Le ministère de l’énergie ukrainien envisage d’exploiter l’excès d’énergie produit par ses centrales en minant de la crypto-monnaie. L’Etat estime qu’un tel usage du digital pourrait constituer une source de création de richesse.

Un très grand nombre de pays dans le monde sont actuellement en confinement en raison de l’épidémie de Covid-19. Cette situation entraine une chute de la consommation d’énergie. Entre le 23 mars et le 19 avril, elle a ainsi plongé de 16% en France.

En Ukraine également, le confinement se traduit par une baisse de la consommation. Et cela débouche sur des excédents d’énergie, non exploités. Les autorités du pays réfléchissent donc à des moyens de monétiser ces surplus.

Consommer les surplus d’électricité pour le minage

Pour le ministère de l’énergie, qui a publié un billet sur Facebook, le crypto-mining pourrait constituer une piste sérieuse, au-delà de la crise du Covid-19. L’Etat souhaite en effet lutter contre le gaspillage d’énergie, notamment au travers du développement du numérique.

Pour transformer ce « passif » en « actif », le ministère ukrainien suggère donc d’utiliser le surplus d’électricité pour le minage de crypto-monnaie. « Cela permettrait non seulement de maintenir la charge garantie sur les centrales nucléaires, mais aussi de s’assurer que les entreprises peuvent attirer des fonds supplémentaires » justifie-t-il.

« Cela ouvrirait la voie à une économie fondamentalement nouvelle, à de nouvelles approches, à un nouveau modèle de marché » poursuit le gouvernement ukrainien. D’après une information de la presse russophone, le ministre a saisi le principal fournisseur d’énergie du pays à ce sujet.

L’entreprise publique Energoatom doit ainsi étudier les moyens potentiels de mettre en œuvre du crypto-minage dans les installations de production d’énergie nucléaire du pays d’ici le 8 mai. Ce serait une première pour un Etat.

Une centrale électrique américaine reconvertie dans le crypto-mining

Une première pour le gouvernement, mais pas pour une centrale nucléaire ukrainienne. En effet, en 2019, une enquête révélait que des employés indélicats d’un tel site sensible minaient de la crypto-monnaie grâce aux ressources de la centrale.

D’autres épisodes comparables ont défrayé la chronique ces dernières années, souvent sur des sites disposant d’une importante puissance de calcul. En février 2018, les autorités russes interpellaient des ingénieurs du Centre nucléaire russe. Ceux-ci détournaient un supercalculateur afin de miner.

La même année, c’est le Bureau de météorologie australien qui constatait un délit comparable impliquant des employés. Cointelegraph rappelle cependant que des centrales électriques ont déjà été exploitées à des fins autorisées de minage de crypto-monnaie.

En mars, une société privée basée aux Etats-Unis a développé cette nouvelle activité. Le crypto-mining lui permet ainsi de dégager pour 50.000 dollars en Bitcoin chaque jour grâce à la puissance de calcul de ses infrastructures et l’accès direct à une source d’énergie.

By  CHRISTOPHE AUFFRAY

German Neobank Offers Bitcoin Accounts With 4.3% Interest

All 80,000 users of German neobank Bitwala can now purchase, hold and earn interest on Bitcoin (BTC) in their bank accounts thanks to a new partnership with cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network.

According to Defiprime, Bitwala is the first classic fiat bank to offer interest for holding Bitcoin in an account, with three other decentralized finance apps offering similar products. While the DeFi products have higher rates, up to 8.6% per annum, Bitwala is more regulated and offers fiat and cryptocurrency services in 32 European countries under license from leading German bank SolarisBank AG.

Users can buy as little as 30 euro worth of Bitcoin and hold it in a free Bitcoin Interest Account, receiving interest payouts weekly. The Bitcoin in the accounts is lent out through the Celsius Network to “trusted partners.” Funds can be converted back to euros immediately.

Earning interest with Bitcoin

In a statement, Bitwala CEO Ben Jones referred to the Bitcoin halving as a reminder that “state money [fiat] cannot be inflated eternally”:

“At this time, more and more people trust in Bitcoin. Bitwala is the everyday bridge to it. We are now partnering with Celsius Network, the world’s leading provider of crypto loans, so that our customers can leverage Bitcoin holdings wherever they are.”

Neobanks struggle to obtain licences

Over the last four years, neobank startups have emerged in an attempt to bridge the fiat and crypto finance industries, but few have obtained full banking licenses, and none offer Bitcoin investment accounts.

Revolut received its full banking license in Europe in late 2018, but has struggled to receive an Australian banking license. Former Barclays executive Mark Hipperson has launched the partially licensed Starling Bank as a crypto-friendly neobank.

By JOSHUA MAPPERSON

Neobanking service provider Bitwala on Thursday introduced a new account that offers its 80,000 European customers passive bitcoin (BTC) income.

The Bitwala Interest Account allows users to earn up to 4.3% interest per annum for BTC held at the bank.

According to the Berlin-based company, account holders can buy bitcoin at Bitwala from as little as 30 euros ($32), hold it free of charge, and earn interest, which is paid out every Monday.

There are no lock-up periods, meaning that BTC holdings can be liquidated and withdrawn any time, it said.

The new account has been launched in cooperation with cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, which lends out BTC held by Bitwala users to “trusted institutional partners.”

Celsius Network has been paying an average of 3.4% p.a. in bitcoin since November 2019, said the German bank.

Bitwala’s 4.3% rate is, however, about half of what some decentralized finance platforms with similar interest-earning accounts offer.

Ben Jones, chief executive officer of Bitwala, described bitcoin as “the gold standard for the internet of value,” emphasizing that BTC’s recent third halving is a reminder that “state money (fiat) cannot be inflated eternally.” He stated:

At this time, more and more people trust in bitcoin. Bitwala is the everyday bridge to it. We are now partnering with Celsius Network, the world’s leading provider of crypto loans, so that our customers can leverage bitcoin holdings wherever they are.

Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky commented: “We think combining a bitcoin account with a bank account is a winning proposition and the path to mass adoption.”

Founded in 2018, Bitwala has customers from across 32 countries in Europe. Its accounts are hosted by Berlin-based Solarisbank, which is supervised by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

Numerous neobanks, including Babb in the U.K. and Crypterium in Estonia, are planning to or are in the process of applying for licenses amid regulatory disinterest that has kept them at bay for years.

By Jeffrey Gogo

Visa International has filed for a cryptocurrency system patent that is meant to replace physical currency. The system, which utilizes both central banks and commercial banks, leverages a private blockchain to improve the payment ecosystem.

Visa’s Cryptocurrency Patent Filing

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published on Thursday a patent application entitled “digital fiat currency,” filed by Visa International Service Association on Nov. 8, 2019.

The filing is for a fiat-linked cryptocurrency system using “a private permissioned distributed ledger platform.” It describes a central computer, its responsibilities, and key roles of the system: central entities, validating entities, redeeming entities, and users. “A central entity may be a central bank, which regulates a monetary supply,” the document details. Validating entities “are blockchain nodes, which may be peers such as banks.” Redeeming entities “may accept physical currency for exchange for digital fiat currency,” such as an ATM or a bank branch location.

The central entity computer generates the digital currency that is recorded on a blockchain and “may determine that a particular digital currency unit should be added to or removed from the blockchain.” According to the filing’s abstract:

The central entity computer causes removal of the physical currency from circulation in a fiat currency system.

The filing further explains that the payment ecosystem may become 100% digital and “cash may be removed from the markets in a frictionless manner” to improve the payment ecosystem. “Users may hold digital currency with the same denomination as the local physical currency.”

It also notes that once the digital fiat currency is issued, “A user or bank may transfer the digital currency from wallet to wallet or store the digital currency on a smart card and transfer the smart card to another entity.”

A consensus mechanism has not been chosen for the system’s blockchain. “The consensus mechanism may vary depending on the protocol implemented. Some example consensus mechanisms … are proof of stake, Byzantine fault-tolerant algorithms, and crash-fault tolerant algorithms,” the filing details. Other mechanisms explored include a copy of Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric, and zero-knowledge proofs. The full filing can be found here.

A Visa spokesperson was quoted by Forbes on Thursday as saying: “Each year we seek patents for hundreds of new ideas … While not all patents will result in new products or features, Visa respects intellectual property and we are actively working to protect our ecosystem, our innovations and the Visa brand.” Commenting on Visa’s cryptocurrency patent filing, lawyer Jake Chervinsky tweeted:

You can’t patent something you didn’t invent or that isn’t new, so Visa’s patent application has to be so narrow that even if it issues, it won’t be much use even if it was enforceable. Finance incumbents won’t be able to use patent law to stop the crypto industry.

Other companies have tried to patent various cryptocurrency systems. For example, Microsoft was recently granted an international patent by the World Intellectual Property Organization for a cryptocurrency system using body activity data.

By Kevin Helms

The most anticipated cryptocurrency event of 2020, Bitcoin’s (BTC) third halving, has just taken effect. Occurring only once every four years, the latest Bitcoin mining block reward halving just reduced the Bitcoin block reward from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.

Bitcoin’s third halving event took place at 7:23 p.m. UTC on Monday, according to data from Tradeblock.com. Having overcome the halving, Bitcoin is trading at $8,500, with market dominance of 67% as of press time, according to Coin360.

Bitcoin block reward path from 50 BTC to 0.00000001 BTC

Since the first Bitcoin block was generated back in 2009, there have been three halving events. Taking place once every 210,000 blocks mined, or approximately once every four years, a Bitcoin halving cuts the current miner block reward by 50%. The first Bitcoin halving event took place in 2012, cutting the original block reward from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. The second halving took place in 2016, with the reward dropping from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC.

As Bitcoin’s supply is limited to 21 million coins, Bitcoin halving events should continue to take place until the year 2140, or until the 21-millionth BTC. By that time, the block reward should reach 1 satoshi, or the smallest unit of Bitcoin at 0.00000001 BTC. At the time of publication, the number of Bitcoin in circulation amounts to 18.37 million, according to Blockchain.com.

The Bitcoin halving’s impact

As the two previous Bitcoin halvings eventually impacted Bitcoin’s price in positive ways, Bitcoin halvings have become the subject of diverse price predictions and speculation. While some crypto players have predicted that the third Bitcoin halving will have no effect on Bitcoin’s price, others are confident that the halving will definitely affect the price of the cryptocurrency due to a cut in new Bitcoin supply.

While Bitcoin price correlation appears to be questionable, the latest Bitcoin halving has a direct impact on miners. A number of crypto experts predict that the new halving will imminently trigger miners to shut down generating new Bitcoin as a wide number of mining devices will become outdated. According to mining pool Poolin’s vice president, Alejandro De La Torre, a number of unprofitable miners had already begun shutting down their equipment before the Bitcoin halving on Monday.

By HELEN PARTZ

JPMorgan Chase has reportedly started providing banking services to bitcoin businesses, with the first two clients being Coinbase and Gemini exchanges. JPMorgan also recently recommended having cryptocurrency in investment portfolios as its CEO, Jamie Dimon, changed his mind about bitcoin.

JPMorgan Chase’s Bitcoin Clients

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reportedly started to accept clients from the cryptocurrency industry. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that two prominent bitcoin exchanges, Coinbase Inc. and Gemini Trust Co., have become banking customers of JPMorgan Chase, citing people familiar with the matter.

The two bitcoin exchanges’ accounts were approved in April and transactions are just starting to be processed, the publication added. JPMorgan Chase is mainly providing cash-management services to the exchanges. It is handling dollar-based transactions for their U.S.-based customers, including processing deposits and withdrawals, through the Automated Clearing House network, and wire transfers.

Many customers of Coinbase and Gemini link their bank accounts to their cryptocurrency accounts so a payments processor is required for handling cash transfers to and from those bank accounts. The services JPMorgan offers do not include handling bitcoin or crypto transactions for the exchanges.

JPMorgan Warming up to Bitcoin

Large financial institutions are often reluctant to provide banking services to cryptocurrency businesses. Coinbase and Gemini had to go through a long vetting process to get JPMorgan Chase’s approval, which likely took into account the fact that both are regulated bitcoin exchanges in the U.S. Gemini holds a trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) while Coinbase is registered as a money services business with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and also holds a Bitlicense from the DFS. Both are licensed as money transmitters in multiple U.S. states.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon used to call bitcoin “a fraud,” predicting in September 2017 that the cryptocurrency would eventually blow up. “It’s worse than tulip bulbs. It won’t end well. Someone is going to get killed,” Dimon was quoted by CNBC as saying. However, less than five months later, he told the news outlet: “I regret making” those bitcoin remarks.

Furthermore, JPMorgan has launched its own digital currency called the JPM Coin, which is “a digital coin designed to make instantaneous payments using blockchain technology,” its website details. The JPMorgan research team also recently advised in a report that cryptocurrency should be in a portfolio.

by Kevin Helms