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Big Time for Small Miners

Bitcoin mining is making a comeback and the unique abilities of small scale miners.

Opinionated
A forest of green trees: Can carbon credits on a blockchain help the environment?
Crypto Carbon: Can Blockchain Networks Fix Carbon Offsets?

A budding movement within the crypto industry says it can keep carbon out of the atmosphere by locking it on a blockchain. Can it succeed?

A forest of green trees: Can carbon credits on a blockchain help the environment?
A Bitfury mine in Mo i Rana, Norway. The mine is 90% powered by hydroelectricity and employs five locals. (image credit: Bitfury)
Greener Bitcoin Mining Could Be China’s ‘Trillion-Dollar Present’ to the US

Can change come fast enough for an ESG-embattled mining industry?

A Bitfury mine in Mo i Rana, Norway. The mine is 90% powered by hydroelectricity and employs five locals. (image credit: Bitfury)
The bitcoin mining industry is concentrating in the U.S. (Melody Wang/CoinDesk)
Is Miner Concentration Once Again Jeopardizing Bitcoin? Not Exactly

The high percentage of hashrate now located in North America may look like China 2.0, but the reality is more complicated.

The bitcoin mining industry is concentrating in the U.S. (Melody Wang/CoinDesk)
Bitcoin mining can soak up renewable energy that is hard to transmit or consume locally, giving a leg up to energy producers. (Illustration: Yunha)
Can Crypto Miners Make the World Greener?

As it decarbonizes, the mining industry might help push energy producers to build more renewable power sources.

Bitcoin mining can soak up renewable energy that is hard to transmit or consume locally, giving a leg up to energy producers. (Illustration: Yunha)
The Valstagna hydropower plant, located in the Veneto region of Italy, houses 300 ASIC miners set up by Alps Blockchain. (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)
How Northern Italian Hydropower Producers Became Bitcoin Miners

In the pursuit of economic sustainability, northern Italian hydropower producers are turning to bitcoin mining.

The Valstagna hydropower plant, located in the Veneto region of Italy, houses 300 ASIC miners set up by Alps Blockchain. (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)
MintGreen heating whisky using bitcoin mining rigs (MintGreen)
7 Wild Bitcoin Mining Rigs

Here are some of the innovative and sometimes hilarious functions bitcoin miners have found for their rigs.

MintGreen heating whisky using bitcoin mining rigs (MintGreen)
Inside HIVE's mining farm in Sweden (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)
Why Crypto Mining Actually Matters

Ideological arguments over proof-of-work and proof-of-stake miss the larger point: Mining means the production of objective truth, says futurist Dan Jeffries. This post is part of CoinDesk's Mining Week.

Inside HIVE's mining farm in Sweden (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)
(Kyle McDonald)
Don’t Blame NFT Artists for Mining’s Environmental Cost, Says Researcher Kyle McDonald

Responsibility for Ethereum’s climate impact lies with institutions, not individuals, argues the emissions dashboard creator.

(Kyle McDonald)
A Bitfury mine in Mo i Rana, Norway. The mine is 90% powered by hydroelectricity and employs five locals. (image credit: Bitfury)

Greener Bitcoin Mining Could Be China’s ‘Trillion-Dollar Present’ to the US

Can change come fast enough for an ESG-embattled mining industry?

A Bitfury mine in Mo i Rana, Norway. The mine is 90% powered by hydroelectricity and employs five locals. (image credit: Bitfury)
A pickaxe inside a briefcase, symbolizing the entry of traditional businesses into cryptocurrency mining.

Why Do Old-Line Businesses Enter Crypto Mining? Simple: Fat Profits

Even though mining margins have shrunk since crypto prices corrected, for now they’re big enough to keep luring entrants from sectors like prepackaged food and anti-aging formulas.

A pickaxe inside a briefcase, symbolizing the entry of traditional businesses into cryptocurrency mining.
A pixelated image of a pickaxe and cart full of gold. 
Caption: Mining Week: What Powers the Digital Economy.
Presented by Foundry.

Introducing CoinDesk’s Mining Week

Our reporters visited crypto mining farms around the world, interviewed key players and crunched network data to shed light on a little-understood industry.

A pixelated image of a pickaxe and cart full of gold. 
Caption: Mining Week: What Powers the Digital Economy.
Presented by Foundry.
Pirate flag

What Is Cryptojacking? How to Protect Yourself Against Crypto Mining Malware

While most crypto hacks involve stealing private keys belonging to a crypto wallet and emptying it, cryptojacking involves infecting a device with malware to gain control over it. Here’s how you can protect yourself.

Pirate flag
A BitCluster crypto mining site in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. (Image Credit: BitCluster)

Crypto Mining, the Energy Crisis and the End of ESG

How a European war made an argument about mining moot. This op-ed is part of Mining Week.

A BitCluster crypto mining site in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. (Image Credit: BitCluster)
Regional turmoil notwithstanding, President Alexander Lukashenko's government is committed to attracting crypto miners, lawyers in Minsk say. (Illustration: Yunha Lee)

Will Belarus Lure Crypto Miners Amid Sanctions, Russia-Ukraine War?

Despite favorable business conditions, a country’s political environment can deter international capital. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Mining Week

Regional turmoil notwithstanding, President Alexander Lukashenko's government is committed to attracting crypto miners, lawyers in Minsk say. (Illustration: Yunha Lee)
Inside HIVE's mining farm in Sweden (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)

What Does a Crypto Mining Farm Look Like? Striking Photos From Siberia to Spain

CoinDesk reporters traveled across Europe, Asia and North America to capture the diversity of cryptocurrency mining facilities. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Mining Week.

Inside HIVE's mining farm in Sweden (Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)
Lasers have shown promise in making computation more efficient. Plus, optical computation would fit the “laser eyes” meme popular among bitcoiners. (Illustration: Yunha Lee)

Why Some Bitcoin Devs Say Lasers Can Cut Mining’s Energy Costs

“Optical proof-of-work” would improve geographic distribution of hashrate and quell fears of climate-related pushback, proponents argue.

Lasers have shown promise in making computation more efficient. Plus, optical computation would fit the “laser eyes” meme popular among bitcoiners. (Illustration: Yunha Lee)
Inverted photo of four bitcoin mining servers. Edits provided by photo editing app Photomosh.

Why the Bitcoin Mining Debate Is So Dysfunctional

Specialization is necessary, but bitcoiners and miners need to learn to listen to each other, says Will Foxley, director of content at Compass Mining.

Inverted photo of four bitcoin mining servers. Edits provided by photo editing app Photomosh.
Altered photo of a mallet and a white thought bubble above it.

What’s at Stake as Josh Jarrett Sues the IRS

The Proof of Stake Alliance advocates for staking rewards to be treated as property, not income.

Altered photo of a mallet and a white thought bubble above it.
(Magnus Engø/Unsplash)

Exponential Software Requires Exponential Hardware

Web 3 will require the creation of a new structure of hardware, custom-built for the rapidly growing needs of the software.

(Magnus Engø/Unsplash)
"Cryptocurrency is here to stay, which unfortunately means crypto-thieves are too," says a Microsoft exec. (Lisa Ann Yount, modified by CoinDesk)

The Rise of Illegal Crypto Mining Hijackers – And Big Tech’s Response

Cloud vendors are fighting back against cryptojacking, but the hijackers are getting more sophisticated.

"Cryptocurrency is here to stay, which unfortunately means crypto-thieves are too," says a Microsoft exec. (Lisa Ann Yount, modified by CoinDesk)
A bitcoin mining facility in Georgia that uses 95% non-carbon energy (CleanSpark)

Bitcoin Mining and ESG: A Match Made in Heaven

As clean energy gradually gets cheaper, mining operations will help subsidize green projects, writes the CEO of mining firm CleanSpark. This op-ed is part of CoinDesk’s Mining Week.

A bitcoin mining facility in Georgia that uses 95% non-carbon energy (CleanSpark)
Visualization of a quantum bit (Getty Images)

Quantum Computers vs. Crypto Mining: Separating Facts From Fiction

It has long been a concern that quantum computers could one day undermine Bitcoin and other crypto mining networks, but how realistic is that threat?

Visualization of a quantum bit (Getty Images)
A green house is stacked above three bitcoin mining servers against a green background.

Don’t Call It a Comeback: The Unlikely Rise of Home Bitcoin Mining

Even with the surge in popularity, home bitcoin mining only accounts for a small slice of the industry’s overall pie.

A green house is stacked above three bitcoin mining servers against a green background.
Plattsburgh Mayor Christopher Rosenquest (Fran Velasquez/CoinDesk)

After Short-Lived Ban, City in Upstate NY Is Still Reckoning With Crypto Miners

Cities across the U.S. are grappling with what it means to have cryptocurrency mining operations in their communities. Plattsburgh offers a sobering case study. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Mining Week.

Plattsburgh Mayor Christopher Rosenquest (Fran Velasquez/CoinDesk)

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