Bitcoin interest has increased post-halving, while Vitalik Buterin argues blockchain can assist antitrust regulators.
At-A-Glance
- According to a new research report, post-halving bitcoin demand is on the rise.
- The bitcoin network decreases mining difficulty by 6% to attract miners.
- Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin argues that blockchain will ultimately help regulators enforce antitrust law.
- A 50 BTC withdrawal from one of the earliest blockchain accounts prompts speculation among the trading community.
Demand for Bitcoin Grows After Halving
Cointelegraph/Arcane Research
Earlier this week, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Harvard faculty Thibault Schrepel argued that blockchain could ultimately help regulators enforce antitrust law. In a new paper, Buterin and Schrepel explained that blockchain helps by increasing decentralization and preventing monopolies from forming. To gain the full benefit, however, blockchain technology itself must be supported with new regulations.
In addition to breaking above $10,000 on May 14, this week Cointelegraph reported that the total open interest on CME Bitcoin futures has risen by 1,000% since the start of the month. This is a healthy sign and noticeably different from the low volume recovery from the March 13 crash to $3,750.
Arcane Research also found that significant growth in the peer-to-peer lending markets and an increasing percentage of women represented in crypto sector jobs further indicates that the Bitcoin network and ecosystem continue to make positive strides forward.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops by 6% in First Adjustment After Halving
Coindesk
The recent bitcoin halving wasn’t ideal for the bitcoin miners who experienced a decrease in overall profits. In response, the bitcoin network made a parameter adjustment that decreased mining difficulty by 6%. Experts expect this change will bring back some mining operations, but probably not all.
As the summer rainy season approaches in China, mining farms in the country’s southwestern provinces have been trying to attract customers with electricity rates as low as $0.03 per kilowatt-hour.
Following the halving, the total transaction fees paid to Bitcoin miners have also been on the rise, data shows. Apart from block rewards, miners earn fees that are attached to each transaction on the Bitcoin network.
Total daily network transaction fees have jumped from around 30 BTC at the end of April to over 160 BTC, and now account for roughly 17% of miners’ daily revenue.
Blockchains and Antitrust Laws Share the Same Objective, Says Vitalik Buterin
Cointelegraph
Earlier this week, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Harvard faculty Thibault Schrepel argued that blockchain will ultimately help regulators enforce antitrust law. In a new paper, Buterin and Schrepel argued that blockchain helps by increasing decentralization and preventing monopolies from forming. To gain the full benefit, however, blockchain technology itself must be supported with new regulations.
Buterin and Schrepel explained that blockchain — with the help of smart contracts — can create trust in situations where laws are hard to implement, such as “when jurisdictions are mutually unfriendly (cross-border issue), or when the state is not enforcing legal limitations on the exercise of power by its agents or private entities.”
Smart contracts help create an ecosystem where none of the transacting parties are subject to placing trust in an unknown person or entity without being assured that their transaction will be successfully completed.
$500,000 Bitcoin stash from Satoshi era just moved
Decrypt
Bitcoin traders did a double-take this week after 50 BTC was withdrawn from an account first opened in 2009 — one month after the first block was mined. Because of the lack of activity and bitcoin’s low value at the time of creation, many speculate that this wallet might belong to the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. While many commentators dispute this theory, the account owner will undoubtedly be happy with the $500,000 value of the wallet today.
WhaleAlert, which tracks movement of large amounts of coins, said, “40 BTC (391,055 USD) transferred from possible #Satoshi owned wallet (dormant since 2009) to unknown wallet. The coins in this transaction were mined in the first month of Bitcoin’s existence.” Leading many to assume the wallet is tied to Satoshi Nakamoto.
However, some commentators have disputed the claim that the coins were from a wallet mined by Satoshi. By looking at the nonce (a part of a Bitcoin block) researchers claim that this was an early wallet that he didn’t mine. So it could genuinely be someone found an old wallet gathering dust and took a peek inside.
That’s the roundup for May 23, 2020. Check in next week for the latest news of cryptocurrency innovation and regulation around the world!
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