Lifeboat Foundation

A blockchain entrepreneur, a cinematographer, a polar adventurer and a robotics researcher plan to fly around Earth’s poles aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule by end of year, becoming the first humans to observe the ice caps and extreme polar environments from orbit, SpaceX announced Monday.

The historic flight, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will be commanded by Chun Wang, a wealthy bitcoin pioneer who founded f2pool and stakefish, “which are among the largest Bitcoin mining pools and Ethereum staking providers,” the crew’s website says.

“Wang aims to use the mission to highlight the crew’s explorational spirit, bring a sense of wonder and curiosity to the larger public and highlight how technology can help push the boundaries of exploration of Earth and through the mission’s research,” SpaceX said on its web site.

Mining cryptocurrencies like bitcoin could be done using quantum computers, cutting their electricity use by 90 per cent.

By Alex Wilkins

AI and crypto combined could add a total of $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030, the report said. Bitwise notes that bitcoin miners have all the resources that AI firms need. Crypto and AI have the potential to intersect in other areas other than mining such as information validation and virtual assistants.

The two industries could add a collective $20 trillion to global GDP by 2030, the report said.

Bitcoin halving explained. Find out about Bitcoin’s halving process works and what it means for Bitcoin’s price and its users.

In an attempt to protect its forests and famous wildlife, Virunga has become the first national park to run a Bitcoin mine. But some are wondering what the hell crypto has to do with conservation.

The development of Transhumanism / Extropianism in the final two decades of the 20th century also set in motion the creation of digital cash, including the breakthrough killer app: Bitcoin.

The Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek wanted to denationalize money. David Chaum, an innovator in the field of cryptography and electronic cash, wanted to shield it from surveillance. Their goals were not the same, but they each inspired the same man.

Max O’Connor grew up in the British city of Bristol in the 1960s and ’70s. Telling his life story to Wired in 1994, he explained how he had always dreamed of a future where humanity expanded its potential in science-fictional ways, a world where people would possess X-ray vision, carry disintegrator guns, or walk straight through walls.

Continue reading “How 1990s libertarians laid the groundwork for cryptocurrency” »

The crypto scene continues to remain so hot that bitcoin is hitting one new high after another. It surpassed $72,700 on Monday. This was initially driven by the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, but is now being pushed higher ahead of a “halving” event, which will limit the amount of new supply put into circulation from bitcoin miners.

Bitcoin has increased 9.5% in the past seven days and is up 50% on the month, according to CoinMarketCap data. The total crypto market cap across all tokens has increased 10% on the week to $2.71 trillion, with bitcoin making up 52.7% of that amount.

There is, of course, no way of telling how high bitcoin can rise during the current bull frenzy. While many are feeling the hopium, there’s at least one indicator that thinks we’re nearing the top of the highs, with price dips to quickly follow.

Bitcoin has crushed its highest price ever, blasting past $72,000 for the first time in its history today.

The news comes after UK regulators announced they wouldn’t stand in the way of the creation of crypto-backed, exchange-traded notes (cETNs), CNBC reports. ETNs are a type of unsecured debt securities that trade on major exchanges, kind of like a stock.

The value of the mainstream cryptocurrency has risen considerably since the beginning of the year, spurred on by its growing acceptance by regulators around the globe and the fading shadow of the FTX collapse.

Bitcoin’s rally is turning out to be bad news for Coinbase, the crypto trading app that has just confirmed some of its customers are seeing a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts. “Your assets are safe,” the firm assured the app’s users via a Status page on its website, adding that its team is investigating the issue and will provide an update shortly. [Update: The company has since said the issues are improving but the app is seeing “heightened traffic.”]

The app’s crash today has to do with the recent demand for Bitcoin, the popular cryptocurrency that recently surged to $60,000 — close to its all-time high last seen in 2021. The price of Bitcoin climbed in the wake of U.S. bitcoin spot ETFs, driving a 42% price rally this month. According to Reuters, this was the largest monthly gain the digital asset had seen since December 2020. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin was up above $61,448, or a 7.66% increase today.

The sharp rise has fueled renewed interest in apps like Coinbase, which allows users to buy, sell, and hold crypto products in a digital wallet. This rapid increase in demand, including from more casual crypto investors, have seemingly contributed to the app’s current issues, as Coinbase says the app is experiencing issues from high traffic.