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Surging Litecoin Is Leading the Crypto Price Recovery

Surging litecoin is leading the crypto price recovery

Surging Litecoin Is Leading the Crypto Price Recovery

Surging litecoin is leading the crypto price recovery

The crypto market recovery is looking stronger by the day, and litecoin is leading the way.

As of writing, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies stands at $466 billion – its highest level since Feb. 2, and a 68 percent rise from the low of $276 billion seen on Feb. 6.

The sharp recovery could be associated with chart factors (oversold conditions) and the U.S. Senate’s cautiously optimistic response to calls for stricter regulations, or it could indicate the markets have digested the negative news flow out of China and South Korea.

Either way, with bitcoin now eyeing a break above $10,000, the broad-based recovery could gain further traction.

Amid the rebound, names like litecoin, ripple, and neo have put on a good show since Feb. 6.

Litecoin (LTC), in particular, has had a stellar run in the last couple of days and is up 54 percent week-on-week. The cryptocurrency has appreciated by 112.27 percent from the Feb. 6 low of $106.94 and is leading the recovery in top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

The lure of making quick money on an upcoming hard fork seems to have boosted demand for LTC, although the legitimacy of the project is under question. As of writing, LTC is seen changing hands at $227, according to CoinMarketCap. Despite the impressive performance of late, LTC is reporting a 2 percent drop on a year-to-date basis.

Meanwhile, Ripple’s XRP token has strengthened 90 percent from the Feb. 6 low of $0.58 and now ranks second on the list of biggest gainers among the top 10. XRP was last seen trading at $1.12 – still down 51 percent from the Dec. 31 close of $2.30.

Meanwhile, neo has appreciated by 86.50 percent from Feb. 6 low of $64.88 and is the reporting 59 percent year-to-date gains – the highest in the top 10. That said, the project will likely explore the downside against bitcoin as suggested by the recent head-and-shoulders pattern.

At press time, its price was $121.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Ripple. 

Prices correct at time of writing and sourced from CoinMarketCap.com.

Old coins image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at news@coindesk.com.

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

Published at Thu, 15 Feb 2018 13:15:12 +0000

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Bitcoin Miners Raked in Over $2 Billion Since 2008

bitcoin miners have earned over $2 Billion in revenue since cryptocurrency was first established in 2008, according to a new study published by the Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance. 


What is bitcoin Mining?

bitcoin mining refers to the process by which blocks of transactions are created and then appended to the bitcoin blockchain. Each new block contains a few hundred transactions, where each transaction is a payment from one or more bitcoin address to other address or addresses.

The process of creating blocks is called bitcoin mining because there is a reward associated with each new block that is created and appended to the blockchain. Currently, as of 2017, the reward is 12.5 bitcoins. So anyone who creates a new block, and is able to do it faster than anyone else, will be able to claim this reward of 12.5 bitcoins for each block that they create.

This study, written by Dr. Garrick Hileman and Michel Rauchs, has revealed that the total rewards from bitcoin mining since 2008, when bitcoin was founded, have been more than $2 Billion. It should be noted that the mining reward per block halves after every 4 years.

It started at 50 Bitcoins per block in 2008, halved to 25 bitcoins per block in 2012, and then was further halved to 12.5 bitcoins per block in 2016. So, in the past, miners were earning more bitcoins for each new block.

However, with the value of bitcoin touching all-time highs of $1200 per bitcoin, the miners are earning a lot more in dollars at present than they did in the past.

Miners’ Role in Protocol Development

Miners have recently been in the news because there are a number of proposals to change the bitcoin protocol, and they have an important role to play. bitcoin Unlimited is one such proposed change, which seeks to modify the bitcoin protocol and the software that is used to run it.

The bitcoin Core, or the main bitcoin software release, has also proposed a new feature called Segregated Witness, or SegWit for short. Miners have a large role to play in selecting which of these competing new features or proposals are implemented.

In this context, the study found that a majority of miners acknowledge their important role in protocol development.

Key highlights of the study include:

  • 70% of large miners rate their influence on protocol development as high or very high, compared to 51% of small miners.
  • The cryptocurrency mining map shows that publicly known mining facilities are geographically dispersed, but a significant concentration can be observed in certain Chinese provinces.

More Findings From the Study

The study reported a number of other important findings, including an estimate of the total number of bitcoin users in the world. According to this study, there are an estimated 2.9 million to 5.8 million active bitcoin users worldwide. The majority of these users are located in Europe and North America.

Apptrade

The study also found that 1,876 people are working full time in the cryptocurrency industry. This does not include headcounts from a number of mining companies, so the actual figure may be much larger.

Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance is affiliated with Cambridge University, United Kingdom. This study by Dr. Garrick Hileman and Michel Rauchs was released a few days ago, under the title of Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study.

Should miners play a key role in protocol development? Let us know in the comments below!


Images courtesy of Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance, Shutterstock

The post Bitcoin Miners Raked in Over $2 Billion Since 2008 appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.