Bitcoin, especially its mining process, is often admonished as it “ uses too much energy“. But the Layer1 Technologies company, supported by Peter Thiel, is trying to do the unthinkable thing – stabilize the power system, generate profits by producing less BTC, and make the U.S. a significant player in the Bitcoin mining industry. Like many American fairy tales, our story begins in the semi-arid lands of western Texas.

Texas: decentralized energy market

Unlike most of the United States, Texas has an unregulated power system that divides utility companies into three separate functions:

• Generation – power plants, solar, wind farms, etc.
• Transmission – power lines, which are regulated by the state of Texas.
• Retail power suppliers – customer service and electricity billing.

As a result, there is a complex market in Texas with private electricity generators that offer retail electricity suppliers different wholesale prices from different locations. Deregulation of power generation has led to a dramatic increase in natural gas production as well as renewable energy sources that provide a cheaper and more environmentally friendly solution for long-term energy demand.

It is important to note that any use of electricity is as clean as the energy system itself. Texas is a U.S. leader in terms of wind energy production, which reaches its peak power at night. The Lone Star State also produces an abundance of renewable energy from solar farms that provide maximum power in the middle of the day. However, the increase in renewable energy use in Texas over the past decade has had some side effects.

The Curve

Energy consumption depends on the day, season, and year. Warm periods come, so people are increasingly using air conditioning systems, which are the largest drivers of retail energy demand in Texas. And this is no surprise. On a typical day, energy demand increases dramatically in the morning, decreases significantly during working hours, and then peaks in the afternoon when people return home after work. The afternoon peak unfortunately, coincides with a period of minimum energy production by renewable sources.

However, the excessive abundance of renewable energy from the sun and wind in the middle of the day undermines the electricity production economy, as net energy production (network load) continues to grow without being consumed. This leads to a situation known as the “Duck Curve,” where too much energy is generated which leads to it eventually being wasted or sold at a loss. Conversely, as demand increases at the end of the day, power generating companies tend to rapidly increase the volumes, usually at the expense of fossil fuels.

Further development of renewable energy sources – wind and sun – exacerbates the “Duck Curve” and creates a negative feedback loop. In addition, it is difficult to stop coal or nuclear power plants because the economy of both requires that they operate continuously, which in fact creates a certain price floor. This leads to the phenomenon where each additional unit of solar and wind energy reduces the profitability of renewable energy, which further contributes to negative pricing and creates instability in the power system.

This dilemma is compounded by the fact that transporting electricity over long distances results in significant losses, and it is not yet economically feasible to store enough energy reliably for night-time consumption. In the short and medium-term, we still have two solutions to this unique problem:

• Energy consumption during periods of overproduction to prevent reduction (waste) and negative prices.
• Stopping energy consumption at high demand to prevent the use of more expensive non-renewable energy sources.

Although it sounds simple, energy demand is inelastic, and the life cycle of human energy consumption usually does not coincide with peak production of renewable energy.

A demand responding mechanism

Bitcoin fixes this:

• Bitcoin mining consumes energy at a relatively constant speed
• From the energy point of view, a BTC mining operation is a flexible load, i.e. it is relatively easy to shut it down, as it does not require continuous operation.

Responding to demand is the process of reducing the consumption of energy at times of peak energy demand. When energy demand peaks, such as during the summer heat in Texas, energy costs can rise rapidly from $100-150 per megawatt-hour (MWh) to thousands of dollars per megawatt-hour. Layer1 benefits from this by negotiating long-term demand response contracts with ERCOT, the Texas power system regulator. In fact, Layer1 agrees to shut down at any time, receiving an annual bonus (19-25 MWh) depending on the expected power demand. Layer1 claims that this demand response agreement will effectively reduce their energy costs to under one cent per kWh.

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index reports an average cost of five cents per kilowatt-hour ($0.05/kWh) based on their most recent and several previous studies. While Layer1’s cost advantage of four cents seems small, in a market where electricity is the major expense, long term cost savings have a major impact.

Responding to demand helps stabilize the energy system by eliminating price spikes, leveling off energy demand and adjusting economic incentives – reducing negative pricing – to allow the continued growth of renewable energy sources. Now the Layer1 strategy has an obvious disadvantage: their mining devices work less frequently. However, in exchange for a guaranteed income, it can be an effective hedge for miners against BTC volatility.

The Future of Mining

Since Texas is deregulated, Bitcoin Mining projects do not require to provide many permits, which simplifies the purchase of land, construction of mining facilities, and commencement of work. For more complex operations, it would even be possible to contract with solar or wind farms as part of a project to receive government subsidies and become energy producers themselves. Almost all other U.S. states publicly subsidize utilities with natural monopolies and high entry barriers that discourage new power generation companies and retailers.

Because of Texas’ renewable energy potential and lack of market regulation, Bitcoin Mining could grow throughout the state. To this end, Bitmain launched its mining farm in Rockdale, Texas, in October 2019, which aims to provide mining capacity of over 300 megawatts. It is possible that other companies and entrepreneurs are already looking for partners and will establish similar businesses in the coming years.

Concluding thoughts

The CoinShares report for December 2019 estimated the penetration of renewable energy sources into Bitcoin mining at 73%. Energy is a local source; its cost varies depending on geographic location, as some regions have abundant geothermal, hydro or other renewable energy sources. This makes Bitcoin ecologically dependent on where it is produced. It is worth repeating: electricity is as clean as the network that produces it.

If Bitcoin mining uses energy from natural gas or peak coal-powered plants – plants that only run when demand reaches a certain level – then it’s not exactly environmentally friendly. Even hydroelectric dams and wind farms have environmental consequences. There is no BTC price ceiling and, therefore, no limit on the amount of energy that can be used in Bitcoin mining. This is the nature of Bitcoin. The constantly moving altruistic goal of environmental slavery ensures that Bitcoin will never be left without ecological consequences. But the advantages of Bitcoin outweigh its disadvantages.

As you could have read in one of our previous articles, incredibly flexible blockchain technology has many more use cases than just financial transactions and is now becoming a trend across all commercial industries and beyond. It’s no secret that the healthcare sector is facing unprecedented challenges, including the global COVID-19 pandemic. We want to devote this article to detail the use of blockchain in this particular industry as the problems of medicine, unlike many others, concern almost every person throughout the world.

In the early days of cryptocurrencies, the primary avenues for revenue were through mining, investing, and active trading. Passive income streams were limited, with long-term trading and mining (given the maintenance of equipment) being the main contenders. But 2025 paints a different picture. As the crypto sphere has evolved, fintech firms have broadened their offerings, introducing a myriad of passive income possibilities for cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

While cloud mining, conventional mining, and investing are all passive income strategies in the crypto domain, this article sidesteps them. The rationale? Current market conditions render cloud mining less profitable, often leading to potential losses without significant price surges. Traditional cryptocurrency mining, meanwhile, demands substantial capital. Instead, our focus will pivot to approaches accessible to most novices, where the entry barrier might be as low as $100.

However, a word of caution is imperative: cryptocurrency investments are inherently volatile. They come with no guaranteed returns and can result in potential capital loss. It's prudent to allocate only what you're prepared to part with. The strategies outlined here cater to those already versed in the crypto milieu or viewing cryptocurrency not just as a static asset but as a dynamic source of potential revenue. With that in mind, let's delve into how crypto investors can harness these newer avenues for additional passive earnings in 2025.

Types of passive income with crypto

The crypto industry suggests many income-generating options, and fintech companies offer various services to attract new customers. Passive earnings with cryptocurrencies can be divided into two major categories: the one with a fixed rate and the one with a variable rate. The advantage of passive income is low risks compared to trading, mining, and other popular methods of cryptocurrency earnings.

P2P Lending & Crypto Loans

A few weeks ago, we covered the features of the primary consensus algorithms and examples of the blockchain projects that utilize these mechanisms. However, the crypto industry is not limited to the use of popular consensus mechanisms, such as PoW (Proof of Work) and PoS (Proof of Stake). Blockchain projects constantly seek for alternative solutions to improve their tokenomics. Startups are incentivized to improve their business models, and in the process, they develop and implement new algorithms, as well as update existing ones hoping to revitalize them. Today’s article is devoted to such alternative consensus mechanisms.

Byzantine Fault Tolerance Algorithms (BFT)

Over the past year, every man and his dog have written about the Decentralized Finance industry (DeFi). We enjoy getting to the bottom of the trending developments in the space and have previously looked into DeFi as well, describing the advantages and disadvantages of this area. Neither investors nor media interest in DeFi technologies can be called random. According to a report from the DappReview portal, which specializes in tracking the use of decentralized applications, it is the decentralized finance area that accounts for the majority of transactions on the Ethereum network. But in today’s article, we would like to take a closer look at the alternative projects of this ecosystem, providing a bird’s eye view on DeFi outside of the Ethereum network.

Why EOS, TRON and the likes did not become “Ethereum killers”

We are not planning on analyzing the complex technical details of protocols and blockchain architectures that work with smart contracts and decentralized applications. Instead, we suggest the Ethereum competitors’ general outlook to understand the global situation on the decentralized finance market.

Lack of value

The UCL Blockchain, together with Imperial College London, conducted a study that helped them conclude that most transactions on the EOS, Tezos, and Ripple networks carry no value.

For example, by checking transaction data from October 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, the analysts found out that most of the EOS and Ripple transactions showed characteristics that resemble DoS attacks. 95% of EOS transactions were initiated by the EIDOS airdrop.

The Bank for International Settlements, also known as “The Central Bank of Central Banks”, published a study in January 2020, which states that the world Central Banks are conducting “extensive” work on launching digital currencies. In this article, we will elaborate on the current situation in the development of the world government digital currencies.

Central interest

In January this year, 66 Central Banks, representing 21 advanced economies and 45 EMEs, and covering 75% of the world’s population, and 90% of its economic output were surveyed. According to the report, 80% of the responders are studying the development of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency). Some 40% of central banks have progressed from conceptual research to experiments or proofs-of-concept, and another 10%, which, by the way, serve 20% of the world’s population, have developed pilot projects and reported that they are able to issue a CBDC in the short term. Interestingly, all of them are EME countries…

Dear Friends,

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

Cryptocurrency traders know me as Mikhail Hyipov.

I have been actively trading for over a decade. During this time, I have had many victories and defeats. No matter how bloody the failure, I never stopped trading. Instead, I doubled down on my study and developed the art of trading.

I began my career trading Forex, then went to promotions and chests of drawers. I managed to get to know cryptocurrency intimately when Bitcoin was $200, and everyone was sitting on BTC-e.

During this time, I plunged deeply into the study of such technical analysis tools as:

• Analysis Tools and Trading Strategies by Thomas DeMark
• Square 9, the method of Pythagoras and the real eclipse
• Harmonic patterns, fractal and cyclic analysis
• Graphical and trend analysis
• Panoramic review and SK-FX
• Analysis of candles, tic-tac-toe, Range, Kagi, Renko, Linear breakthrough
• Cluster analysis and volume analysis
• Wave analysis
• Various trend indicators and oscillators
• Also, I paid great attention to the study of market psychology, fundamental analysis, and the study of risk management systems.
• I share all my accumulated knowledge and experience with my favorite readers for free.
• You can find my educational and analytical articles and forecasts on the Internet at various sources, the main of which is here

MY STRATEGY

Active volatility and manipulativeness are the main characteristics of the cryptocurrency market. Therefore, trading based on smaller timeframes (minute charts) confuses things with market noise and false signals. Trading in such short periods without automation psychologically exhausts any trader and causes mistakes.

Leave this frustration behind and use 3commas robots!

Using my decade of knowledge and experience, I developed a strategy that works effectively in any market condition on many timeframes.

Not a single trader with a working strategy will disclose all his secrets; however, thanks to 3commas, you have the opportunity to participate in trading with me online.

GTI MH’s trading strategy is inspired by the work of a well-known trader and technical analysis expert, Thomas DeMark.

I developed a unique script that indicates abnormal oversold values of an asset according to the DeMark indicators at a particular point in time — once reached, a necessary pullback not far behind.

Taking into account the general trend the asset is in, the strategy is to analyze the pattern and turn it into successful trades during price pullback.

Studies show that the minimum rollback after the received signal is 3%.

To minimize potential errors from being made, the strategy focuses on a profit margin of 0.5% per trade. The signal, according to this strategy, is not delayed, but often gives a leading sign.

The strategy provides for cost averaging with micro-increases of your position and reduction of the spread helping create more profit and less risk. Averaging allows you to maintain the level of necessary growth for closing a Take-Profit transaction at a distance of less than 3%, even taking into account a 6% drawdown of the entry point.

All signals will be given based on data from the BINANCE exchange and exclusively on liquid trading instruments.

For options that will hopefully help everyone, I divided the strategy 3 signal channels:

At first glance, it seems that the crypto industry is dying and will not reach the heights that we saw in 2017. If you look deeper though, we will see that current industry development fits perfectly with one specific trend theory, the Hype Cycle.

Every innovation goes through a similar development cycle.

1. An idea is born.
2. If you’re lucky, a hype swells around it. This hype will invariably roll into disappointment with the first round of beta-testing.
3. Once the heavens align and all your hard work and progress results in developmental success, the technology enters the stage of practical application.

What is the Hype Cycle?

Hype Cycle for promising technologies was first published by specialists at the Gartner research company in 1995. It is now one of the fundamental concepts of Industry high technology. This cycle describes the standard implementation model and process, as it is undergoing new stages towards maturity.

• Innovation Trigger – ACME Company has a potential technological breakthrough that launches the industry and society into motion. Early success stories of the new technology applications and interest are gaining significant media coverage. At this stage, this new technology probably does not have practical products and its commercial viability has not yet been proven.
• The Peak of Inflated Expectations – Early publicity generates several success stories of implemented technologies. Unfortunately, these are often followed by a large number of failures. Some companies try for a successful implementation of the new technology, the majority fall inactive.
• A Trough of Disappointment – Interest in this new technology subsides as testing and implementation attempts do not live up to expectations. This shake leads to the falling out of many manufacturers from the emerging market. The remaining will need to do some “sobering up”. Investing only continues if those suppliers remaining in the market can improve their products sufficiently to satisfy their initial customers.
• The Rise of Enlightenment – More and more examples of how this emerging new technology may be useful to the industry are making headlines. This leads to a more broad and accurate understanding of it. Suppliers begin marketing second and third-generation products. An increasing number of enterprises are undertaking attempts to introduce the new technology and more conservative companies continue to peer at it with caution.
• Plateau of Productivity – Mass implementation begins. More clear criteria for assessing the viability of suppliers are defined. A wide range of practical applications and the relevance of this new technology are becoming hard for skeptics to deny.

What does this mean for enterprises and investors?

The Hype Cycle is a model designed to explain the up and down cycles all promising new technology inevitably goes through on the way to maturity.

It should not be regarded as the ultimate truth. Nor should you fully rely on it in your charting assessments. But enterprises and investors can use this cycle as one of the tools in your arsenal while making decisions about investments or developing a new strategy. It can also be useful for risk analysis and management of expectations.

Of course, investing too soon or too late, you take a risk. If you wait and get in late, you risk being left behind by competitors or even completely lose the market. Hurry and jump in ASAP and you risk losing your money by investing in immature technology in which markets are not ready.

And although the blockchain ecosystem is currently experiencing hard times, it also shows clear signs that it will cope with difficulties sooner or later and will continue to develop. Right now is probably the time for businesses and investors to act. This does not mean that you must immediately invest all your money in the blockchain industry. Right now, the most important investment you can make is to invest in your knowledge in order to understand the following:

1. What potential benefits can Blockchain technology bring to your organization?
2. How can this technology affect your industry?
3. At what stage in the Gartner Maturity Cycle is blockchain technology currently located? What are the pros and cons associated with this position in the cycle?

Conclusion

No one knows for sure when blockchain technology will reach maturity and mass adoption. Nevertheless, it is already becoming clear that this technology will sooner or later grow into a revolutionary force that undermines the prevailing foundations. Admittedly, current conditions and moods of the market are far from the best. And many projects have nothing to make them stand out, while even more projects have yet to overcome many technological shortcomings.

On the other hand, some cutting-edge projects and initiatives are steadily building on excellent products and services while quickly solving all issues that arise along the way.

Finally, take a moment and take a look at the much larger picture taking into account the current state of world affairs. I think we will look back at this point in history and see it was very clear that blockchain was on a very typical path to maturity and mass distribution.

Cryptocurrency has become an innovation that was once thought to be impossible.

This digital payment method is free from the rule of any governing body and has its own independent value and identity. Thus, it could be thought of as a universal currency that can be used to instantly conduct international transactions without the need for currency conversion.

It also provides consumers with an increased amount of anonymity, which is something that more people are beginning to appreciate as concerns about privacy rise.

Using cryptocurrency is straightforward, but what investing in it is a little trickier.

Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’ll explore the best cryptocurrency to invest in.

Let’s take a look at what to keep an eye out for.

Navigating Crypto Waters: Top Cryptocurrencies to Consider in 2023

The rapidly evolving crypto landscape of 2023 brings with it a multitude of investment opportunities, each promising a blend of risk and reward. With blockchain technology maturing and gaining mainstream acceptance, various cryptocurrencies are emerging as attractive investment options. Here, we explore a selection of cryptocurrencies that are gaining prominence and are worth considering for investment this year.

1. Bitcoin (BTC): The Pioneer Asset

Bitcoin continues to maintain its status as the pioneering and most valued cryptocurrency. Its resilience, widespread adoption, and decentralized nature make it a preferred choice for investors seeking value preservation and growth. As the original cryptocurrency, it serves as a hedge against inflation and a benchmark for the entire crypto market.

2. Ethereum (ETH): The Smart Contract Prodigy

Ethereum remains a strong contender due to its smart contract functionality and decentralized application (DApp) platform. With Ethereum 2.0 and its shift to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, ETH is positioned to address scalability issues and reduce energy consumption, potentially enhancing its appeal to environmentally conscious investors.

3. Binance Coin (BNB): The Utility Marvel

Binance Coin has carved its niche as a versatile utility token within the Binance ecosystem. BNB offers transaction fee discounts and serves as a payment medium, making it an attractive investment option. Its constant development and the growing popularity of the Binance Smart Chain continue to fuel its potential.

4. Solana (SOL): The High-Performance Entrant

Solana, with its high throughput and low transaction costs, has emerged as a promising blockchain platform. Its performance-centric design and growing ecosystem of DApps make it an interesting option for those looking to diversify their crypto portfolios.

5. Cardano (ADA): The Sustainability Champion

Cardano’s research-driven approach and focus on sustainability and scalability place it in a favorable position. Its commitment to a more balanced and sustainable ecosystem offers a unique proposition, especially amidst growing concerns over the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies.

Considerations for Investment

While the aforementioned cryptocurrencies present compelling cases, it is crucial for investors to conduct thorough research and consider factors such as market trends, technology, use cases, and regulatory developments before making investment decisions. Diversification, risk management, and long-term perspectives are key in navigating the volatile and unpredictable nature of the cryptocurrency market.

Conclusion

The year 2023 remains a promising one for cryptocurrency investments, with multiple options offering varying degrees of potential and risk. Whether it’s the proven resilience of Bitcoin, the innovative capabilities of Ethereum, or the unique propositions of Binance Coin, Solana, and Cardano, investors have a diverse array of cryptocurrencies to consider. However, the dynamic and ever-evolving crypto landscape necessitates careful consideration, diligent research, and strategic planning to capitalize on the opportunities presented within the digital asset space.

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