Coindesk

After months of rapid expansion, Bitcoin’s hashrate growth slowed down in January, according to the latest report from TheMinerMag. The network’s difficulty saw its first decline since September, indicating that even though publicly listed companies have kept increasing their hash power, their growth isn't enough to compensate for the capitulation of other, probably smaller operators.The total revenue made from bitcoin (BTC) mining remained stable at $1.4 billion for the month. Publicly traded mining companies, which collectively hold 99,000 bitcoin (worth roughly $9.7 billion), accounted for about 30% of the hashrate market share in January.Competition between the biggest publicly traded companies has also increased.The leading mining firm, Marathon Digital (MARA), retained its top spot with a realized hashrate of 41.65 EH/s,...

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed his disappointment with some ETH community members and thought it was “bad” that the ecosystem was too welcoming for “casinos.”During an ask-me-anything (AMA) on Tako, Buterin responded to a question about whether he had felt disappointed at the Ethereum Foundation, the crypto industry or the community. He answered “of course,” especially when others question why Ethereum has not been more open to applications with blockchain gambling, seemingly taking a jab at its competitor, Solana, and how their ecosystem has embraced a lot of memecoin activity over the past year.Buterin’s comment comes as the Ethereum community has faced backlash from members raising the alarm that the chain will lose its competitive advantage to rivals if it...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unit tasked with chasing bad guys in the crypto space will be smaller and called something significantly different, the agency said Thursday, further cementing its trend away from an aggressive enforcement stance against the industry.In three years, the same internal group has transitioned from the "Cyber Unit" to the "Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit" and now to the "Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit," seemingly taking some focus off its crypto role. In 2022, then-Chairman Gary Gensler's SEC announced the enforcement squad was almost doubling to 50 people. The latest announcement says it will include "approximately 30 fraud specialists and attorneys across multiple SEC offices.""The unit will not only protect investors but will also facilitate...

Already losing its legal fight with the crypto industry over a rule that would have expanded the definition of regulated securities dealers to include a wide array of digital assets operations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given up its appeal.The SEC has been in reset mode on its courtroom entanglements with crypto issues as the leadership elevated by President Donald Trump has been reversing years of the agency's adversarial stance. The latest move was to formally drop the appeal in a case in which the Blockchain Association and Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas sued the SEC and a Texas federal judge agreed that the regulator "exceeded its statutory authority.""With new leadership at the agency leading to today’s final...

Bitcoin financial services firm Onramp has partnered with lending platform Arch to introduce a bitcoin-backed lending service, the companies announced. The new product allows BTC holders to secure loans while keeping ownership of their assets, a move aimed at investors looking to access liquidity without selling their bitcoin (BTC).The service provides bitcoin-collateralized loans, allowing borrowers to use their holdings as security while receiving cash or stablecoins in return. By using bitcoin as collateral rather than selling it outright, borrowers can avoid capital gains taxes and maintain exposure to the asset’s potential price appreciation, according to the press release.Lending partner Arch specializes in asset-backed loans and will handle the underwriting and loan distribution. Onramp, which focuses on bitcoin financial solutions, will...