market. Use on circulation.

Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities. Carrying out legal currency and virtual currency exchange business, exchange business between virtual currencies, buying and selling virtual currencies as a central counterparty, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, virtual currency derivatives transactions and other virtual currency related Business activities suspected of illegal sale of tokens and tickets, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of futures business, illegal fund-raising and other illegal financial activities are strictly prohibited and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Those who carry out related illegal financial activities constitute a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

Why Bitcoin bears want to lock the price below $46,000

This week's price trend shows that the Bitcoin bulls are a bit too enthusiastic about the expiration of the $3 billion Bitcoin option last Friday. The combined effect of various bearish factors this week was enough to bring the price of Bitcoin to its lowest level in 46 days, which almost erased the $2 billion September call (buy) option that expired on September 24. %.

There is still room for some surprises, especially considering that the deadline is 8:00 UTC September 24. However, the motivation for shorts does not seem to be great, because the test of less than $40,000 on September 21 resulted in the liquidation of less than $250 million in futures contracts.

On September 22, Evergrande Group confirmed that it would pay interest on onshore bonds, which eased some concerns about default. Despite this, investors still expect the company to miss the dollar-denominated bonds held mainly by international investors.

The recent volatility above the 48,000 USD on September 18th and 19th was not enough to break the resistance of the 20-day moving average. Considering that concerns about the spread of China's debt crisis have passed its peak, bullish people still hold the hope of "returning to the mean". In addition, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler did not take any short-term actions in an interview with the Washington Post on the 22nd.

Twitter Rolls Out Tipping Feature and Supports Bitcoin Payment!

 On September 23, local time, Twitter announced that it would allow users to use Bitcoin to tip their favorite content creators, that is, to reward contents.

This new feature, named Tips, will be rolled out to all Apple iOS phone users around the world this week, and will be available to Android users in the next few weeks. Previously, this feature has been tested in a small area for several months.

Twitter Accepts BitCoin to Tip Content Creators

According to reports, the launch of this feature is Twitter's latest move in fierce competition with rival platforms such as Facebook and Alphabet's YouTube. These platforms are competing for content creators that are popular with users, hoping to expand the user base and attract more advertisers.

In addition, the social media giant is constantly improving its website to help users get a safer experience. For example, Twitter is studying how to allow users to block specific words and sentences that they don't want to see in tweet replies. This move is essential to eradicate insults and abuse.

Rolls out tipping feature and supports Bitcoin payment among other efforts to pander to users! Do these measures help? Time will answer everything...

Will Bitcoin settlement by Large NY Home Developer Benefit Virtual Currencies?

 After El Salvador became the first country to use Bitcoin as its domestic legal currency, New York City began to adopt Bitcoin. A large real estate company in New York announced that it would sell real estate in some areas to purchase Bitcoin, and provide financial support for mainland China and Hong Kong. Buyers from all over the world have opened this transaction!

Not the real estate company alone, but the famous car company Tesla also supports the use of Bitcoin for settlement. Why do so many industry giants favor Bitcoin so much? Where is the value of this "semi-financial product" that is extremely volatile and has no government credit endorsement?

Bitcoin's ups and downs

It is no secret that Bitcoin halved in four years. It is almost a well-known thing in the industry. Every halving of Bitcoin will usher in a wave of price increases. Today, Bitcoin has experienced three halvings. , The price has risen all the way from twelve U.S. dollars, reaching as high as fifty thousand U.S. dollars at its peak.

Some people may not understand the concept of fifty thousand dollars. One bitcoin can buy a house in third- and fourth-tier cities. If you are lucky enough to buy dozens of bitcoins ten years ago, congratulations, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, you can choose whatever you want. A city settles down, but our country does not support Bitcoin settlement, and the country is actively cracking down on the hype of virtual currency.

Maybe they are preparing for the fourth cutting-half?

We all know that stocks need to be bought low and sold high to make money. There are many leeks in the stock market. Some people are stuck, some people can't hold back and are cut off, and only a small number of people make money. The same is true of Bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin is already very high. Why do these industry giants have the idea of Bitcoin?

There is only one truth, and that is the relatively low price of Bitcoin today. Their business sense tells them that after the fourth halving of Bitcoin is over, Bitcoin will usher in a new price, which is worth their toss about now.

Or, they are simply trying to resist inflation, after all, the printing press in the United States has never rested.

JPMorgan Chase: Institutional investors are dumping Bitcoin and turning to Ethereum!

 On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase wrote in a report that as market expectations for Bitcoin's rise weakened, institutional investors were avoiding Bitcoin futures trading and turning to buying Ethereum futures.

Analysts pointed out that the CME Group Bitcoin futures trading price in September was lower than the Bitcoin spot trading price. "This phenomenon reflects the weak demand for Bitcoin from institutional investors."

Under normal circumstances, the price of Bitcoin futures is usually higher than its spot price.

Since August, institutional investors have turned to buying Ethereum. JPMorgan Chase quoted CME data to show that the 21-day Ethereum futures premium was 1% higher than that of the Ethereum spot during the same period, reflecting the strong divergence in demand for this cryptocurrency.

 "This shows that institutional investors have more demand for Ethereum than Bitcoin." The analyst wrote in the report.

 Last month, the price of Ethereum fell by 3%, while the price of Bitcoin fell by 10%.

Virtual currencies plummeted across the board, with more than 258,000 liquidated positions

The butterfly effect appears? Virtual currencies plummeted across the board, with more than 258,000 liquidating positions.

In March 2021, on the Hupu Forum, there was a ridiculous post that tens of thousands of people followed: "Bitcoin or Evergrande, whose bubble is bigger?"

At that time, people might not have expected the debt crisis of Evergrande, China's first real estate company, to come so quickly. The excessively rapid and disorderly expansion combined with excessive financialization has made Evergrande now shaky.

After 6 months, Evergrande and Bitcoin once again have a delicate relationship. The butterfly effect induced by the Evergrande debt crisis seems to have become an important incentive for the sharp drop in Bitcoin. On the evening of September 20th, Beijing time, Bitcoin suddenly dropped by nearly 10%, falling below 43,000 U.S. dollars, and the short-term decline reached 4,000 U.S. dollars. Other cryptocurrencies also fell by more than 10%. The prices of mainstream cryptocurrencies reached their lowest level in a week. , As of the posting, Bitcoin is quoted at $43,961.91.

How Come Fake News Trigger a $216 Million Liquidation in Bitcoin?

The trust-based Cryptocurrencies are now plagued by fraud and lies. It is not new that a celebrity can lead the rise and fall with a single word, and even an unverified event can drive a huge market volatility. Litecoin (LTC) has experienced this recently.

On September 13, U.S. Eastern time, a news from GlobeNewsire, a press release distributor under Intrado under Apollo Global Management, that "Walmart Announces Support for Online Payments with Litecoin" was forwarded by Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC and other media and detonated the cryptocurrency market. Litecoin rose more than 37% to US$236. Affected by it, Bitcoin once fell below US$44,000.

Of course there is a reversal. After a few minutes, the official social media account of the Litecoin Foundation, which reposted this news, quickly deleted the tweet. GlobeNewsire issued a statement stating that reporters and other readers would ignore the press release, and Walmart also came forward to clarify its relationship. Litecoin has nothing to do with it. Within 30 minutes of "refuting the rumors," Litecoin gave up more than 30% of its gains and fell below $180.

Litecoin 24-hour Price Trend. Data source: Coindesk

This is not just an oolong moment exclusive to Litecoin. Fake news and fraud have been disrupting the cryptocurrency market. According to US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) survey data, nearly 26,500 crypto fraud cases were reported in the country in 2020, with a total loss of 419 million U.S. dollars, and this year's loss will exceed this value. Under such an ecological environment, comprehensive supervision may only be a matter of time. On September 14, local time, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensle, stated in the hearing that he is cooperating with other institutions such as the Federal Reserve to clarify the regulation of the encryption field to protect investors.

The Litecoin moment

The news distribution platform GlobeNewswire is the fuse for Litecoin's oolong wave. On September 13, local time, GlobeNewswire issued a press release stating that Walmart, the world's largest retailer, has reached a partnership with Litecoin and will include Litecoin as its payment method from October.

Bitcoin became legal tender, but the price dropped by more than 18%

Bitcoin obtained the same status as the U.S. dollar. This country chose to list it as legal tender, but the price plummeted by 18% in a single day, evaporating 27.8 billion yuan in one day. Why did Bitcoin fluctuate so much?

Bitcoin becomes legal tender

Speaking of Bitcoin, this is a virtual currency theory proposed by a Japanese-American Satoshi Nakamoto. It was officially born on January 3, 2009. It is different from ordinary currencies. This type of currency is a transaction that is realized through peer-to-peer data transmission and is safe. The sex is guaranteed by the encryption design. It is such an obscure-sounding virtual currency that has now become a legal tender that keeps pace with the US dollar.

On September 6, the price of Bitcoin rose to 52,000 U.S. dollars, and on the next day, the Central American country El Salvador proposed a new decision, which clearly stated that Bitcoin will be used as domestic legal tender and allowed to engage in market circulation. Trade and open a bitcoin account to get a $30 bitcoin reward.

In fact, as early as June of this year, El Salvador has already proposed and passed this decision, and it is expected to be formally implemented in September. El Salvador officially expressed the hope that the legalization of Bitcoin can achieve investment in domestic businesses, and it is also for the convenience of overseas Chinese. Transfer of foreign exchange.

As of September 8th, El Salvador had purchased 550 Bitcoins. Based on the Bitcoin price at the time, El Salvador had spent 26 million U.S. dollars in one go. Not only that, El Salvador has also set up a 140 million U.S. dollar fund to help users convert U.S. dollars into Bitcoin for use.

After El Salvador officially announced the news, the price of Bitcoin continued to rise. Until September 8, the transaction price of Bitcoin exceeded $52,600.

BitCoin Prices plummeted by 18%

At present, El Salvador has become the only country in the world to do so. At first, the decision was strongly opposed by its nationals. Since June this year, its nationals have continued to take to the streets to protest.

According to an information survey conducted by the University of Central America, nearly 70% of respondents indicated that they refused to change Bitcoin to legal tender.

Most of them think that they don’t know how to use Bitcoin, and doing so will only disrupt the economic order of the country. Of course, there are also people who approve of the bill in the country. They believe that the acceptance of Bitcoin is on the rise. By then, other countries will Will also participate in it, and El Salvador will also benefit from the advance layout.

As El Salvador’s move drew debates between support and opposition, the price of Bitcoin has also seen a continuous rise in a short period of time. The combination of a variety of unstable factors has caused the transaction price of Bitcoin to start to fall, just at 9 On the 7th of July, the transaction price of Bitcoin shrank by 18% in one day, and the single transaction value fell to $43,000.

US$4 billion evaporated a day

At present, investors' enthusiasm for Bitcoin is very high, and most countries are cautious about the virtual currency. Few countries like El Salvador have tried it first.

For El Salvador, increasing bitcoin holdings is mainly for self-interest. According to foreign media reports, El Salvador has a total population of 7 million, of which 25% of the residents go overseas, mainly in developed countries such as the United States.

After earning income, these overseas workers send the money back home for family use by mail, which brings a huge amount of foreign exchange income to El Salvador. As of 2020, El Salvador’s central bank information stated that the total foreign exchange of domestic overseas nationals Has reached 5.9 billion US dollars.

And this will also incur some additional costs, such as a 10% cross-border remittance fee. However, if you use Bitcoin to transfer money, such a fee does not exist. Therefore, El Salvador’s biggest idea with Bitcoin is to save foreign exchange expenses.

As early as August 23 this year, El Salvador officials stated that the country is installing Bitcoin self-service ATMs throughout the country, with a total of 200 self-service ATMs installed in 50 domestic financial centers.

However, this approach has not been widely recognized internationally. Not long ago, the International Monetary Fund stated that Bitcoin is indeed safe and can avoid high circulation costs, but the potential risks far outweigh the benefits.

The IMF stated that in order to avoid affecting domestic economic development and international economic order, it will try to reduce its currency dependence on Bitcoin as much as possible.

But now Bitcoin has already had problems. On September 7, a total of 400,000 Bitcoins in the world were sold out, and losses amounted to more than US$4 billion.