Some Bitcoin miners are trading in their diamond hands to pay for their picks and shovels.
A metric tracking Bitcoin miners’ holdings turned negative on February 5 for the first time since mid-November, according to crypto analytics platform Glassnode. The turn in the metric — or the net change of miner balances over a trailing 30-day window — shows that miners have sold their coins, in a possible sign a shakeout of less-efficient operators is coming.
Miners had been adding to their stockpiles for months, even as prices fell to $35,000, according to research firm Delphi Digital. But with Bitcoin still lingering 35 per cent below an all-high in November, miners with costly operations are under pressure to mind their cash balances, while also investing in more powerful equipment.
Shares of the bigger miners are rebounding off the lows from the recent sell-off. Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Blockchain, Stronghold Digital Mining and Hut 8 Mining are up more than 40 per cent from lows in January. But those with smaller operations could be selling strategically.
Marathon and Hut 8 told Bloomberg they remained “hodlers” during the recent crunch. “We started hodling in October 2020, and since then, we have not sold a single satoshi”, Charlie Schumacher, a spokesman for Marathon Digital, said. A satoshi — derived from supposed Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s name — refers to a percentage of a coin.
Likewise, Sue Ennis, head of investor relations for Hut 8 Mining, said: “We are believers in Bitcoin. Some miners sell Bitcoin or use it to pay expenses. We hold or ‘hodl’ ours”. [Hodl is a term derived from a misspelling of 'hold', in the context of buying and holding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and it also now commonly stands for 'hold on for dear life' among crypto investors].
Riot and Stronghold did not respond to emailed inquiries.
Bitcoin miners have pledged to grow, committing to buy more mining rigs and raise the rate at which they can mint Bitcoins. But given how both equity and crypto markets are behaving, there’s “little margin for error” in terms of execution this year relative to 2021, Lucas Pipes, a B Riley analyst, said.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
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Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
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