<hr/><h4>Could the Small Industrial Towns of Canada Provide the Ideal Home for Crypto Miners?</h4><div>
<p>Cryptocurrency mining is more competitive than ever. With enormous rig constructions consuming more energy than many of the<a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/04/bitcoin-tops-159-individual-countries-in-energy-consumption-at-2-billion-per-year/"> nations of the world</a> dominating the once cottage industry, cutting every possible cost is vital. For this reason, miners like cool climates where electricity is cheap. Endless rows of components brute forcing numerical combinations to release cryptocurrency is warm work and extraction units cost money to buy and run. For these reasons, miners have previously favoured the likes of China and Iceland. However, facing <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/12/iceland-may-implement-bitcoin-mining-tax-energy-consumption/">increased regulatory pressure</a> in some territories whilst having no clue what they can and can’t do in others, it makes sense for them to spread their operations as far and wide and possible. Enter Canada.</p>
<p>Canada, like many so-called First World nations, used to have a lot of heavy industry. However, in the globalised world we now live in, much of this has relocated to parts of the planet more favourable to businesses (or with populations more easily exploitable). Towns like Powerview-Pine Falls in rural Canada used to be home to paper mills and built entire economies around now-defunct industries. When businesses like Tembec Inc. left in 2009, they took with them their capital but left behind an infrastructure tailored to heavy industry.</p>
<p>Almost a decade later, digital currencies could be about to breathe life back into such communities. Several of the planet’s undisclosed cryptocurrency miners have reached out to the town in the past month with plans to take advantage of both the town’s cheap hydro electrical resources, as well as the cool climate. Mayor of Powerview-Pine Falls, Bev Dubé, spoke with optimism about the developments in her town to the <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/technology/blockchain/towns-hopeful-but-cautious-as-crypto-miners-flood-into-canada">Financial Post</a>:</p>
<p><em>“That’s why this is so exciting, it’s something truly new… I’ve been here 40 years, through all the loss of industry and I can’t help but think, you know, is this another world-changing technology coming in? And if we could have any part of it … well, it’s exciting to think they’re coming to us.”</em></p>
<p>However, being so innovative, the town also have their reservations about the nature of the industry that could be heading their way.</p>
<p>Head of China research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), Sophie Lu, explained to the Financial Post the experience of small Chinese towns that had previously housed textiles mills and since welcomed crypto miners. Despite the cheap, abundant electricity they provide, the relationship was fairly one-sided. The mine employed only around 50 people and any profits generated were immediately taken out of the area. She continued:</p>
<p><em>“About six months ago they began to realise their local economy wasn’t getting anything from this.”</em></p>
<p>It’s for this reason that Canadian hydroelectricity companies are claiming that they expect the miners themselves to foot the bill for any infrastructure upgrades or changes that need making. They’re also not entirely sold on the idea yet so are keeping their options open.</p>
<p>This is largely because another industry is vying for cheap and plentiful power sources in the area. Data centres, which can employ many thousands of local people, are an alternative to welcoming cryptocurrency miners. It’s widely expected that this will be more beneficial to the population than the more self-interested crypto miners. Jonathan Côté, a spokesperson for Hydro Quebec, put it simply:</p>
<p><em>“This is something we have thought about and it’s one of the reasons we were so focused on data centres, not bitcoin mines from the get go… If we had to choose between an Amazon data centre and bitcoin we would definitely choose Amazon.”</em></p>
<p>However, the mayor of Powerview-Pine Falls is still confident that the town could benefit from the crypto mining industry despite the lack of jobs it might provide:</p>
<p><em>“We’re excited, but we want to be careful and get the best deal possible. Maybe this doesn’t come into the community and create jobs, but there could be a land purchase or lease or maybe some publicity. If they show interest in our community, others could too.”</em></p>
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<pre>Image: PixaBay</pre>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/17/small-industrial-towns-canada-provide-ideal-home-crypto-miners/">Could the Small Industrial Towns of Canada Provide the Ideal Home for Crypto Miners?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/">NewsBTC</a>.</p>
</div><br/><div>Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/17/small-industrial-towns-canada-provide-ideal-home-crypto-miners/</div><br/><hr/><h4>Patent Stockpiling: Bank of America Holds 45 Crypto-Related Patents</h4><div>
<p class="p1"><strong><span class="s1">A patent grants its holder exclusive rights to an invention, such as a piece of technology, for a certain period of time. While designed as a means of protecting the intellectual property of inventors, the system is not without its critics who believe that patenting deters innovation and wastes resources.</span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Consider crypto founding fathers like Satoshi Nakamoto, individuals and groups who place ideas ahead of profit and are more aligned with open source principles than filing patents and closely guarding their secrets — the only secret Satoshi guarded was his/its identity. It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that in the last decade the company that has amassed more cryptocurrency patents than any other<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>— and who, to some, seems to be the antithesis of everything decentralized currency stands for — is Bank of America.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">According to Bitcoin Patent Report, in the nine years since Bitcoin’s first block was mined, over 2,000 related patents have been filed. In the cryptocurrency’s first few years the number of patents was low — averaging under 50 a year. By 2015 that number began to increase, and by 2016 was growing exponentially. In 2017, 1,250 cryptocurrency-related patents were filed. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Some of the companies who feature in the top ten are to be expected, such as Bitflyer and <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2017/06/27/ibm-build-new-trade-finance-platform-hyperledger/"><span class="s2">IBM</span></a>, whose interest in blockchain is well documented. The computing giant has filed a total of 34 cryptocurrency related patents, but is outpaced by South Korean brokerage Coinplug, which is third on the list with 39.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Others on the list are more unexpected, either because they have publicly expressed little interest in cryptocurrency, or are not commonly associated with such cutting-edge technology. It makes sense that MasterCard would have an interest in digital payment systems, for example, but it is surprising to see them ranked ninth for cryptocurrency related patents, with 21 filings. The greatest surprise of all is reserved for the top spot, which as noted above is claimed by Bank of America, having at least 45 patents filed.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Bitcoin Patent Report also revealed that 50% of all crypto-related patents come from China (910), followed by the U.S. (676), the U.K. (112), and South Korea (98). Regardless of the merits of each patent, and the moral case for their very existence, they indicate an unprecedented level of interest in Bitcoin and blockchain technologies. </span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/17/patent-stockpiling-bank-america-holds-45-crypto-related-patents/">Patent Stockpiling: Bank of America Holds 45 Crypto-Related Patents</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/">NewsBTC</a>.</p>
</div><br/><div>Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/17/patent-stockpiling-bank-america-holds-45-crypto-related-patents/</div><br/><hr/><h4>FCC: Bitcoin Miner Interfered with T-Mobile’s LTE Network in Brooklyn</h4><div>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken action against a Brooklyn resident who was using a Bitcoin miner because the machine was interfering with T-Mobile’s 700 MHz LTE network in the city. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel commented on the incident in a Tweet:</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Okay, this <a href="https://twitter.com/FCC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FCC</a> letter has it all: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> mining, computing power needed for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/blockchain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#blockchain</a> computation and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wireless?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wireless</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/broadband?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#broadband</a> interference. It all seems so very 2018. <a href="https://t.co/EaXxmBAMXH">https://t.co/EaXxmBAMXH</a></p>
<p>— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcel) <a href="https://twitter.com/JRosenworcel/status/964262514912579586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2018</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">New York City resident Victor Rosario was issued a Notification of Harmful Interference and was ordered to turn off his Antminer S5 Bitcoin Miner after the FCC discovered that it was interfering with T-Mobile’s wireless network. “On November 30, 2017, in response to the complaint agents from the Enforcement Bureau’s New York Office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio emissions in the 700 MHz band were emanating from your residence in Brooklyn, New York,” the FCC wrote in a <a href="https://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2018/db0215/DOC-349258A1.pdf"><span class="s2">complaint</span></a> posted to its site. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“When the interfering device was turned off the interference ceased. You identified the device as an Antminer S5 Bitcoin Miner. The device was generating spurious emissions on frequencies assigned to T-Mobile’s broadband network and causing harmful interference.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The FCC warned Rosario that continued use of the device — and therefore further interference with T-Mobile’s network — would be a violation of federal laws, and “could subject the operator to severe penalties, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary fines, in rem arrest action to seize the offending radio equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Agency rules require operators of radio frequency devices to cease operating a device after receiving this type of notification. “Operation shall not resume until the condition causing the harmful interference has been corrected,” the FCC said.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">What isn’t clear is why the Antminer S5 Bitcoin Miner was generating 700MHz radio emissions — a hardware design flaw or after-market modifications made by the user could potentially be the cause. The Notification of Harmful Interference is specific to Rosario’s device, “not its brand or model and is not meant to suggest or find that all Antminer S5 devices are noncompliant,” the notification said in a footnote. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The FCC is still researching the issue, with the agency asking Rosario to answer several questions about the device and where he purchased it, asking Rosario specifically to “provide the following information on the device: Manufacturer, Model, Serial Number, and if there is any FCC labelling identification.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Wireless carriers like T-Mobile have always attempted to protect their networks from interference. In 2016 AT&T said that its wireless network was suffering from interference generated by a range of electronics operations, including large-scale video displays, industrial lighting systems, LED lights, and FM radio stations. These interference situations could happen more frequently and become more complex as more devices are connected to wireless networks, and wireless networks span more and more frequency bands. T-Mobile is also facing <a href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/06/t-mobile-faces-federal-lawsuit-after-hackers-steal-users-cryptocurrencies/">a federal lawsuit</a> for allowing hackers to steal users’ cryptocurrencies.</span></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/16/fcc-bitcoin-miner-interfered-with-t-mobiles-lte-network-in-brooklyn/">FCC: Bitcoin Miner Interfered with T-Mobile’s LTE Network in Brooklyn</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.newsbtc.com/">NewsBTC</a>.</p>
</div><br/><div>Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/02/16/fcc-bitcoin-miner-interfered-with-t-mobiles-lte-network-in-brooklyn/</div><br/><hr/>Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/