The world’s most-used blockchain, Ethereum, is switching to a new validation system this summer called proof-of-stake (PoS). PoS, favored over its predecessor for its relative energy efficiency, lets users validate transactions on the network by temporarily depositing, or staking, a certain amount of their tokens in return for rewards.

But ETH holders have been hesitant to stake their coins, with only 8% of eligible tokens in the Ethereum ecosystem staked to date, according to StakingRewards. Still, Ethereum must encourage staking so it can complete the transition to PoS with an adequately secure network.

This incentive gap has created an opportunity for liquid staking providers, including Lido, which announced today that it received a $70 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz.

Lido is the market leader for Ethereum liquid staking, representing over 80% of market share in that space, recent estimates show. Assets staked on Lido are worth over $10 billion USD at today’s prices, and are split across 76,000 individual crypto wallets, Lido co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk told TechCrunch in an interview.

To understand why assets on Lido grew by 15,000% in 2021, according to Lomashuk, it’s important to first understand why some crypto holders do not choose to stake their coins.

First, staking is considered to be less risky, and therefore less lucrative from a return standpoint, than investing in some decentralized finance (DeFi) products. What’s more, staked ETH is effectively “locked up” and cannot currently be withdrawn, making higher-return DeFi strategies look all the more attractive to many yield-seekers.

The post How Lido raises the stakes for crypto and DeFi investors first appeared on Digital Dollar.

Australian bitcoin miner Mawson Infrastructure (MIGI) plans to expand its Sandersville, Georgia mining facility to 230 megawatts (MW), which will be capable of generating up to 7.5 exahash per second (EH/s) mining power.

• The facility is expected to become fully operational with the additional 150 MW online in the third quarter of this year, the miner said in a statement on Thursday.
• Previously Mawson said the facility would have 100MW of power capacity by early Q1.
• Mawson cracked 1 EH/s mining power in January and said it expects its hashrate to be around 1.35 EH/s by the end of February, which would bring the miner’s share of mining power closer to 1% of total Bitcoin network’s hashrate. Total Bitcoin network hashrate was about 189 EH/s as of March 2, according to data analytics firm Glassnode.
• The Sandersville facility mainly uses nuclear and hydro energy sources, the miner said. Mawson also intends to use Carbon Credits and Renewable Energy Credits at the facility to ensure the miner’s goal of being 100% net carbon-neutral by 2030 is on track.

The post Bitcoin Miner Mawson to Expand U.S. Mining Facility Capability to 7.5 EH/s first appeared on Digital Dollar.

The Department of Justice announced early Wednesday a new task force broadly designed to enforce sanctions. As part of that, it will target efforts to use cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions, launder proceeds of foreign corruption or evade U.S. responses to Russian military aggression.

Taking aim at Russia’s access to digital cash comes as the U.S. and its allies, including notoriously neutral Switzerland, levy heavy punitive measures against Moscow.

The concern is that the Kremlin, as well as other ancillary actors supporting the offensive on Ukraine, will evade the sanctions regime via digital tokens, which are not owned or issued by a central authority like a bank. Bitcoin, like most cryptocurrencies, is decentralized and borderless, which means that it doesn’t respect national boundaries. Because there is no central authority to block transactions, digital currencies are also resistant.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, stats from crypto data provider Kaiko show that transactions on centralized bitcoin exchanges in both the Russian ruble and the Ukrainian hryvnia have surged to their highest levels in months. This is likely part of the reason why Ukraine asked all the top crypto exchanges to ban Russian users — a request that has been rejected by many major players, who argue a move like that would go against the very reason why cryptocurrencies exist.

The post Bitcoin sanctions could be next, but most Russians won’t care first appeared on Digital Dollar.

More than $30 million worth of cryptocurrency — primarily Bitcoin and Ethereum — has been donated in support of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion over the last few days.

The official Twitter account of the Ukrainian government shared two cryptocurrency wallet addresses on Saturday to receive donations of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether. According to research from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, those wallets have attracted $31.7 million worth of crypto so far.

The prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum plunged Wednesday night after news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. Bitcoin dropped back below $35,000, and Ethereum dropped below $2,400 — though both had risen by Friday afternoon. As of Monday morning, Bitcoin was back over $40,000 and Ethereum was near $2,800.

The developing war in Ukraine introduces new and significant volatility to the crypto market, several experts told NextAdvisor. The crypto market has been increasingly tracking the stock market lately, which combined with more mainstream adoption and the slumping prices we’ve seen to start the year, makes it even more intertwined with developing circumstances in Eastern Europe, experts say.

The post Latest Crypto News: Over $30 Million in Crypto Donations Pour Into Ukraine Following Russian Invasion first appeared on Digital Dollar.