Replies to post #14861 on Bitcoin (BTCUSD)

[trunkmonk]

Bitcoin block reward halving is “favorable”

The cryptocurrency community is afraid that Bitcoin mining will become unprofitable for most miners after the block reward will be cut in half in about little over two months. Dave Perrill, the CEO of colocation service for crypto miners, recently told Cointelegraph that the profitability of all but the most efficient mining operations will be greatly challenged after the halving takes place.

Still, the profitability of Atlas Holding’s mining operation is high enough to be safe after the block reward cut. Greenidge’s chief financial officer Tim Rainey said that he expects the operation will stay profitable after Bitcoin’s halving:

“We are in a favorable market position regardless of how the halving materializes. [...] Due to our unique position as a co-generation facility, we are able to make money in down markets so that we’re available to catch the upside of volatile price swings.”

His take, wait till the interest in the speculation of value ends, with the knowledge there is nothing backing it.

[Investors3]

Bitcoin Drop Due to 13K BTC PlusToken Scam, Not Coronavirus — Analysts
By William Suberg 5 HOURS AGO

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-drop-due-to-13k-btc-plustoken-scam-not-coronavirus-analysts

Bitcoin (BTC) began its sudden crash due to another giant sell-off from the PlusToken pyramid scheme, analysts are suggesting as BTC/USD lost $8,000 support.

According to various online commentators citing Blockchain data, participants in the $2.9 billion scheme are again attempting to rid themselves of their BTC.

Mixer moves likely mean selling

Ergo, the Twitter account that closely tracks PlusToken’s activities, put the total funds involved at around 13,000 BTC or roughly $210 million at the current market price.

This time, Ergo said, the coins were going to mixing services to hide their traceability. Two feeder addresses have been identified, shedding their balances on March 5.

“Been looking and theorizing about this for months and I can't see a scenario where the coins aren't being sold, at least to some degree,” the account summarized.

“This was likely obvious to the exchanges starting in September. The accounts would have been frozen then.”

The account added, however, that selloffs were now occurring at a “much slower rate” compared to a more intense period of activity in August last year.

“Slamming the market with sell orders”

Bitcoin price volatility appears to influence PlusToken’s activities. During the last mass fund movement several weeks ago, BTC/USD was similarly experiencing turbulence at around the $10,000 mark.

“They are slamming the market with sell orders. Essentially we have a giant whale unloading after every move up,” fellow Twitter analyst Kevin Svenson added in comments of his own on Sunday.

24-hour losses for Bitcoin investors totaled 9.5% at press time, while weekly, HODLers were down around 8.2%.

[Investors3]

Hut 8: The Struggles of One of Canada’s Largest Miners
Matt Yamamoto

https://www.coindesk.com/hut-8-the-struggles-of-one-of-canadas-largest-miners

For an industry whose foundation was built on transparency, there is a still lot about the cryptocurrency space that remains opaque. Companies are hesitant to disclose revealing information unless required to do so. Thankfully, the filings of publicly listed companies provide an excellent, yet underutilized, resource for understanding crucial details that would otherwise be unknown to the community.

CoinDesk Research presents an in-depth look into one of the largest publicly listed mining companies, Hut 8. The halving will serve as a pivotal moment for the industry as a reduction in the block reward subsidy puts several miners’ operations in jeopardy. In this report, we get a more intimate look into the space as we delve into Hut 8’s financials and identify key risks & concerns.

Some takeaways:

* As the network hashrate continues to grow, Hut 8’s revenue and margins have decreased considerably over the past couple quarters. With the halving reducing the block subsidies to miners, Hut 8’s existing mining rigs are likely to become unprofitable unless bitcoin prices receive a notable boost.


* Management is interested in upgrading to more efficient ASIC miners. This will likely require additional funding which will be difficult under the current macro environment coupled with the departure of its CEO who was pivotal in the company’s previous funding rounds.


* Given Hut 8’s large amounts of fixed interest rate debt collateralized by its bitcoin inventory, the company is essentially making a levered bet on bitcoin prices going higher. Any price fluctuations will have a serious impact on both revenue and the value of its assets.


* A peculiar accounting change that involved previously recognized impairments on equipment drastically altered the financial results. Adding more reason for concern, one of the Board’s Audit committee members resigned from her position the same day that the 2019 audited financial statements were released.


For more detail and further insights into one of the sector’s largest publicly listed companies, download our free report.