Original author: Pete Rizzo
Coin News
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic
Since opening its doors on 3rd August of last year, major bitcoin mining pool operator GHash.io has generated nearly $250m in bitcoin, according to a new infographic released by the company.
The pool has produced 413,752.01889456 BTC since it first began hashing in 2013, an amount worth $248,251,211.33 according to the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index.
This fact was just one of the noteworthy statistics provided by the infographic, as the full release contains both hard mining data as well as a brief timeline of the company’s history.
The publication comes at a time when the company has faced scrutiny for its outsized share of the bitcoin network hashrate – a number which has come perilously close to 50% in recent months. As a result, GHash has embarked on a campaign of transparency and advocacy to assuage community concerns it could or would carry out a 51% attack against the network.
Overall, the data demonstrates GHash’s long-standing position as one of the largest mining pools in the space.
Blocks galore
The most notable information in the release pertains to the number of blocks GHash has processed since the pool first opened. Of course, given its long operating history, it’s not surprising that GHash has received its fair share of hashes.
According to the infographic, GHash has received almost 383 sextillion hashes – or 382,760,564,258,698,078,191,616 hashes, to be exact.
Miners themselves have submitted nearly 90 trillion shares, or exactly 89,118,388,541,671 shares, since mining began.
With this massive amount of hashing power, GHash has solved quite a few blocks as well. Since launch, the pool has solved 156,039 blocks, enabling the confirmation of 6,105,849 transactions.
Steady rise in users
Despite criticism about its size and grassroots-level calls for miners to shift away their hashing power, GHash has seen a steady rise in the number of workers mining in its pool.
The number of users rose steadily in the first few months, according to the infographic, reaching 44,000 by November. It reached 132,000 by March after a rapid climb following the now-infamous price increase at the end of 2013, and as of July, GHash had 220,000 registered users.
As one might expect, GHash users contribute a significant amount of hashing power, with most of that number deriving from hardware. GHash miners using their own equipment contribute roughly 41 PH/s, with an additional 5 to 6 PH/s coming from the pool’s cloud hosting service.
Unsurprisingly, the site has utilized a tremendous amount of electricity during operation. Since launch, miners on GHash have consumed 159,519,788 kilowatt hours worth of power.
Images via GHash.io
51% attackGHashmining
This fact was just one of the noteworthy statistics provided by the infographic, as the full release contains both hard mining data as well as a brief timeline of the company’s history.
The publication comes at a time when the company has faced scrutiny for its outsized share of the bitcoin network hashrate – a number which has come perilously close to 50% in recent months. As a result, GHash has embarked on a campaign of transparency and advocacy to assuage community concerns it could or would carry out a 51% attack against the network.
Overall, the data demonstrates GHash’s long-standing position as one of the largest mining pools in the space.
Blocks galore
The most notable information in the release pertains to the number of blocks GHash has processed since the pool first opened. Of course, given its long operating history, it’s not surprising that GHash has received its fair share of hashes.
According to the infographic, GHash has received almost 383 sextillion hashes – or 382,760,564,258,698,078,191,616 hashes, to be exact.
Miners themselves have submitted nearly 90 trillion shares, or exactly 89,118,388,541,671 shares, since mining began.
With this massive amount of hashing power, GHash has solved quite a few blocks as well. Since launch, the pool has solved 156,039 blocks, enabling the confirmation of 6,105,849 transactions.
Steady rise in users
Despite criticism about its size and grassroots-level calls for miners to shift away their hashing power, GHash has seen a steady rise in the number of workers mining in its pool.
The number of users rose steadily in the first few months, according to the infographic, reaching 44,000 by November. It reached 132,000 by March after a rapid climb following the now-infamous price increase at the end of 2013, and as of July, GHash had 220,000 registered users.
As one might expect, GHash users contribute a significant amount of hashing power, with most of that number deriving from hardware. GHash miners using their own equipment contribute roughly 41 PH/s, with an additional 5 to 6 PH/s coming from the pool’s cloud hosting service.
Unsurprisingly, the site has utilized a tremendous amount of electricity during operation. Since launch, miners on GHash have consumed 159,519,788 kilowatt hours worth of power.
Images via GHash.io
51% attackGHashmining
Original author: Stan Higgins
As shown in a demo provided by HashPlex, the interface is a visual improvement over the command-line style mining that many hobby-scale owners are accustomed to.
According to Rihn, the goal is to provide the user with as much as information as possible, including hashrates, core temperatures and overall history. Users can also choose reboot thresholds to optimize performance and set back-up pools in case their first selection goes down or becomes unaccessible.
Rihn added that the reboot feature helps avoid a common problem in industrial-scale mining operations: having to manually shutdown and restart hardware.
Green approach to mining
HashPlex’s new centre benefits from the availability of hydropower, which the facility utilizes for 80% of its power output. The site does rely on some net carbon-producing electrical sources, but the firm says that, in the future, that percentage of renewable energy sources it uses will increase.
Beyond the environmental impact, tapping renewable sources like hydropower gives a company like HashPlex an efficiency advantage. Rihn told CoinDesk that as a result, the HashPlex facility is at least five to 10 times as efficient as a traditionally designed data center.
Rihn commented that this is the natural progression of the industry, as renewable sources are seeing as a viable – and necessary – source of energy for mining operations. He contested the notion that the environmental costs of bitcoin mining are a long-term issue, saying:
“Anybody who says that bitcoin mining is a carbon footprint nightmare is mistaken, in that a lot of bitcoin mining in the future will done where the power is very cheap.”
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.
Hydroelectric power station image via Shutterstock
HashPlex
Original author: Stan Higgins
Never mind Shiba Inus and doges, people are saying in Japan this month. The new internet meme-based altcoin du jour is the locally-invented ‘monacoin’.
While it has only about a third the market cap of dogecoin, the scrypt-based monacoin held a twelfth place ranking for the past week on Coinmarketcap and was was in the top 10 on Cryptocoinrank with a market cap of $6.13m – despite estimates that 90% of its user base is located in Japan.
Few other, if any, non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies have achieved this level of interest with such a geographic concentration of users.
At least five online and physical stores, plus an auction site, now accept monacoin for payments and the currency is traded on five exchanges: three in Japan, China’s ybex and the BVI’s AllCoin.com. A monacoin tipping system, developed by a 17-year-old high school student, is also active.
Monacoin’s 90-day price graph has started to look like a mini-version of bitcoin’s three-year chart: it has gone from a flatline value of around three yen (JP¥) through May and June, before rising in early July and shooting up to a high of JP¥ 80 on 1st August. It has since fallen back to JP¥ 44.6 with a market cap of $4.17m at press time. One yen equals roughly $0.01.
Positive news coverage
Why the sudden dramatic rise and drop? Some interest can be attributed to the WBS TV network in Tokyo, which ran a report on its program “World Business Satellite”. Viewers said the report was generally positive in nature compared to Japanese mainstream television’s coverage of bitcoin, which tends to focus heavily on Mt. Gox and the Silk Road.
It mentioned a man that recently bought a plot of land in Nagoya with monacoin:
こちらの土地、最近「３万２００１モナ」で売買されました。「モナ」というのは日本初のネット上の「仮想通貨」の単位。ビットコイン騒動で一度は下火になった仮想通貨、いま「日本発」で次の動きが出始めています。経済事件簿でお伝えします。#wbs pic.twitter.com/HdQhjH56T6– WBS (@wbs_tvtokyo) July 7, 2014 Translation:
“This piece of land was recently purchased for 32,001 MONA. “Mona” is an internet-based “virtual currency” unit started in Japan. Virtual currencies have been on the wane due to bitcoin’s scandals, but now the next trend is starting to appear from Japan. Report from our Economic Case Files.” The subsequent fall could be due to speculators seeing a bubble and dumping their holdings. At the price peak, those 32,001 MONA would have been worth $25,000. Japan wants something Japanese It may also be the result of Japan’s desire to produce its own native version of everything, with information in its own language. For years, Japanese shunned Facebook to use the locally-developed social network Mixi. The only downside was it wasn’t open to anyone outside Japan. Apple products and even smartphones themselves took slightly longer to take off in Japan, as locals were happy with the Internet-connected handsets they already had. This so-called ‘Galapagos effect’ in both technology and entertainment is almost inevitable when you’re an island country with 125 million people and a proprietary language. Add to this the fact that bitcoin’s documentation, developer materials, forums and most online information are written in English, and it’s easy to understand why some in Japan might also want to develop their own cryptocurrency. There is also plenty of information available in English, including a subreddit. Keiichi Hida, a prominent digital currency enthusiast and lobbyist with ‘Rising Bitcoin Japan‘ in Tokyo, told CoinDesk it is important to have something to which people could relate: “A few early adopters of cryptocurrencies recognized it at an early time. But almost all monacoin information is on Japanese websites and in Japanese. So monacoin was more accepted by other Japanese.” Hida uses monacoin and as well as his bitcoin advocacy activities, he and some friends formed the Monacoin Foundation. The Foundation has so far promoted the used of the cryptocurrency in Japan by holding three information seminars in Tokyo and Osaka. Unlike bitcoin, however, monacoin’s lead developers are not members of the Foundation. 2channel, Mr. Watanabe, and games Monacoin was launched in December 2013 on Japan’s Internet mega-forum 2channel (“ni-channeru”). The capital of Japanese online culture, 2channel has over 600 active message boards covering nearly every topic of interest and is one of the more popular sites in the country. Introducing the altcoin on the forums was the pseudonymous ‘Mr. Watanabe’, who has never revealed his real identity. That may sound familiar. Unlike the equally publicity-shy Satoshi Nakamoto, however, monacoin users are almost certain that ‘Mr. Watanabe’ is Japanese. Monacoin is not intended to be a ‘national altcoin‘ in the spirit of Iceland’s Auroracoin and its many followers. There is no ‘airdrop’ or handout planned so far. In his original forum post introducing monacoin, Mr. Watanabe suggested the coin was a game, with the mission of the game to find its hashes. Just as games like Final Fantasy XIV and DragonQuest had their own proprietary currencies, monacoin would be the same. It is not supposed to be similar to securities, he continued, but more like points to be spent only in the monacoin network. “I’m writing this clearly so there are no misunderstandings,” he said.
Front cover of the ‘MonaComi’ mangaBecoming its own meme
Monacoin, Hida said, is a good match for Japan’s geek/gamer ‘otaku’ culture. Its name and logo are based on ‘Mona’, a cat-like ASCII art character used on 2channel. Monacoin tips are popular with manga fans and creators.
A Google image search for ‘monacoin’ uncovers a plethora of different monacoin memes, ‘monacoin-chan’ characters and mascots (as well as pictures of Monaco, which has probably missed a trick with the name should it ever decide to launch its own altcoin).
This summer will see the launch of MonaComi, a manga based on monacoin which has so far collected 18,000 MONA in donations.
Disclaimer: The author of this article lives in Japan but is not involved with the monacoin project or Foundation, and does not currently hold any monacoins.
MonaComi image courtesy of its creator
AsiadogecoinJapanmonacoin
Original author: Jon Southurst
Original author: Marie Le Conte
Quoine is also more focused on trading features than other digital currency exchanges. For now, it supports a range of fiat currencies, including USD, JPY, SGD, and HKD, along with bitcoin.
The aim is to eventually support all fiat currencies using a background conversion system designed by Gomez-Lozada himself.
The site also offers market, limit and range orders, with live market data and candlestick charts, and is now testing a margin trading system that will eventually boost volumes and allow users to make significantly larger trades.
Wallets, payments and smartphones
As is standard with other exchanges, wallet and payment systems are built in. The company is currently talking to partners in Japan about ways to leverage these services to potentially provide local merchant services to compete with local startups like Bitcheck.
Quoine’s clean, two-tone web interface is designed primarily for use on mobile devices and browsers, with a desktop version also coming soon. Gomez-Lozada said the mobile priority was a conscious decision, as most forex traders in Asia preferred to use smartphones.
“This kind of thing you have to be watching all the time, you can’t be sitting in front of a computer. When I was a forex trader I never used a desktop.”
Once the margin trading system is functioning smoothly, the exchange plans to hold an official launch.
Security tradeoff
Quoine says it takes up to 24 hours to withdraw funds, including bitcoins, from user accounts. This is due to coins being stored in cold wallets, which Gomez-Lozada said is a tradeoff to allow users to feel more secure.
Checks and balances are run on a daily basis and performed manually to make sure everything matches up, using a process similar to that of banks.
“As a user, I’d prefer an exchange to be like that,” Gomez-Lozada added.
In the bitcoin closet
Quoine’s management team all come from a forex trading and fintech background, with key members still working at major companies until the time comes when they can ‘out’ themselves as bitcoiners.
Gomez-Lozada said he hopes his own experience working in finance and trading, along with experience working in Asia, give him the qualifications he needed to run Quoine.
Originally from El Salvador, he emigrated to the US as a teenager where he obtained a Masters in Computer Science before moving to Tokyo.
For about 15 years, he worked at companies like Merrill Lynch and Bank of America in Tokyo and Credit Suisse in Japan and Singapore, holding the CIO position at both companies and managing FICC (fixed income currencies & commodities) technology.
Trading interface. Source: Quoine.comAfter dabbling in Internet startups, he decided to return to his trading and technology roots and build a “proper exchange” to trade bitcoin, something he and his colleagues were fascinated by.
“We don’t think there’s that many exchanges right now being run by people who came from finance,” he continued.
He also has plenty of experience dealing with regulators and risk control in Japan, and understands what companies need to do in order to stay compliant.
Gomez-Lozada has largely bootstrapped the project from his own savings, but also accepted additional funding from a Japanese angel investor who is a big believer in bitcoin and wanted to join the project.
How will it perform?
CoinDesk was able to road-test the beta exchange and can report that there were no problems getting verified with Japanese language-only documents, funding the account with a local Japanese bank transfer, and buying bitcoin at reasonable market rates.
Withdrawing bitcoins was also seamless, actually taking far less than the cited 24 hours to complete.
Quoine will face immediate competition in its quest to “fill the Mt. Gox void”. BitFlyer, an exchange founded by former Goldman Sachs derivatives trader Yuzo Kano, is currently chasing Japanese business with its Japanese language-only site.
BitOcean Japan, the local arm of Chinese startup and ATM producer BitOcean, is also gearing up to launch a multi-language exchange based in Tokyo this month, through its partnership with Atlas ATS.
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.
Tokyo skyline image via skyearth / Shutterstock
AsiaJapanmargin trading
Original author: Jon Southurst
Original author: Carrie Kirby