Connect with us
  • tg

Cryptocurrency

Russia’s Power Grid Hit by Unauthorized Crypto Mining, Losing Over 1.3 Billion Rubles

letizo News

Published

on

Rosseti Group, Russia’s power grid company, reported losses exceeding 1.3 billion rubles – which is worth around $14.2 million – in 2024 due to unauthorized cryptocurrency mining operations, also known as “black” mining firms.

As per a report by state-owned news agency TASS, damages were widespread across the company’s electrical networks.

Illegal Mining Strains Russia’s Energy Grid

The most significant impact was recorded in the North Caucasus region, which amounted to over 600 million rubles. The Novosibirsk grid suffered losses of 400 million rubles, while the Center and Volga region suffered damages amounting to 120 million rubles.

The company highlighted the largest individual case in Novosibirsk, where an operator ran approximately 3,200 mining devices, illegally drawing electricity on an industrial scale and causing an estimated loss of 197 million rubles ($2.2 million).

Rosseti stated that crypto-mining operations contribute to power grid congestion, leading to low voltage issues that can harm electrical appliances. So far, authorities have intercepted 130 instances of unauthorized power use, with more than 40 cases under criminal investigation, potentially leading to prison sentences.

Monetizing Excess Capacity By Mining Bitcoin

While unauthorized crypto mining has drained Rosseti’s resources through electricity theft, the group announced exploring cryptocurrency mining as a way to optimize underutilized power capacity just last month. The company said that its initiative aims to use idle power supply centers efficiently, boost tariff revenues, and contribute to regional economic growth through tax revenue.

Given Rosseti’s extensive grid network, it has the capacity to coordinate mining infrastructure placement and connect energy consumers to underloaded power centers. Discussions are underway about the company’s potential entry into the mining industry, including strategies to stimulate demand at these sites. One key aspect under consideration is a specialized tariff system to regulate energy use efficiently.

Rosseti also emphasized its advanced energy infrastructure, which includes modern switching equipment and load management systems designed to ensure power grid stability. This move aligns with the company’s broader goal of modernizing Russia’s electric grid and integrating emerging industries.

Additionally, Kommersant had earlier reported that Rosseti’s CEO, Andrei Ryumin, has approached Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin for approval to oversee the development of mining centers. If granted, this initiative could position Rosseti as a major player in the crypto-mining sector, leveraging its infrastructure to turn excess electricity into a profitable venture while maintaining grid reliability.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Cryptocurrency

Tokenized Assets Arrive on Tezos L2 as Midas Joins Etherlink

letizo News

Published

on

The integration is a showcase of the platform’s ongoing commitment to creating infrastructure for financial systems that anyone can access, by ensuring compliance and offering composable yield products.

This also creates a path for further fusions of Liquid Yield Tokens (LYTs) into Etherlink’s ecosystem, offering various use cases that include collateralized lending, risk tranching, and portfolio management. 

Midas’ New Collaboration

According to a press release shared with CryptoPotato, the institutional-grade asset tokenization platform is steadily developing on Etherlink. The focus is on creating secure, transparent, and efficient structures that allow investors to access the performance of select reference strategies through tokenized formats.

After launching mBASIS, the protocol for tracking the performance of crypto funding rates, and mTBILL, which tracks short-term US Treasuries, two new products were introduced: mMEV and mRe7YIELD.

The former follows a yield strategy by MEV Capital, a digital asset manager, and the latter does the same, but for Re7 Capital, an investment firm specializing in DeFi yield and liquid alpha strategies.

At the time of printing, according to information from Midas’ website, the reported Total Value Locked (TVL) is close to $350 million; however, data from DefiLlama paints a different picture, with nearly $190 million.

Etherlink as The Backbone

The L2 blockchain is non-custodial, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible, built on Tezos Smart Rollups, offering developers favorable conditions in terms of transaction costs and confirmation times.

“Etherlink offers the scalability and composability needed to bring structured, compliant strategies fully on-chain. With mMEV and mRe7YIELD, we’re expanding secure, self-custodied exposure to institutional-grade products.” – Dennis Dinkelmeyer, CEO at Midas

David Relkin, the Head of DeFi at Nomadic Labs, which is the core team behind Tezos, believes this is an essential step toward bringing wholesale finance fully on-chain.

The timing aligns with notable progress achieved by the blockchain, which has grown from $1.45 million on March 1st to over $45 million in TVL as of today, indicated by DefiLlama.

This is just one of the use cases that Etherlink boasts, which also includes gaming & NFTs, cross-chain liquidity through bridges like LayerZero or Bifröst, support for .etherlink domains, and more.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency

XRP Price Jumps 26% Weekly as Whale Moves in: $3 Breakout Ahead?

letizo News

Published

on

TL;DR

  • Analyst sees 2017-style pattern forming in XRP chart, supported by bullish RSI crossover.
  • XRP sits 14% below its all-time high as ETF speculation boosts volume and trading interest.

xrp_whales_cover

Large XRP Transfer Sparks Interest

A wallet moved 25.5 million XRP, worth around $73.6 million, to Coinbase. The transfer was spotted by Whale Alert and quickly caught attention across crypto circles. XRP was trading at $2.92 at the time of writing.

Over the past day, XRP has increased by around 2%. The weekly gain now stands at more than 26%. Trading volume remains high, with over $6.2 billion in activity during the last 24 hours. The size and timing of this transfer may suggest positioning ahead of market events.

Analysts Track Technical Pattern

Crypto analyst JD pointed to a familiar setup in XRP’s price action. He said the current move resembles the 2017 pattern that led to a major breakout. JD noted,

“I called the $0.28 bottom; I’m calling the top next.”

Interestingly, the chart shows XRP breaking above a large triangle and consolidating. Stochastic RSI shows a bullish cross, with hidden divergence also in play. If the current structure holds, traders expect a strong move upward.

ETF Launch Seen as Catalyst

ProShares is set to launch its futures XRP ETF on July 18. This has led to more active trading near key price zones. Desks appear to be shifting between $2.85 and $2.93, with $3.00 acting as a key resistance.

Some firms are holding off on full exposure due to regulatory uncertainty. ETF flows are expected to give a clearer picture of institutional demand in the coming days.

XRP’s price is now within 14% of its all-time high, last reached in January 2018 and retested in 2025. Traders expect the next move to attempt to break that level.

RLUSD, an enterprise-focused stablecoin, recently passed $500 million in market cap, adding to XRP’s growing ecosystem.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency

No Euphoria in Bitcoin Markets but Warning Signs Are Starting to Appear (Analyst)

letizo News

Published

on

Bitcoin’s record-setting rally may be nearing a crucial inflection point, with on-chain data showing an increase in large-scale Bitcoin deposits to Binance.

According to an expert at the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, this could point to big-money investors possibly preparing for strategic exits or leveraged plays.

Whale Moves Signal Market Shift

BTC reached a new all-time high (ATH) above $123,000 on July 14, before retreating to the $117,000 neighborhood. This correction may appear modest on the surface, but deeper market signals suggest more turbulence could be ahead.

In a recent “quick take,” pseudonymous CQ analyst Crazzyblock noted that the “Binance Whale Activity Score” had spiked sharply following Bitcoin’s latest peak. And it isn’t a minor movement either; it represents a coordinated shift by major players.

According to him, approximately 1,800 BTC, worth more than $210 million at current rates, flowed into Binance deposits yesterday alone. Additionally, transactions exceeding $1 million accounted for over 35% of total Bitcoin inflows to the world’s largest exchange, confirming the presence of institutional-sized wallets.

Just as importantly, CryptoQuant’s age-band data showed that these aren’t coins from recent buyers, but rather older holdings from experienced, strategic investors re-entering the active market.

Given Binance’s status as the world’s largest crypto trading venue, commanding over 25% of global spot volume, such moves warrant closer scrutiny. It implies whales may be positioning assets on the most liquid platform to either secure profits after the historic run or to use the exchange’s deep derivatives markets for hedging and new positions amidst peak volatility.

“Either way, the presence of this much ‘sell-side’ pressure on the market’s primary trading venue increases the risk of sharp price swings,” wrote Crazzyblock. “The smart money is moving, and their actions often precede significant market shifts.”

Euphoria Yet to Kick In

Interestingly, this whale-driven shift is coming at a time when bullish sentiment is dominating headlines. Bitcoin’s rise to a new ATH triggered a wave of price forecasts, with some market watchers predicting the cryptocurrency could be changing hands at $200,000 each by year’s end.

However, behind the optimism lies a more measured market structure. CQ’s proprietary greed indicators remain in neutral territory, and the rHODL ratio sits at just 32%, indicating that broader retail participation still hasn’t materialized, an essential ingredient for true market euphoria.

The latest price movements hint at this brewing tension, with the asset seemingly stepping back from the heat of its last breakout.

Data from CoinGecko shows the number one cryptocurrency is trading at $117,496 at the time of this writing, down nearly 4% in the last 24 hours. Still, it’s up almost 9% for the week and 11.3% across the past month, outperforming legacy markets but falling just short of the broader crypto sector, which gained 9.2% over seven days.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Trending

©2021-2024 Letizo All Rights Reserved