Wu said weekly mining information: 0207-0213

1. On February 7, Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF was listed on Nasdaq and will invest 80% of its net assets in companies in the cryptocurrency mining ecosystem. In addition to a large number of mining, mining machine, and mining farm companies listed on the US stock market, it may also include chip companies such as TSMC. This is the third Bitcoin-focused ETF of the crypto asset management company.

2. According to Kazinform, Kazakhstan held a discussion on the draft law "On Digital Assets in the Republic of Kazakhstan", which affects all aspects of mining activities. The First Deputy Minister of Finance stated that the current tax rate is 1 tenge per kilowatt, and it is recommended to increase it to 5 tenge per kilowatt. In addition, it is recommended that mining equipment should be taxed like casinos as long as it is installed, even if it is not in operation (casinos pay for each card table in this form, regardless of whether there is activity). In addition, the equipment is not currently subject to VAT when imported, and we recommend excluding mining equipment from the (VAT-exempt) list.

According to Bitcoincom, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a meeting with ministers this week that the socio-economic impact of the crypto mining industry is minimal and does not create many jobs or products, but consumes a lot of energy. In some cases, miners use subsidized electricity and do not pay tariffs for imported equipment. Those who want to work in this field must have the appropriate licenses, obtain electricity at the appropriate price, declare income and pay taxes, and start green energy projects. He ordered the government to develop comprehensive regulations for the industry by April 1 to ensure that miners fulfill their obligations.

3. On February 11, Intel revealed that Argo Blockchain, BLOCK (formerly known as Square) and GRIID Infrastructure are among the first customers of its latest mining chip, which will be shipped later this year. Its performance per watt is more than 1,000 times higher than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256-based mining. Industry insiders said: It seems a bit strange to compare with GPUs, because almost no one uses GPUs for Bitcoin mining.

4. Bitcoin mining machine manufacturer Ebonex announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Ebonex Australia Pty Ltd has obtained registration approval from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) as a digital currency exchange.

5. György Matolcsy, Governor of the Hungarian National Bank, wrote in a statement: He supports the view of senior EU financial regulators that the EU should ban cryptocurrency activities. Previously, Swedish officials have repeatedly suggested that the EU ban POW mining. (CoinDesk)

6. Bitcoin mining infrastructure company Compute North has completed $385 million in equity and debt financing. Mercuria and Generate Capital jointly led the $85 million equity financing, with National Grid Partners, a subsidiary of National Grid, participating. Generate Capital also provided $300 million in debt financing. Compute North calls the equity financing its Series C financing and the overall financing a growth capital round.

Minnesota-based Compute North plans to use the new funds to open new hosting facilities in Nebraska, North Carolina and Texas. Compute North founder and CEO Dave Perrill declined to disclose how many new facilities the company plans to open and their total capacity, but he said several facilities are in different stages of development. (The Block)

7. Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark's stock price soared due to its plan to sell its traditional energy business. BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis expects that the sale may help the mining company "disrupt" its growth trajectory.

CEO Zach Bradford said in the company's first quarter earnings report that CleanSpark (CLSK) is considering strategic options for traditional energy businesses in light of our success in Bitcoin mining. Affected by the news, CleanSpark's stock rose by nearly 15%, far exceeding the gains of other cryptocurrency mining companies. (CoinDesk)

8. According to CNBC, Brent Whitehead and Matt Lohstroh in Texas, USA, are using natural gas produced by oil drilling to mine Bitcoin. Their company Giga places a container filled with thousands of Bitcoin mining machines on the oil well, transfers the natural gas to the generator, which converts the natural gas into electricity, which is then used to power the mining machines.

According to research by Denver-based Crusoe Energy Systems, this process reduces carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by about 63% compared to continued flaring. Whitehead said they have signed agreements with more than 20 oil and gas companies, four of which are public companies. Giga also said they are in talks with sovereign wealth funds and that they are expanding rapidly. Giga's 11-person team will add six more employees this month. Giga said its revenue exceeded $4 million in 2021 and is expected to exceed $20 million by the end of 2022.

9. BIOSTAR announced the launch of the new TZ590-BTC motherboard, which is based on the Intel Z590 chipset design and has built-in cryptocurrency mining capabilities, 4 DDR4 RAM slots, up to 3600 (OC) support, and a maximum capacity of 128 GB. BIOSTAR officials said it has 8 PCIe 3.0×1 slots, which is suitable for cryptocurrency mining.

10. Paolo Ardoino said that Tether and Bitfinex have recently been investing in Bitcoin mining. Our strategy is to ensure sufficient geographic and political diversity as a priority. Cheap electricity can create concentration, which is good for companies, but not necessarily best for BTC. We work with local entities to focus on sustainable mining infrastructure and generate wealth that can be reinvested in the community.

11. The Zhejiang Provincial Working Group on Rectifying Virtual Currency "Mining" sent a group text message through China Telecom (10000): The recent rise in virtual currency "mining" and trading speculation has seriously disrupted the economic and financial order, endangered network energy security, and fostered illegal and criminal activities such as gambling, illegal fundraising, fraud, pyramid schemes, money laundering, and infringed on the property safety of the people. Please raise your awareness and do not participate; if you find virtual currency "mining" activities, please call the reporting hotline.

12. Guotai Junan recently issued an announcement stating that it will further implement a strict ban on group employees from participating in virtual currency mining activities, and strictly prohibit group employees from participating in mining activities in any form, while preventing infection with mining viruses.