Marathon Digital is increasing its 2024 hash rate target to 50 EH/s, up from the previous 35-37 EH/s, citing expanded capacity after recent acquisitions. The firm's CEO, Fred Thiel, noted that these acquisitions, including a 200-megawatt Bitcoin mining center purchased from Advanced Connected for $87.3 million in March and two additional mining sites totaling 390 megawatts from Produce Capital for $179 million last December, have enabled them to double the scale of their mining operations in 2024.
Marathon currently operates at a hash rate of 24.7 EH/s for its Bitcoin mining operations, with Core Scientific and Riot Platforms following closely at 16.9 EH/s and 12.4 EH/s, respectively. Achieving the 50 EH/s target would represent a more than 100% increase in Marathon's hash rate since the beginning of 2024. The company's stock price has also risen by over 15% since the fourth Bitcoin halving event at block 840,000 on April 20, in line with other miners in the industry. Despite the block subsidy halving to 3.125 Bitcoin, miners have benefited from a record-setting $128 average transaction fee on the halving day, earning more than usual pre-halving.
The initial demand for block 840,000 came from meme coin and non-fungible token enthusiasts competing to write and engrave “Rare Satoshi” via Rune Protocol. Marathon's ambitious goals reflect the company's confidence in the growth potential of Bitcoin mining. With recent acquisitions and favorable market conditions, the company aims to significantly expand its mining activities in 2024 and establish itself as a major player in the Bitcoin mining industry.
ConsenSys sues SEC and commissioner over Ether regulation
Software development company ConsenSys has filed a lawsuit against the SEC and its commissioner for attempting to regulate Ether (ETH) as a security. The company warned that such a move could have dire consequences for the Ethereum network and innovation in the United States.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claims that the SEC's actions could halt use of the Ethereum blockchain in the United States, crippling one of the Internet's greatest innovations. It specifically targets the SEC's alleged campaign to regulate ETH as a security, pointing to Chairman Gary Gensler's statements and the SEC's previous statements dating back to 2018 that ETH is not a security. ConsenSys also claims that the SEC is targeting its wallet software, MetaMask, which allows users to self-store ETH and other cryptocurrencies.
The Company received a Wells Notice from the SEC on April 10 warning of potential enforcement actions related to the MetaMask product, including allegations that ConsenSys was operating as an unregistered broker-dealer. ConsenSys is seeking formal relief from the court, seeking a declaration that ETH is not a security within the meaning of securities laws and that ConsenSys' sale of ETH is not a sale of a security. The lawsuit comes as the SEC increases its oversight of crypto-related activities and highlights legal uncertainties surrounding the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies such as Ether.
US Senators Address Cryptocurrency's Role in Child Exploitation Trade
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bill Cassidy are asking federal agencies about their technical capacity to combat crypto payments in the sale of child abuse material. U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bill Cassidy want to ensure that federal agencies are fully equipped to track down crypto transactions linked to the sale of child abuse content. In this effort to bring an end to CSAM, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were asked to reveal their current technical capacity.
The senators cited a Chainalysis study from January 2024, which suggested an increase in the use of cryptocurrency in the illicit trade of CSAM. Writing to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. senators asked for the DOJ's and DHS's current capabilities to identify and prosecute these crimes.
The letter contained six questions, three of which were aimed at gauging the federal agencies independent findings on cryptocurrency's link to CSAM. The rest were to identify the need for new tools to identify and prosecute sellers and buyers. The DOJ's current technical capacity to examine crypto transactions led to the indictment of cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders. According to the Justice Department, KuCoin received more than $5 billion and sent more than $4 billion of suspicious and criminal funds.
