Bybit Powers Trading Tools via ChatGPT Integration

Bitmain’s Latest Air-Cooled Antminer Set to Ship in Q1 2024Bitmain, the prominent Chinese Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer, has officially unveiled its latest innovation, the Antminer T21.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashHeat toleranceThe company confirmed in an announcement made on Thursday that the state-of-the-art air-cooled Bitcoin miner will ship during the first quarter of 2024. The Antminer T21 is expected to make waves in the world of cryptocurrency mining given that it can withstand scorching temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius.During a facility tour, the firm tweeted out on Friday: “Although it is so hot here, ANTMINER is still running stable!”The context of the comment relates to an installation of the new miner’s predecessor at a Moonwalk Systems facility in the arid heat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Moonwalk is utilizing water cooling to overcome the local conditions. However, it’s in environments like this one that Bitmain is likely to envisage its latest Antminer performing well.Energy efficiencyAnother standout feature of the Antminer T21 is its energy efficiency. With a stellar energy efficiency ratio of 19 joules per terahash (J/TH), it outpaces its predecessor, the Bitcoin Miner S21 Hyd, which offers an energy efficiency of 16.0 J/TH. This efficiency means miners can maximize their returns while minimizing their energy costs. Additionally, the Antminer T21 boasts an impressive processing power of 190 terahashes per second (TH/s), a crucial factor in the competitive world of Bitcoin mining.The compatibility of the Antminer T21 with the SHA256 mining algorithm, used in the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV (BSV), adds to its appeal.Notably, Bitmain has extended a helping hand to pre-order buyers of the Antminer T21 by offering Bitmain’s Price Protection Plan. This plan, available until November 25, aims to support miners in times of cryptocurrency market volatility. The plan shields customers from price fluctuations in Bitcoin for periods of one, three, or six months.Company difficultiesFounded in Beijing in 2013, Bitmain swiftly rose to prominence as a global leader in producing Bitcoin (BTC) mining ASICs. However, the company faced internal turmoil due to a power struggle between its co-founders, Wu Jihan and Ketuan Zhan. The situation was eventually resolved in 2021, with Jihan Wu stepping down from his roles as chairman and CEO of Bitmain and selling his ownership share to Zhan for $600 million.ASIC miner manufacturers like Bitmain have also had to grapple with the backdrop of a challenging market environment that has seen plummeting prices paid for mining equipment over the past two years.Bitmain has faced scrutiny regarding its treatment of employees. Recent reports from local sources and Bitmain employees revealed that the company issued a notification in September indicating negative operating cash flow. In response to these financial challenges, Bitmain delayed the disbursement of a portion of its employees’ September salaries, raising concerns about the financial stability of the organization. In April of this year, it emerged that the Chinese authorities had imposed a fine on the company due to tax irregularities.

HKX management has advised Hong Kong resident users of the platform to withdraw assets following the company’s decision to halt operations in Hong Kong.  The company publicized its decision on July 18, making the following statement on its website: “We would like to inform you that our management team has, after careful consideration, decided to withdraw our application for the Type 1 and Type 7 licenses under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) and the virtual asset service provider license under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615).”Photo by Zhe ZHANG on UnsplashCompliance strugglesHKX’s exit from Hong Kong is the latest in a series of crypto exchange withdrawals from the Chinese autonomous territory. Other exchanges such as OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io and Binance had all bowed out back in May.  HKX initially applied for a Hong Kong license in February. However, like many others, the exchange failed to comply with Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements. While Hong Kong has been making a concerted effort to establish a regulatory framework and licensing system in order to create the conditions for it to become a crypto hub, it has also been grappling with making regulations strict enough to stamp out fraud in the wake of the JPEX exchange scandal. With that, it appears that many exchanges are finding the regulatory requirements difficult to live with. Originally, 24 exchanges had applied for a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) license. As it stands today, 12 of those original applicants have dropped out, with one more having its application returned with no clarity emerging as to the reason why. HKX has suspended new user registrations. The company’s management has not suggested that they will reapply for a license and reboot the service at a later stage. The company had flagged its intentions back in May, suspending trading and deposit services on May 29. OKX announced on May 24 that it was withdrawing from the Hong Kong market, citing a review of its business strategy. Around the same timeframe, Gate.io withdrew from the market in Hong Kong having failed to achieve compliance in accordance with the new licensing requirements.  Notwithstanding that outcome, the firm suggested that it planned to revamp its platform in line with the Chinese autonomous territory’s licensing requirements, and return to the market once that had been achieved. In a notice posted to its website on May 22, it stated: “Gate.HK is actively working on the aforementioned overhaul. We plan to resume our business in Hong Kong in the future and contribute to the virtual asset ecosystem after obtaining the relevant licenses.” That overhaul has yet to be completed as right now, the platform only allows the withdrawal of funds by its previous Hong Kong-based customers. Back in May 2023, Eddie Yue, the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, suggested that there would be no light touch regulation in Hong Kong. HashKey Exchange, alongside OSL, was the first business to secure licensing under the new framework. In April, HasKey CEO Livio Weng told the Financial Times that these regulations block access to overseas investors while the local market in Hong Kong isn’t very big. It emerged in recent weeks that Hong Kong regulators are reviewing whether crypto regulation is “excessively stringent.” 

OKX Burns $244M $OKB in Record Exchange Token Supply CutSeychelles-headquartered OKX, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange, has conducted its largest-ever burn of its exchange token, $OKB, according to on-chain data.Approximately 5.5 million OKB tokens, equivalent to around $244 million, were removed from circulation. This record-breaking burn represents a significant milestone for OKX, surpassing the previous burns conducted since the monthly program’s inception.The burn was valued at approximately $258 million when calculated based on a 90-day average price, as reported by OKX. Chinese reporter Colin Wu highlighted that this burn marked another significant milestone in terms of the value of OKB tokens burned.Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Wu wrote: “The OKX exchange carried out the 20th OKB repurchase and burning on June 8, with a total of about 5.5 million OKB, or about 244 million US dollars, which once again set a new record for the value of OKB burning. OKX previously stated that it will burn OKX according to the seasonal market and operating performance, but has not disclosed the specific rules.”Photo by Jens Mahnke on PexelsBuy-Back & Burn program$OKB is described by OKX as a “global utility token issued by the OKX Blockchain Foundation,” offering holders various benefits such as discounts and exclusive access. The global exchange initiated the first Buy-Back & Burn program in May 2019. Since then, it has burned a total of 64,042,314.70 tokens as part of that ongoing burning process. Despite this significant development, the price of OKB has remained relatively stable, experiencing a slight increase of 0.29% on OKX. At the time of publication, the token was trading at a unit price of $44.97.Exchange token concernExchange tokens have recently garnered attention following the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against global crypto exchange Binance. The SEC has levied charges related to the sale of unregistered securities, resulting in a steep decline of nearly 15% in the value of Binance’s exchange token, BNB, over the past week.That scrutiny is likely to have followed the collapse of Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November. At that time, it became apparent that the exchange was using its exchange token, $FTT, to prop up the business. FTX had issued $FTT tokens and used them as collateral, a dangerous act given that exchange tokens have no real-world asset backing and limited token utility.As the crypto market continues to face regulatory scrutiny and legal challenges, the burn of $OKB by OKX stands as a noteworthy event within the industry. The burn not only reduces the supply of $OKB tokens but also underscores OKX’s commitment to managing and enhancing the value of its exchange token. Market participants will undoubtedly monitor the implications of this burn and how it may influence OKB’s future performance in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.Exchanges like OKX are likely to carefully manage the supply levels of exchange tokens, given market perceptions in relation to the extent of the utility of such tokens, the scrutiny of regulators, and the problems caused in over-extending supply in the case of other exchanges in the past.