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Experts Criticize IMF Tax Increase Proposal for Crypto Miners

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On August 15, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report titled “Carbon Emissions from AI and Crypto Are Surging and Tax Policy Can Help.” The report calls for a significant increase in electricity taxes for crypto miners and AI data centers.

The IMF argues that the proposed tax would incentivize more sustainable practices and align these industries with global carbon reduction goals.

Rising Carbon Costs: IMF Targets Crypto and AI with New Levy Recommendations

In its report, the IMF recommends a tax of $0.047 per kilowatt hour to incentivize the crypto mining industry to reduce emissions in line with global targets. The report further mentions that if the impact of air pollution on local health is also considered, the recommended tax rate would increase to $0.089. This adjustment represents an 85% hike in the average electricity cost for miners.

“Such a levy would raise annual government revenue of $5.2 billion globally and reduce annual emissions by 100 million tons (around Belgium’s current emissions),” the IMF remarked.

Read more: How Much Electricity Does Bitcoin Mining Use?

Meanwhile, it suggests a slightly reduced tax of $0.032 per kilowatt-hour for AI data centers. This lower rate is attributed to the fact that such centers typically opt for locations with greener electricity sources.

The report highlighted the growing carbon footprint of these industries, which together accounted for 2% of global electricity demand in 2022. Projections suggest this could rise to 3.5% by 2025. According to the IMF, this figure is “equivalent to the current consumption of Japan,” which is “the world’s fifth largest electricity user.”

Amount of Emissions from Crypto and AI Data Centers. Source: IMF

“A recent IMF working paper found that crypto mining could generate 0.7% of global carbon dioxide emissions by 2027. Extending the analysis to data centers (based on IEA estimates) means their carbon emissions could reach 450 million tons by 2027, or 1.2% of the world total,” the report added.

Bitcoin Mining’s Green Evolution: Experts Challenge IMF’s Findings

Industry leaders, however, have responded with sharp criticism. Daniel Batten, a Bitcoin environmental analyst and Marathon Digital advisory board member, described the IMF’s report as misleading and poorly researched. He accused the IMF of unfairly associating the carbon impact of AI data centers with Bitcoin mining, ignoring the crypto industry’s significant advancements in sustainability.

Furthermore, Batten emphasized that the IMF’s approach oversimplifies the issue by failing to distinguish between AI data centers and crypto mining operations. While both sectors are energy-intensive, they differ in how they consume energy and their environmental impacts.

“There is no contemporary evidence in the report that Bitcoin mining produces a rising amount of carbon emissions, but plenty of evidence that AI data centers’ carbon emissions are rising. […] So, the article says, ‘AI datacenter emissions are rising, and Bitcoin is just like AI.’ The technique is effective and will fool some people. But it’s also factually incorrect,” Batten remarked.

Batten noted that the IMF’s report also overlooks the potential environmental benefits of crypto mining when managed responsibly. He cited a report by the Digital Assets Research Institute that indicates that “as price and hashrate grow, Bitcoin mining emissions have not grown.”

“Until we get intellectual honesty from the IMF, apples-for-apples comparisons, eschewing of already-discredited research, use of contemporary datasets, and an acknowledgment that the scientific consensus shows predominantly positive environmental externalities from Bitcoin mining, any reports from this institute should be disregarded as being of a low research-standard; unusable to policymakers and regulators,” Batten stated.

The past few years have seen some jurisdictions, such as Venezuela and Iran, banned crypto mining in their countries, citing power issues. However, it is important to note that miners nowadays actively seek efficient and sustainable Bitcoin mining, with some utilizing excess or wasted energy.

A January report by Coinshares also supports this approach. It noted that Bitcoin mining consistently seeks the most affordable energy sources. This sector often utilizes stranded energy that cannot be easily integrated into the existing power grid, usually by tapping into renewable energy projects in remote areas.

Read more: Bitcoin Mining From Home: Is It Possible in 2024?

Bitcoin’s Sustainable Energy Use. Source: Daniel Batten

Consequently, there is an increasing trend of Bitcoin mining operations using electricity from sustainable sources. In his previous report, Batten estimated that approximately 52.6% of the energy consumed by Bitcoin mining operations is now renewable. This figure is higher than the finance industry’s use of sustainable energy, estimated at 40%.

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Crypto Analyst Predicts Dogecoin Will Outperform Bitcoin In 2025, Here’s Why

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According to a crypto analyst known pseudonymously as Master Kenobi on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the prime cryptocurrency that’s going to outperform Bitcoin in this market cycle is none other than Dogecoin, the original OG meme coin. The analyst suggested that Dogecoin will outperform Bitcoin in the ongoing market cycle due to the follower effect, with Bitcoin laying the groundwork for the meme coin. 

This comes even as Bitcoin has had the lion’s share of investments and new inflow into the crypto industry since the beginning of the year due to increased institutional investments. This has seen Bitcoin outperforming most altcoins, with Ethereum, the king of altcoins, especially struggling to keep up.

Dogecoin Will Outperform Bitcoin Due To The Follower Effect

In a lengthy post on X, Master Kenobi highlighted points to support his Dogecoin claims. While Bitcoin has enjoyed a surge in dominance since the beginning of 2024, Dogecoin’s historical performance and community-driven momentum seem to support the analyst’s claim.

Created as a joke in 2013, Dogecoin has defied expectations and carved out a niche for itself as a top-10 cryptocurrency in terms of market cap. Particularly, the analyst noted that DOGE has consistently outperformed Bitcoin in every market cycle for the past 10 years. He credits this interesting dynamic to the follower effect between Bitcoin and Dogecoin. The follower effect basically suggests that DOGE has had the advantage of riding Bitcoin’s trajectory and using it as a launchpad for the past few years.

Particularly, the analyst noted that Bitcoin has largely existed without a blueprint. This has prompted Bitcoin to become the blueprint followed by other cryptocurrencies, which allowed DOGE to grow more quickly. In the 2017 and 2021 bull runs, Dogecoin’s gains dwarfed those of Bitcoin, largely driven by retail investors, memes, and support from high-profile figures like Elon Musk.

When To Expect A DOGE Price Surge

Dogecoin currently has a market cap of $15.2 billion, a 67% increase since October 2023, the month that marks the beginning of the current market cycle. Drawing similarities with Bitcoin and the 2024 halving, Master Kenobi noted that Dogecoin’s current trajectory after the 2024 halving bears a lot of similarities to Bitcoin’s performance following the 2016 halving. Specifically, he pointed out that Dogecoin’s market cap is currently the same as where Bitcoin was roughly 190 days after its 2016 halving event.

Going by this reasoning, the analyst suggests Dogecoin should be able to reach at least a market cap of $320 billion sometime in 2025. In order to reach this point in market cap with the time projection, DOGE would need to go on a price surge of over 2,000% within the next one year. At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1043. A market cap of $320 billion necessitates the meme coin to be trading around $2.2.

Dogecoin price chart from Tradingview.com (Bitcoin)
DOGE price jumps above $0.1 | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com



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Bitcoin Bull Run: Crypto Analyst Publishes Guide On How To Know The Market Top

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As the crypto market gears up for a potential bull run in 2025, analyst IonicXBT has shared his comprehensive guide on how to identify the Bitcoin market top in this cycle. The analysts’ guide is based upon the SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio), one of the lesser-known but highly useful metrics for analyzing Bitcoin.

IonicXBT Detailed SOPR Metric Guide

IonicXBT on X (formerly twitter) told his 125,000 followers that the SOPR metric has consistently accurately predicted the tops of previous crypto market cycles, citing instances of 2018 and 2021. The SOPR is a metric that tells us whether the average investor in the Bitcoin market is selling their coins at a profit or at a loss right now. 

When the indicator has a value greater than 1, it means that the average holder in the sector is selling their coins at some profit right now. On the other hand, a value under this threshold implies that loss-selling is dominant among the participants. According to the chart he dropped, he seemed to think that Bitcoin’s moving average SOPR has fallen below 1.0, indicating that most spent outputs are being sold at a loss.

Bitcoin bull run 1
Source: X

He further highlighted that the current drop in SOPR indicates that the bottom of the correction is near, suggesting that the market is not yet close. 

Interestingly he urged his followers to remain calm as he emphasized on the significance of SOPR spikes, noting that they often signal market tops as long-term holders lock in profits. He further assured them of his commitment to providing accurate signals for identifying the market top which focuses on real strategies backed by data rather than hype or speculation. 

“But don’t worry, I’ll be the first to give you the signal of the top. No hype, no nonsense, Just real strategies backed by data,” the analyst said.

 

Alternative Guide To Know The Bitcoin Market Top Cycle

While IonicXBT has highlighted the SOPR metric as a valuable tool for predicting market tops, other analysts, such as Kaleo, have shared alternative indicators. Kaleo has presented an inverse Bitcoin chart suggesting that BTC could reach the trendline of his logarithmic growth curve by next year, potentially soaring to a massive price target of around $220,000.

In a recent post, Kaleo expressed growing bullishness, stating, “Alright, I’m giving in. Be more bullish.” Analyzing the inverse chart, he suggests that Bitcoin tends to experience steep rallies a few months after its halving event, when BTC miner rewards are slashed in half.

Bitcoin bull run 2
Source: X

Kaleo believes that Bitcoin will consolidate for a few more days before initiating surges that break through multiple resistance levels. Based on the chart, he appears to predict that Bitcoin will reach new all-time highs by early next month. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at $62,092, up over 3% for the day. 

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com
BTC price makes a run for $63,000 | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com



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Crypto Founder Identifies The Best And Worst Time To Be In Bitcoin

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Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market have been trading sideways for the better part of the year now. However, the tide is starting to turn as there could be a recovery trend for the crypto market very soon. To this end, a crypto founder has identified the best and worst times to be an investor in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Going by his prediction, the worst could be over for Bitcoin, and the market could be for a great time soon.

Best And Worst Time To Be In Bitcoin

Charles Edwards, founder of digital assets-focused hedge fund Capriole Investments, took to X (formerly Twitter), to share when he thinks is the best a worst time to be in Bitcoin. In the post, Edwards attached a screenshot of quarterly returns for Bitcoin, showing the best and worst-performing quarters.

According to the information, the best quarter for Bitcoin is the last quarter of the year, and the worst is the third quarter of the year. Going by this, it means that the Bitcoin price is currently going through its worst-performing quarter. However, this also means that the downtrend could be nearing its end since the month of September is almost over.

The average returns for the third quarter is shown to be +5.39%, the worst of any quarter. The second worst-performing quarter is the second quarter, but even that remains high at +26.89%, while the median returns for the fourth quarter is actually in the negative at -4.64%, an is the only quarter with a negative median return.

In contrast, the fourth quarter has always been bullish, with average returns of +88.84% and median returns of +56.90%. With less than two weeks left to go in the third quarter, Edwards believes that the worst is over. “If you are still here, congratulations. You made it through the worst time to be in Bitcoin. The best lies ahead,” the post read.

BTC Could Jump To New All-Time High In October

Going by the monthly returns for Bitcoin, as depicted on the Coinglass website, Edwards’ forecast that the decline is almost over looks to be correct. The months of October, November, and December have been some of the most bullish months for the coin in history, and this year could be the exact same.

Bitcoin monthly returns
Source: Coinglass

If this trend holds, then the Bitcoin price could be looking at an average increase of around 20% in October. Such a price increase could set the BTC price on a path to a new all-time high. A continuation of the bullish trend would see the Bitcoin price hit a new all-time high by the time the year 2024 is over.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com
BTC bulls reclaim control of price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com



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