How Will Bitcoin Solve Its Energy Consumption Problem? 197

If Bitcoin were a country, it would be the 40th largest consumer of electricity in the world. A new research paper has highlighted the growing problem as major cryptocurrencies seek to solve it.

Bitcoin’s Energy Crisis Explored

According to the figures, the amount of energy used for each transaction could run a dishwasher for a year.

Alex de Vries wrote: “With the Bitcoin network processing just 200,000 transactions per day, this means that the average electricity consumed per transaction equals at least 300 kWh, and could exceed 900 kWh per transaction by the end of 2018.” This doesn’t mean that Bitcoin transactions couldn’t be processed without high amounts of energy, it’s just that there are a lot of miners. Currently, miners earn about $100 per transaction.

Digiconomist estimates the consumption of electricity by Bitcoin Miners in its Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index (BEXI). According to its data, Bitcoin uses 67.91 TWh annually which is just greater than Chile, ranked 40th in the world at 66 TWh. They estimate that the amount of electricity used per transaction is higher at 929 kWh which would be the equivalent of running three dishwashers for a year. The main issue is that the figures are rising at a much steeper rate and have been since September 2017.

BEXI has to work backwards to calculate the energy used. It starts with how much money the miners are making and works out how much they probably spend on electricity. Then they consider the price of electricity and estimate how much is used. It does rely on several assumptions but it would be much harder to contact all Bitcoin miners and ask how much electricity they use.

Will the Lightning Network Help?

The Lightning Network will take Bitcoin transactions off-chain by setting up channels between users. Transactions between them will occur and only be recorded on the blockchain when the channel is closed. This will reduce the number of transactions that nodes will have to confirm and in doing so, will reduce the energy required for maintaining the network.

However, the majority of electricity used is for Bitcoin mining where computers generate hashes that fulfil a set of criteria. Reducing the number of transactions on the blockchain is unlikely to affect how many miners there are. Bitcoin transactions have halved since December but the mining difficulty has doubled, indicating there is twice as much mining equipment being used. This means that the Lightning Network will only be able to solve some of the problem.

In reality, the best bet for Bitcoin, using Proof-of-Work, is using renewable energy, as highlighted in a response to the paper. The International Energy Agency said that renewable energy is set to grow 40% by 2022 and highlighted that renewables are dominant in new energy sources being created. Iceland has already shown how it can work as it runs on 100% renewable energy. In essence, renewable electricity allows the Bitcoin Network to run without changing its underlying structure.

Other ways of solving the problem include moving to Proof-of-Stake as Ethereum is doing. Digiconomist estimate that Ethereum uses about a third of the amount of electricity used to mine Bitcoin. NewsBTC reported on the recent publication of the code for Casper. The move is likely to reduce electricity usage significantly, but the question is whether or not the network will remain secure.

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UPCX Teams Up with Paycle to Pioneer a New Chapter in Fintech 5867

UPCX-Platforms PTE. LTD., a company dedicated to developing high-speed blockchain open-source payment systems, recently announced a new business cooperation agreement with Paycle Co., Ltd. This decision signifies a joint endeavor by the two tech companies to develop and optimize blockchain payments and financial services deeply.

Since its establishment in 2018, Paycle has been conducting research and development in blockchain, fintech, artificial intelligence, and quantum-resistant encryption algorithms. Paycle’s mission is to create a better future through the power of technology. UPCX looks forward to injecting new vitality into its projects with the help of Paycle’s professional expertise in fintech and blockchain and the practical application of several international patents related to Web3.

UPCX stated that their vision is not limited to creating a blockchain project but, more importantly, to lay the foundation for a new financial ecosystem that everyone can access safely and efficiently. UPCX firmly believes that this strategic cooperation will accelerate the development of its products and services to meet the market’s demand for new financial solutions.

From now on, UPCX will work closely with Paycle to develop innovative products and services jointly. This cooperation will promote the development of blockchain payments and financial services, providing users with safer and more efficient financial solutions.

About UPCX-Platforms PTE. LTD.

UPCX-Platforms PTE. LTD. is a company focused on blockchain technology, developing high-speed, open-source payment systems. The company aims to lay the foundation for a new financial ecosystem that everyone can access safely and efficiently.

Official website: https://upcx.io/

About Paycle Co., Ltd.

Since its establishment in 2018, Paycle Co., Ltd. has been researching and developing blockchain, fintech, artificial intelligence, and quantum-resistant encryption algorithms. The company’s mission is to create a better future through the power of technology.

Official website: https://www.paycle.com/

InfStones Secures SOC 2 Type I Attestation, Bolstering Security and Trust in Blockchain Infrastructure 6225

InfStones, a leading blockchain infrastructure provider, today announced the successful attainment of the SOC 2 Type I attestation, reinforcing its position as a paragon of security and compliance in the blockchain sector. The SOC 2 Type I attestation is a comprehensive assessment to evaluate the effectiveness of a service organization’s controls related to security, availability, and processing integrity.

For InfStones, this attestation affirms its security measures’ strength and adherence to industry best practices. It also signifies that InfStones’ systems and operational controls are in strict alignment with the standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

What This Means for Our Clients

  • Enhanced Trust: Clients can rest assured that InfStones adheres to industry-leading standards, providing a secure foundation for their blockchain endeavors.
  • Proven Security Practice: The attestation validates the strength of InfStones’ security measures, designed to safeguard client data against emerging threats.
  • Assured Transparency: InfStones’ commitment to transparency is reinforced, ensuring its processes and services are reliable and trustworthy.

A Future Built on Secure Foundations

“Security is not just a feature; it’s the bedrock of trust in the blockchain ecosystem,” stated Dr. Shi, Founder and CEO of InfStones. “The SOC 2 Type I certification reflects our dedication to security excellence. It’s a promise to our clients that we will continue to advance our security measures, always with their trust and safety as our priority.”

About InfStones

InfStones is an advanced, enterprise-grade Platform as a Service (PaaS) blockchain infrastructure provider trusted by the top blockchain companies in the world. InfStones’ AI-based infrastructure provides developers worldwide with a rugged, powerful node management platform alongside an easy-to-use API. With over 20,000 nodes supported on over 80 blockchains, InfStones gives developers all the control they need – reliability, speed, efficiency, security, and scalability – for cross-chain DeFi, NFT, GameFi, and decentralized application development. InfStones is trusted by the biggest blockchain companies in the world including Binance, CoinList, BitGo, OKX, Chainlink, Polygon, Harmony, and KuCoin, among a hundred other customers. InfStones is dedicated to developing the next evolution of a better world through limitless Web3 innovation.

For more information about InfStones and its offerings, please visit https://infstones.com/.

AlphaPoint Celebrates 10 Years of Pioneering Digital Asset Infrastructure 6384

AlphaPoint, a leading provider of digital asset infrastructure of exchanges, brokerages, payment networks, and banking, is proud to announce its 10th anniversary. Since its founding in 2013, AlphaPoint has been at the forefront of developing institutional-grade infrastructure to power the digital asset ecosystem.

As one of the earliest companies in the digital asset space, AlphaPoint’s founders recognized early on the need for robust, scalable solutions to enable mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. The company launched with a flagship white label exchange product and has since expanded its offerings to include brokerage solutions, OTC solutions, wallets, payments, liquidity services, asset tokenization, and more.

Over the past decade, AlphaPoint has powered over $1 trillion in transactions across more than 10 million users globally. The company’s exchange technology has powered some of the biggest names in crypto, enabling fast, efficient, and compliant trading.

“AlphaPoint has all the world experience to offer technological solutions, financial services and access to Bitcoin for millions of Salvadorans who are actively using the Chivo wallet.” Through this global undertaking, “the objective of President Nayib Bukele with Chivo is to provide millions of Salvadorans with the opportunity to know about bitcoin, access financial services, as well as the possibility of receiving and sending remittances without charging commissions.”

Milestones include:

  • Supporting over 150 customers across 35+ countries, including leading exchanges, banks, and brokerages
  • Over $1 trillion has been traded and billions of assets deposited on the platform
  • Providing technology to global leading financial institutions such as CME Group, XP Securities, RBC, Scotiabank, Guardian Life, and the largest retail banks in two countries
  • Powering the Chivo digital wallet for the government of El Salvador, the first state-backed implementation of its kind
  • AlphaPoint is the proud recipient of the 2023 US Fintech Awards Best Use of Blockchain Technology, Financial Times The Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies for 2021, Inc 5000 America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies for 2020, and numerous other prestigious awards.
  • Completing SOC1 and SOC2 security audits to meet institutional standards

“When we started AlphaPoint 10 years ago, our goal was to enable mainstream crypto adoption by building solutions to make digital assets accessible, trusted, and reliable,” said Founder Joe Ventura. “Today our infrastructure powers millions of users globally, and we are proud to have helped progress the industry from its nascent stages to the maturing ecosystem it is now.”

As AlphaPoint enters its second decade, the company remains committed to developing best-in-class products and supporting the next generation of blockchain innovation. “The next 10 years will see exponential growth in crypto adoption worldwide,” said CEO and Co-Founder Igor Telyatnikov. “Our solutions make it easy for partners across financial institutions, government and startups to build the digital asset products and solutions that will drive and power mainstream integration.”

About AlphaPoint

AlphaPoint is a global financial technology company providing digital asset infrastructure to power the next generation of exchanges, brokerages, payment networks, and banking. Our full-suite products provide trusted, secure, scalable, and customizable solutions for trading, payments, lending, custody, and more.

AlphaPoint has enabled over 150 customers in 35 countries including the CME Group, XP Securities, and Chivo. AlphaPoint has powered over 1 trillion in trading volume and the technology has handled billions in assets on the platform. Over the past decade, we have received multiple prestigious awards recognizing our innovations, exponential growth and leading technology in the fintech and digital asset space, positioning us to continue empowering our clients. For more information, please visit https://alphapoint.com/.

Meet StocksFC: The Football Stock Market Where Goals earn you crypto 6521

Stockers

Amsterdam, Netherlands – StocksFC, the innovative football (soccer) stock market platform that runs on Ethereum, is proud to announce its astounding success since its inception six months ago. In this short span, StocksFC has redefined the sports investment landscape, presenting fans with an unprecedented opportunity to monetize their football acumen.

A Game-Changer in Sports and Finance

With its launch in May 2023, StocksFC offered fans the chance to buy, sell, and trade football player stocks with the potential to earn crypto rewards when players shine on the pitch. Fast forward six months, and the market cap has increased by 1350%, with over half a million stocks in circulation. This seismic shift in sports engagement mirrors the bullish trends of the most dynamic financial markets.

Unrivalled Profits and Portfolio Power

The platform’s robust growth is underpinned by the soaring value of player stocks – premier players like Maddison surging over 400% since being listed. These are not anomalies but rather the norm on StocksFC, where every week offers the thrill of potential profits. Football fans have the freedom to craft their portfolios to capitalize on the weekly, monthly, and end-of-season cash rewards, with strategies ranging from investing in undervalued players to identifying future superstars.

Alex Thomas, founder of StocksFC said, “The surge in growth we’ve experienced in the past 6 months has been remarkable. We remain firmly committed to establishing ourselves as a leading force in the rapidly growing field of alternative financial assets.”

Three-tier model to retain rapid growth

The three-tier model to retain rapid growth at StocksFC includes an unparalleled commitment to transparency, sustainability, and community.

Transparency is not just a buzzword at StocksFC; it’s the backbone. The platform guarantees an immutable ledger of transactions, fostering unmatched trust among its users. Following this, sustainability is equally vital, with StocksFC’s design ensuring long-term value growth. Each stock is an ERC20 token and with a limit of 100k stocks per player and a systematic burn of stocks on trades, scarcity is artfully crafted to boost potential rewards.

Additionally, at the heart of StocksFC’s ethos is a community-first approach. User polls will guide significant platform decisions, ensuring that those who invest their time and passion into StocksFC have a voice that resonates at the very core of its operations.

The Future is Bright

The groundbreaking platform has not only attracted fans but has also garnered the confidence of financial and technological titans. Early investment from venture capital firm Antler has supercharged StocksFC’s ascent, while partnerships with Bitgo, Ramp, Coinbase Commerce, and Opta have provided a solid infrastructure for seamless, secure trading experiences.

With it’s exceptional growth, StocksFC continues to blaze a trail in the sports investment domain. The future promises an exciting expansion of its offerings, with plans to release hundreds of additional players in the coming months and to expand into Europe’s top 5 leagues, as well as other sports.

StocksFC extends an open invitation to football fans and sports traders worldwide to join them, and be a part of this winning streak that melds passion with profits.

For more information and to become part of this investment revolution, visit StocksFC’s platform, engage with the community on Telegram, Discord and X (Twitter).

Score Big with StocksFC – Where Every Fan is an Investor.

StocksFC – Buy. Sell. Earn

Rootstock Grants Program Opens Wave 3: $2.5 Million for Groundbreaking Crypto Projects 5952

The Rootstock Grants Program, a trailblazing initiative within the cryptocurrency landscape has committed a further $2.5 million towards funding a new wave of ground-breaking projects that are built on Rootstock, the world’s first Bitcoin Sidechain.

The exciting initiative stems from the desire to further the growth and development of the dynamic dApp ecosystem on Rootstock. By providing financial support to developers and projects, the Rootstock Grants Program aims to assist the creation of innovative solutions, from DAOs to peer-to-peer payment solutions, which deliver new value to Rootstock and Bitcoin users. Those wishing to apply for funding as part of Wave III should do so before the fast-track entry deadline of 17th of November.

The move follows the announcement of the winners of the first two waves of the Rootstock Grants Program. Since its launch, the scheme has supported a total of 20 developments across the cryptocurrency ecosystem. From the backing of Asami, a transparent monetization mechanism built for the creator economy to OKU, a DEX funded by the Uniswap Foundation, the programme is supporting all aspects of crypto innovation.

The highly Competitive Grants program has received over 1000 applications so far with over 50 pitches delivered and 20 projects gaining approval from the committee made up of judges from across the Bitcoin and Rootstock ecosystem. This includes Jameson Lopp, John Light, Mauricio Tovar and Matías Caricato, Daniel Fogg and Sergio Demain Lerner.

In the past year, the Rootstock Grants Program has also helped in the development of Footprint Analytics, a project that aims to provide data-rich insights into the blockchain world, as well as Tuki, a solution that focuses on the Latin American market and provides a means to make digital assets a part of daily life. Incredibly, these are just a few examples of the vast array of transformative projects being funded.

Launched in 2018, Rootstock combines the security and store of value of Bitcoin with the programmability of Ethereum. Over 60% of the hashing power of Bitcoin also secures the Rootstock sidechain making it the most secure and decentralized smart contract platform in the world. The network has rapidly become known as ‘the home of DeFi on BItcoin’ with over $300m total native value locked.

Speaking on the launch of Wave III of the Rootstock Strategic Grants Program’, Ongun Özdemir, Venture Associate at IOV Labs commented: “By using Rootstock, the world’s most secure smart contract platform, developers can build on the best digital asset, Bitcoin, with the financial backing and network they need to succeed. ”

Ongun Özdemir continued: “Innovation holds the key to the future of web3. With the Rootstock Grants Program, we aim to empower ventures of this nature, ensuring they have the resources and mentorship they need to flourish. We’re proud to see a diverse array of solutions being developed, which will greatly enrich the Rootstock ecosystem. Over the course of the first two waves of the program, a large number of innovative projects have helped shape the Rootstock ecosystem into the foundation for a new global economy. Once again, we’re calling on founders and builders to submit their applications to tap in to $2.5m of funding for projects that align with our vision of a safe and equitable global financial system that enables everyone to participate and prosper.”

To apply for the latest wave of the Rootstock Grants Program, please visit: https://rootstock.io/grants/

About IOV Labs

IOV Labs develops the blockchain technologies needed for a new global financial ecosystem that fosters opportunity, transparency, and trust.

The organization currently contributes to the development of the Rootstock blockchain and Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF).

The Rootstock network is one of the more secure smart contract platforms in the world, designed to leverage Bitcoin’s unparalleled hash power while extending its capabilities.

Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF) is a suite of open and decentralized infrastructure protocols that enable faster, easier and scalable development of distributed applications (dApps) within a unified environment.

Uphold Expands Partnership with IMVU: Enabling Web3 Payments in the Metaverse 6237

Uphold, the global web3 financial platform, announced that by the end of November, IMVU, the world’s largest web3 social metaverse, will integrate Uphold’s fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, Topper, to simplify payments and empower the largest and most active crypto economy in the metaverse. Topper brings simple transactions to the next generation of IMVU’s flourishing creator economy by bridging a simple web2 experience with the benefits of web3.

With over 700k daily active users spanning across more than 100 countries, the need for a frictionless user experience is paramount to the mainstream adoption of digital assets in virtual social worlds. The broader partnership between Uphold and IMVU includes initiatives to transition IMVU from Web2 to Web3, allowing web2 users to access VCORE and embrace the evolving web3 ecosystem.

“We believe that web3 payments will continue to be the way of the future, as it creates more value, ownership, and participation than traditional web2 payments. On IMVU alone, over 20 million virtual goods are bought and sold each month,” said Robin O’Connell, CEO of Uphold Enterprise. “We have been proud to serve the IMVU users with our digital asset platform and now with Topper – providing a user-friendly gateway for purchasing the new VCORE.”

The ability to seamlessly transact and transfer digital assets between virtual and real worlds is pivotal for unleashing the full potential of the metaverse economy. Users want to earn where they play but then take those earnings into real life to spend, save, and invest, bridging the gap between virtual experiences and real-world financial activities.

Partnership Details:

  • Since the beginning of this partnership in September 2020, over 1.5 million IMVU users have created crypto wallets using the Uphold platform. With the integration of Topper, IMVU users have immediate access to utilize cryptocurrencies in the metaverse effortlessly.
  • IMVU has already integrated Uphold’s API with its token, VCOIN, which is listed on the Uphold exchange. Users with Uphold accounts can easily convert their in-game VCOIN earnings to fiat currency. VCOIN is the third digital token to secure a no-action letter from the staff of the SEC, proof of how a digital asset can be properly managed in the metaverse.
  • IMVU recently unveiled a new exchange-listed digital token, VCORE, integrated with Uphold’s fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, Topper. Now, IMVU users outside of US & Canada have access to VCORE. Designed for NFT and Metaverse creators and communities, VCORE emphasizes regulatory compliance and empowers the community to help shape the virtual world, fostering an environment where individuals can create, earn, own, play, and participate in its future.

“For nearly two decades, we have been building our community at IMVU. Our collaboration with Uphold was driven by their cutting-edge payment solutions, offering a seamless and globally-accessible payment mechanism to our members,” stated John Burris, Chief Strategy & Blockchain Officer of IMVU.

IMVU has a massive global community, a dynamic economy, and passionate creators/earners. Topper’s integration aims to streamline and simplify financial transactions, particularly catering to the challenges faced by users and creators within the virtual world.

To learn more, please visit topperpay.com/.

About Uphold

Ranked #1 in the San Francisco Business Times Fast 100 List, Uphold is committed to making web3 easy. As a Web3 financial platform, Uphold serves over 10 million customers in more than 140 countries. It provides businesses and consumers with easy access to digital assets and services. Uphold’s unique “Anything to Anything” interface gives end users seamless access to and between digital assets and national currencies and precious metals. Uniquely, Uphold smart routes orders across 30 trading venues delivering optimal execution and superior liquidity to customers. Uphold never loans out customer assets and is always 100% reserved. The company has pioneered radical transparency and uniquely publishes its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds on a public website (https://uphold.com/en-us/transparency).

Uphold is regulated in the U.S. by FinCen and State regulators; and is registered in the UK and Canada with the FCA and FINTRAC respectively and in Europe with the Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. To learn more about Uphold’s products and services, visit uphold.com.