Bitcoin Archives - The Block

North Korea’s stash of stolen crypto has plunged in value

Victims of North Korea-linked crypto thefts may take some comfort in knowing that connected wallets have plunged in value.

Despite the recent drawdown, the exponential rise in the value of cryptocurrencies over the past decade has made them key targets. Hackers are regularly seeking to obtain cryptocurrencies through hacks and ransomware campaigns.

Fortunately, transactions on most blockchains are easy to track. Wallets connected with North Korean hacking groups like...

29 June 2022 | Altcoins

Crypto market falls to lowest capitalisation since January 2021

The global crypto market has tanked below one trillion dollars (£820 billion) for the first time since January 2021.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is down 13 percent over the past 24 hours and Ethereum is down 16 percent.

The trend marks the twelfth consecutive week – apart from some minor respite in week ten – of price losses for Bitcoin, something the market has never seen before.

Falling from nearly £40,000 in March, the top...

13 June 2022 | Bitcoin

Terra network suffers massive losses as UST falls below dollar peg

Whilst the whole cryptocurrency sector is tanking to lows not seen since last summer, few coins are having a worse time than TerraUSD (UST), the largest algorithmic stablecoin on the market.

UST, which is supposed to always be worth $1, briefly fell to $0.98 on May 7 following a number of major withdrawals from decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols on the Terra network.

The situation worsened on May 9 when UST’s price plummeted to $0.68 amidst a wider market selloff...

10 May 2022 | Cryptocurrency

Terra buys another 4,550 Bitcoin worth over $206M

Blockchain project Terra continues to amass Bitcoin by taking another 4,550 off the market, worth over $206 million.

Terra has been following a number of companies – including MicroStrategy, Tesla, Square, and others – in adding Bitcoin to its reserves.

Do Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs, has said his ultimate aim is to have Terra’s reserves of Bitcoin rival that of Satoshi Nakomoto...

6 April 2022 | Altcoins

Intel launches new blockchain accelerator chip for crypto mining

Intel has launched a new chip designed specifically for blockchain use cases such as Bitcoin mining and minting NFTs.

The crypto-specialised chip, which Intel calls its “blockchain accelerator”, will ship later this year. Jack Dorsey’s fintech firm Block – formerly Square – has already preordered the technology, along with Bitcoin mining company GRIID Infrastructures.

Considering crypto mining’s immense energy usage, Intel has said it is focused on...

15 February 2022 | Bitcoin

Bitcoin processes $187bn more in transactions per quarter than PayPal

The Bitcoin (BTC) network is now processing more volume in terms of transactions than payments platform PayPal, according to blockchain analysis firm Blockdata.

Looking at average transaction volumes, Blockdata says that the Bitcoin network outshone PayPal by $187 billion (£140.4bn) per quarter this year. An impressive overtake for a payments system twelve years younger than PayPal.

Blockdata reported that: “The Bitcoin network processed an estimated average of $489...

1 December 2021 | Banking

Blockchain start-ups see record Q2 despite crypto plunge

Blockchain start-ups worldwide raised a record £3.2 billion in funding during Q2 2021, in spite of the significant decline the cryptocurrency market has been experiencing since mid-April.

This data, collected by analytics firm CB Insights in its 'State of Fintech' report, represents a 50% increase over last quarter and a ninefold increase compared to the same time last year.

The global fintech industry also reached new heights in this quarter, with £22.4 billion being...

26 July 2021 | Funding

PayPal scraps annual purchase limit of cryptocurrency

PayPal has announced its annual purchase limit of $50,000 (£36,500) for Bitcoin and other digital assets is being removed.

Similarly, the platform’s weekly purchase limit is being raised fivefold from $20,000 (£14,500) to $100,000 (£73,000).

Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s vice president of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies said: “These changes will enable our customers to have more choice and flexibility in purchasing cryptocurrency on our...

19 July 2021 | Bitcoin

BSV surpasses BTC blockchain in data size

The Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain has surpassed BTC in accumulated data size, according to Bitcoin Association, which works to advance business with the BSV blockchain and digital currency.

On May 16, 2021, the accumulated growth (in data size) of the BSV blockchain surpassed the BTC blockchain for the first time, with the total data stored on-chain reaching 352.9 GB on the BSV network compared to 352.4 GB on the BTC network on that date. Since then, BSV continues to extend its lead...

10 June 2021 | Blockchain

HSBC steers clear of Bitcoin due to “volatility”

HSBC has confirmed it has no interest in getting involved with Bitcoin.

The bank has no plans to offer the cryptocurrency to clients due to its volatility and lack of transparency, according to HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn.

He said: “Given the volatility we are not into bitcoin as an asset class. If our clients want to be there then of course they are, but we are not promoting it as an asset class within our wealth management business.

“I view bitcoin as...