The worst month for Bitcoin in seven years and ICO problems

On Saturday, December 1, the cost of Bitcoin rose to the level of $4,300. Then it dropped again: today, December 5, the cryptocurrency is trading at $ 3,850. Last weekend, several events occurred at once that have already influenced the situation in the industry and may change it in the future.

77.6% miners use renewable energy sources

CoinShares has published a study, according to which the average miner most likely works at a loss at Bitcoin cost of $4,000. However, under certain conditions, coin mining can remain a profitable business, blockchain experts at Soft-FX say. Many mining firms are moving from China to the Scandinavian countries, Russia, Canada and the United States, where electricity are cheaper and regulation are more permissive.

According to CoinShares, there are 43.2% of miners in Sichuan province who work on renewable energy sources, 5.7% in other Chinese provinces, and 27.8% in western countries. Overall, 77.6% of cryptocurrency mining occurs in a similar way.

Japanese government tightens control over ICO projects

The Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) will change the regulation of the ICO market to protect investors. All organizers of ICO projects will have to get registration with the regulator. The authorities will revise the rules for the work of exchanges and payment services. It is expected that the new requirements will be introduced in January.

Blockchain projects are losing at the international level

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) investigated the activities of 43 blockchain projects. The agency did not find evidence of the successful implementation of their ideas, and none of the companies provided evidence. The experts concluded that the sphere remains obscure, and many customers do not know which offers are right for them. Often, instead of the blockchain, there are databases that have problems with scaling.

State Street: there is high interest in cryptocurrency in the market

Clients of a large custodial company, State Street, are interested in the field of cryptocurrency, but at the moment they are still not ready to work with digital money, said Managing Director Jay Biancamano. The bank is not engaged in such a business, but it is positively disposed towards the blockchain and is ready for development in this area.

Estonia tightens regulation of cryptocurrency

The Estonian Ministry of Finance may tighten regulation of its cryptocurrency and token market as concerns about money laundering and terrorism financing. Now it concerns cryptocurrency companies. The Financial Supervisory Authority of the country reported that Bitcoin could be used for money laundering.

Coinbase added zero-fee withdrawals through PayPal

Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, has added the option of withdrawing fiat currencies to PayPal with no fee. The company has not made any announcements in this regard. The option has become available for the US dollar, the British pound and the Euro.

November 2018 became the worst month for Bitcoin since 2011

Last month, the Bitcoin rate fell by 37%. The last time the price of the coin dropped just as badly in August 2011, when the cryptocurrency fell from $8 to $4.80 - by 40%. On November 1, the coin was trading at $6,340, and by December 1, the exchange rate has dropped to $4,000.