Cryptocurrency
Malaysian Authorities Are Destroying Bitcoin Mining Rigs, Here’s Why (Report)
The Malaysian police are destroying Bitcoin mining rigs as part of a broader crackdown on crypto miners who steal electricity for their operations.
A report from local media, Malaysia Gazette, disclosed that the police headquarters in the Perak District crushed 985 mining rigs worth RM1.98 million ($452,500) earlier this week. A video on the platform’s X account showed the machines being crushed with a steamroller with local officials present.
Malaysian Authorities Destroy Mining Rigs
The Perak Tengah District Police chief said the department had received an order from the court to destroy the mining equipment. Authorities confiscated the rigs during enforcement operations and raids against Bitcoin miners from 2022 to April.
“The Bitcoin mining items out of the 24 recorded cases involve the year 2022 as many as nine cases, 2023 (two cases) and 2024 (one case). This disposal is carried out according to the scheduled disposal method, which is ‘E-Waste and Solid Waste Under the First Schedule, Environmental Quality Regulations (Scheduled Waste) 2005 in force,” Superintendent Hafezul Helmi Hamzah said.
During these raids in Bitcoin mining facilities, the police also arrested individuals suspected of handling the operations that steal electricity from the Asian country.
Detecting Unusual Energy Consumption
One of the operations conducted last week saw the Sepang District Police apprehend seven individuals suspected of being involved in the mining operations around the Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi and Taman Putra Perdana regions. According to a report from CryptoPotato, the arrested individuals included three local men and four foreign nationals aged between 30 and 74.
The confiscated assets include 52 Bitcoin mining rigs, three laptops, seven mobile phones, and two vehicles estimated to be worth around RM250,000 ($57,000). Authorities have begun investigations into the mining operations, and some arrested suspects have been charged in court. It is worth mentioning that the arrested persons have no criminal records and are just suspected of engaging in illegal Bitcoin mining activities that involve electricity theft.
Malaysian authorities have long frowned on local Bitcoin miners stealing energy for their crypto operations. Malaysia lost as much as RM3.4 billion ($722 million) worth of energy to crypto miners between 2018 and 2023. The government’s energy minister said the miners were able to steal energy for so long due to the absence of meters on their premises; however, energy supply companies have deployed various methods to detect unusual consumption.
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Cryptocurrency
ICP Skyrockets by Double Digits, BTC Price Stopped at $58K (Market Watch)
Bitcoin’s price jumped to $58,000 on two occasions on Monday and Tuesday but was stopped and pushed south by over a grand.
Most altcoins have followed suit with minor daily declines, but ICP has defied the overall sentiment with a massive 12% surge.
BTC’s Progress Halted
The primary cryptocurrency had a rough ending to the previous business week as it slumped by over four grand on Friday after the US jobs report for August and the growing exodus from the spot Bitcoin ETFs.
However, the bulls managed to intercept the freefall at this point and didn’t allow another breakdown toward $50,000. BTC recovered some ground and stood mostly above $54,000 during the weekend.
The landscape changed for the better on Monday as the asset exploded to a multi-day peak of $58,000. While the possible reasons are still debated, it tapped that level once again on Tuesday but ultimately failed to conquer it.
The subsequent rejection pushed it south by about $1,500, and it now stands close to $56,500. Its market cap has slipped to $1.150 trillion on CG, while its dominance has retraced slightly to 53.6%.
ICP, AAVE Defy Market Sentiment
Most altcoins produced some gains over the past few days but have mimicked BTC’s performance since yesterday by turning red. Ethereum touched $2,400 yesterday but has retraced to $2,330 as of now. BNB briefly exceeded $520, but it is down to $512 now.
Similar or even slightly more painful losses come from the likes of SOL, DOGE, XRP, ADA, AVAX, and SHIB.
In contrast, AAVE has skyrocketed by 9% and has tapped $150. ICP’s daily surge is even more impressive as it has jumped by 12% to $8.7.
The cumulative market cap of all crypto assets has declined by $30 billion since yesterday and is down to $2.080 trillion.
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Cryptocurrency
These Factors Suggest Bitcoin’s (BTC) Bull Run Is Just Getting Started: CQ
Bitcoin’s price tumbled below $50,000 at the start of August and to under $53,000 at the beginning of September, which is historically a bad month for the asset.
However, it managed to bounce off, and certain factors provide a more optimistic perspective about the upcoming months in terms of price action for the largest digital asset.
Declining Exchange Reserves
CryptoQuant’s analysis started its bullish forecast by outlining the declining number of BTC stored on cryptocurrency exchanges. As reported yesterday, the bitcoin exchange netflow shows mostly outflows, suggesting that investors have pulled their funds from the trading platforms, which reduces the immediate selling pressure.
According to CQ’s outlook, such transfers out of exchanges have been followed historically by price increases and new peaks.
The graph above shows two such prominent examples from the past four years. Back in late 2020, the BTC held on exchanges declined substantially and the asset skyrocketed to new all-time highs at the start of 2021.
Something similar transpired in early 2023, but a new ATH happened roughly a year later. This suggests that even though this is a bullish development, it could take months and even a year for this cycle’s peak to arrive.
Stablecoin Reserves on a Roll
The second factor listed by CryptoQuant is also something that we touched upon yesterday – the rising stablecoin reserves on exchanges. Just ahead of BTC’s impressive $4,000 rally on September 9 and 10, $300 million worth of stablecoins entered trading platforms, and they serve as the most convenient gateway for investors to accumulate digital assets.
“… Stablecoin reserves on exchanges are increasing, indicating that investors are preparing to buy. Stablecoins represent ready-to-deploy capital, and their rising presence suggests that traders are waiting for the right opportunity to enter the market. This increase signals strong buying interest.” – reads CQ’s report.
Overall Bullish Sentiment
While resources like the Fear and Greed index are still in ‘fear’ territory, CryptoQuant’s analyst said the overall market sentiment could be on the brink of a massive change due to the two aforementioned factors.
Additionally, October and November have been historically more bullish months for bitcoin. This, combined with the upcoming rate cuts in the States and the presidential elections (especially if Donald Trump wins), could lead to an inevitable BTC price breakout that might result in new peaks by the end of the year or at the start of 2025.
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Cryptocurrency
Ripple (XRP) Could Be Primed for a ‘Mega Pump’ (Analysts Chip in)
TL;DR
‘Euphoric Phase’ Incoming?
Ripple’s XRP has shown quite a wobbly performance as of late, with its value plunging by 7% on a two-week scale. It reached a local bottom of around $0.50 before recovering some of the losses and rising to the current $0.53 (per CoinGecko’s data).
Some analysts believe an explosive price growth might soon replace the negative trend. The X user EGRAG CRYPTO, for instance, claimed XRP could experience a repeat of the 2017 pump.
Back then, its valuation skyrocketed from a mere $0.25 in December 2017 to an all-time high of $3.40 just a month later (a 1,250% increase). A similar bull run nowadays would result in a new peak of approximately $7.20 for XRP.
“XRPArmy STAY STEADY. The upcoming euphoric phase will be known as the XRP MEGA PUMP. Get ready,” EGRAG CRYPTO added.
Earlier this week, The Great Mattsby argued that XRP’s monthly Bollinger Bonds keep squeezing and are now “way tighter than 2017.” The analyst assumed this development would eventually end in a massive rally for Ripple’s native token.
This technical indicator, developed by John Bollinger in the early 1980s, helps traders identify when an asset may be overbought or oversold, thus spotting potential reversal points.
Tightening the bands means XRP has experienced relatively low volatility for a prolonged time and might be headed for a huge rally (or correction). It is worth noting that historically, this development has resulted in a price movement to the upside.
Those willing to explore additional forecasts involving XRP, feel free to check our detailed article here.
Another Bullish Signal
The declining supply of XRP on cryptocurrency exchanges should also be mentioned when speculating about the asset’s possible future market dynamics. As CryptoPotato recently reported, the number of tokens held on trading venues dropped to a seven-month low.
Such a change generally indicates that investors might have shifted from centralized platforms toward self-custody methods, resulting in reduced immediate selling pressure.
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