Bitcoin Mining Roundup: American Bitcoin Gears Up, Outflows Spike, and Ocean Pool Glitch

This week in Bitcoin mining brought news of a potential public listing, market turbulence, and a minor technical issue. Let's dive into the key stories:

Hashrate and Difficulty Update

The mempool remains relatively quiet with low fees. The difficulty adjustment is projected to increase by approximately 4.98% in the next adjustment period. Bitcoin's price has dipped from its recent highs of $124,000 to around $112,000. Hash price has also fluctuated, currently hovering around $55. The network is approaching one zettahash, with confirmation expected via the seven-day moving average surpassing this threshold.

American Bitcoin's Impending Public Debut

American Bitcoin is poised to potentially begin trading on public markets in September through a merger with Gyphon Digital. Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot indicates the merger is nearing completion, with early September as a target for trading. This move allows American Bitcoin to bypass the traditional IPO process. The company is also undertaking significant expansion plans, including 1.5 gigawatts of new capacity and a $303 million credit facility. The deal, involving prominent figures, has generated excitement and boosted related stock prices.

Key Takeaways:

• American Bitcoin (via merger) circumvents IPO hurdles.
• Merger is said to be finalized shortly, goal to start trading in early September
• They’ve also broken ground on 1.5 gigawatts of expansion and are taking out a $303 million credit facility

Crypto ETP Outflows Reach $1.4 Billion

Global exchange-traded products experienced a substantial outflow of $1.4 billion, the largest since March. This was attributed to concerns about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy due to unfavorable jobs and inflation reports. Ethereum (ETH) saw positive inflows month to date of $2.5 billion, contrasting with Bitcoin's (BTC) $1 billion outflow during the same period, signifying a shift in market preference on weekly scales.

IREN Expands GPU Fleet for AI Cloud Services

IREN has secured $102 million in funding to finance the acquisition of 4,200 NVIDIA GPUs, bringing its total fleet to 8,500 units. Unlike many Bitcoin miners, IREN plans to operate the GPUs themselves, renting out compute power through NVIDIA's marketplace. The stock price has responded positively to this strategy. This marks a divergence in strategy from miners focused solely on power shell models.

Ocean Pool Experiences Technical Glitch

Ocean Pool experienced a temporary technical glitch triggered by a large miner joining the pool. This resulted in a brief spike in estimated hashrate on its dashboard and a potential delay in payouts. While no work was lost, the incident highlights the challenges in accurately estimating network hashrate, especially during significant shifts in participation. The pool is utilizing the Datum protocol which enables direct miner participation in template construction.