Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Accumulating Jack Dorsey’s Block Shares With Big $14,400,000 Purchase in One Day

March 15, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Jack Dorsey’s Block asks for input on proposed ‘mining development kit’

March 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

block

Block’s mining hardware product lead, Naoise Irwin, has asked for pointers on a proposed hardware and software development kit for Bitcoin mining.

Payments company Block, formerly known as Square, is delving deeper into the crypto mining industry with potential plans to build a “mining development kit.”

A Mar. 7 blog post revealed that the Jack Dorsey-founded multinational technology firm was mulling its latest vision for advancing its Bitcoin (BTC) mining ambitions. Senior product lead for mining hardware, Naoise Irwin, asked for feedback on the concept via email.

The mining development kit (MDK), if it goes ahead, will provide a “suite of tools” to developers with the aim of increasing the “accessibility and openness” of Bitcoin mining.

Block noted the kit would deliver several components including an “industrial-grade Bitcoin mining “hashboard” designed to be compatible with the firm’s custom-built control board and third-party controllers such as Raspberry Pi.

Additionally, there will be a custom-designed controller board designed to work with the “hashboard”.

The firm asked what features users want to see on the proposed hardware such as power requirements, required connections, and how much it should cost.

We are looking at launching a mining development kit (MDK) to help unlock innovation in #bitcoin mining. We’d love your help and welcome you to collaborate and engage with us! Please provide feedback here, or at mining@blocks.xyz. More details here: https://t.co/I6DuyZZ9A2
— Naoise Irwin (@naoise) March 7, 2023

There will also be open-source firmware, a software API and a web front-end, “allowing developers to modify the key performance parameters of the hashboard,” it stated.

Block asked for additional feedback on the software, reference material, and support documentation.

“The intention behind the MDK is to provide developers with a suite of tools to help unlock creativity and innovation in Bitcoin mining hardware.”

The plan replicates the Bitcoin Developer Kit and Lightning Developer Kit projects developed by Block subsidy Spiral.

In October 2021, Dorsey announced plans for an open-source Bitcoin mining system for businesses and individuals. Those plans were confirmed in January 2022 and development commenced.

Irwin stated that since then, “we have been heads down building a team to explore our mining hardware strategy, and have kicked off the long process of developing our own Bitcoin mining semiconductor chips (ASICs),”

He ended the blog post by stating further updates on the mining hardware program will be coming in the following weeks and months.

Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin Venture TBD Rolls Out New BTC Lightning Network Infrastructure Project

March 3, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Xapo Bank Integrates Lightning Network Payments Through Lightspark Partnership

March 2, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Block remains on the hunt for wallet partners nearly two years later

March 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

block

The firm plans to partner with companies that are already experienced in local fiat payment processing.

On Mar. 1, nearly two years after Jack Dorsey's technology conglomerate Block (known as Square at the time) announced plans to build a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet, the company revealed that more work still needs to be done regarding its plans and that Block is actively seeking partners "to make this a reality." As told by Block, partnerships are required to move assets between fiat and Bitcoin financial systems and provide users with the access and information they need to buy, sell, and store bitcoin securely and easily.

The company stated it is prioritizing a quality over quantity approach to select on/off-ramp partners. Technical, product, and UI expertise aside, Block says that potential collaborators would also need to demonstrate price transparency, depth in local payment method coverage, and competency in onboarding and withdrawal processes in order to satisfy its standards.

In addition to on/off-ramp partners, Block is planning to build other types of partnerships, such as retail and distribution partners and payment partnerships, which the firm hopes will increase Bitcoin's use cases and relevance as a payment method.

"We are already starting to put this criteria to work as we explore and build with potential partners today. Our goal is to have a few early partners integrated with us later this year as we bring our product to market and we expect those partnerships to grow in the months and years after that."

American tech entrepreneur and billionaire Jack Dorsey has become an outspoken supporter of blockchain technology in recent years. On Dec. 1, 2021, Cointelegraph reported that Square changed its name to Block as Dorsey stated the company would shift its focus to cryptocurrencies. On Nov. 19, 2021, Dorsey released a whitepaper outlining a decentralized Bitcoin exchange. However, there has been an apparent lack of activity after the initial announcement.

Block's Bitcoin wallet currently in development | Source: Block

Crypto stocks surge: Coinbase up 69%, MicroStrategy up 74% since lows

January 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitfarms

Crypto-related stocks, ETFs and tokens have all surged in price so far in 2023 despite experts expecting the Federal Reserve to continue hiking interest rates.

The share price of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has surged by 69% since its all time lows and other crypto-related stocks including business intelligence firm MicroStrategy have recorded similar jumps with green candles all around since the start of 2023.

The share price of Coinbase fell as low as $31.95 on Jan. 6, before shooting up to $54.14 by the close of trading on Jan. 17.

*Coinbase’s share price for the last month. Source: Yahoo Finance*

The rising share price will likely be accompanied by a huge sigh of relief for Coinbase executives after a challenging 2022 saw it cut 20% of its workforce and decide to wind down its Japanese operations. Despite the surge, COIN remains more than 84% below its all time high.

Other crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy and digital payments company Block Inc. have also posted strong gains in the new year.

MicroStrategy's share price has increased to nearly $236 from a low of just over $135 on Dec. 29 — representing an increase of over 74% — while Jack Dorsey’s Block has seen its share price increase by a muted but still respectable 27%, after rebounding from a low of under $59 on Dec. 28 to over $75.

The rebound has been even more dramatic for crypto mining stocks. Bitfarms and Marathon Digital Holdings recorded surges of 140% and 120% respectively throughout the first two weeks of the year.

Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also rebounded to a lesser degree with Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) more than doubling its price from a low of just over $4 on Dec. 28 to over $8.

The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) jumped from over $10 on Dec. 28 to a current price of around $13 — increasing by just under a third.

Even Grayscale Bitcoin Trust has managed to regain some of its 2022 losses, after increasing from a low of $7.76 on Dec. 28 to a current price of $11.72, a 51% increase.

While the trust is designed to mirror the price of Bitcoin (BTC) it often trades at a discount or premium to the value of its underlying holdings and is now sitting at a discount of just over 36% after having traded at over a 45% discount on Dec. 28.

Some pundits believe Bitcoin in particular has skyrocketed on the back of the positive inflation figures from the United States released on Jan. 12 — having increased in price by over 17% since then — but it is interesting to note that Dec. 28 seemed to represent a market bottom across many cryptocurrencies and stocks.

Total #crypto market cap is back over 1 trillion dollars!!! pic.twitter.com/wS4N9qjA4G
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) January 17, 2023

While the recent surge in crypto-related stocks is bound to be a huge relief to those who have invested in them, it is worth noting that many of these companies have a long way to go to return to thier all-time highs, as highlighted by a Jan. 10 tweet from financial advisor Genevieve Roch-Decter.

Crypto stocks over the last year:

Voyager -99.7%
Silvergate -90.8%
Marathon Digital -83.1%
Coinbase -82.3%
HIVE Blockchain -81.3%
MicroStrategy -63.9%
— Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) January 10, 2023

Bitcoin Network’s Mining Difficulty Rises to All-Time High, Making Block Discovery More Challenging

January 16, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Polygon Announces Upcoming Hard Fork to Address Gas Spikes and Chain Reorganizations

January 14, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Nepal regulator orders ISPs to block crypto websites or face the law

January 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Ban

Nepalese internet and email providers were put on notice by the country’s telco regulator to block crypto-related websites or face legal action.

Nepal’s telecommunications regulator has ordered the country's internet service providers (ISPs) to block all cryptocurrency trading websites, threatening legal action against those that fail to comply.

In a Jan. 8 notice, the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) ordered ISPs and email service providers to prevent access to “websites, apps or online networks” related to crypto.

It stated that virtual currency transactions “are increasing in recent days [translated]” and reiterated that crypto transactions in the country are illegal.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country’s central bank, declared crypto trading and mining illegal in a Sept. 2021 notice. “Encouraging” others to use crypto is also an activity punishable by law.

In Apr. 2022, the NTA issued a similar caution notice regarding crypto websites asking the public to notify the regulator if they have information “related to the name of such website, app or online network.”

In the April notice, it also threatened legal action if “anyone is found to have done or been doing” crypto-related activities, but did not call for a block on access to crypto services at the time.

However, despite crypto being outlawed in the country, a Sep. 2022 report by blockchain data firm Chainalysis revealed emerging markets, inclusive of Nepal, are at the forefront of global crypto adoption.

Nepal’s crypto adoption placed it in the global top 20, ranked 16th overall above the United Kingdom.

Nepal is included on a list of just nine countries that have outright banned cryptocurrencies, according to data from the Law Library of Congress in a Nov. 2021 report.

Other countries include China, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Qatar and Tunisia.

Bitcoin Hashrate Reaches All-Time High, Boost Could Lead to Record-Setting Difficulty Increase

January 7, 2023 Bitcoin.com

block

Share this video