{"id":7160,"date":"2018-05-18T19:47:33","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T19:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=7160"},"modified":"2018-05-18T19:47:33","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T19:47:33","slug":"news-bitcoins-power-consumption-bing-bans-crypto-ads-howeycoins-htcs-blockchain-phone-whalepool-vs-bitfinex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/05\/18\/news-bitcoins-power-consumption-bing-bans-crypto-ads-howeycoins-htcs-blockchain-phone-whalepool-vs-bitfinex\/","title":{"rendered":"News: Bitcoin&#8217;s power consumption, Bing bans crypto ads, HoweyCoins, HTC&#8217;s blockchain phone, Whalepool vs Bitfinex"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Alex de Vries of Digiconomist publishes a new paper on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cell.com\/joule\/fulltext\/S2542-4351(18)30177-6?code=cell-site\">Bitcoin&#8217;s electricity consumption<\/a> \u2014 the numbers are squishy, but he gets at least 2.55 gigawatts currently, and up to 7.67 gigawatts by later this year. All for about <a href=\"https:\/\/blockchain.info\/charts\/transactions-per-second\">four transactions per second<\/a> in practice.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>First <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/03\/14\/google-bans-ads-for-dodgy-financial-products-including-cryptos\/\">Google<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/01\/30\/news-bitfinex-tether-subpoena-arisebank-vs-sec-facebook-bans-crypto-ads\/\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/03\/20\/news-petro-and-russia-illegal-porn-on-the-blockchain-tether-mt-gox-twitter-bans-crypto-ads-nsa-scans-bitcoin-kodak-earnings-call-sierra-leone-election-not-on-the-blockchain\/\">Twitter<\/a> \u2014 now Microsoft Bing Ads is <a href=\"https:\/\/advertise.bingads.microsoft.com\/en-us\/blog\/post\/may-2018\/bing-ads-to-disallow-cryptocurrency-advertising\">banning cryptocurrency advertising too.<\/a><\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>New from the SEC \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/ftalphaville.ft.com\/2018\/05\/16\/1526494190000\/Buy-SEC-tokens--Now--\/\">the HoweyCoin ICO!<\/a> The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.howeycoins.com\/\">page<\/a> is designed with all the usual scammy ICO tropes, and if you hit &#8220;buy&#8221; you go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investor.gov\/howeycoins\">explanation page.<\/a> It even has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.howeycoins.com\/files\/howeycoin_white_paper.pdf\">white paper.<\/a> Ideal to send to that acquaintance annoying you about his token of the week.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>HTC announces a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/circuitbreaker\/2018\/5\/15\/17357108\/htc-blockchain-powered-phone\">&#8220;blockchain-powered phone.&#8221;<\/a> Remember when HTC weren&#8217;t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/2\/23\/17044124\/htc-layoffs-us-boss-resignation-u11-plus-u12-google\">on the skids?<\/a> \u201cWe envision a phone where you hold your own keys, you own your own identity and data, and your phone is the hub.\u201d Because you definitely want your life savings to disappear if you drop your phone in a puddle.<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/backlon\/status\/996466899163668480<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lots of interesting information about who owns what in cryptocurrency happens to be in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Panama_Papers\">Panama Papers<\/a> \u2014 they&#8217;re how it was firmly established that Bitfinex and Tether are owned and run by the same people, for example. CasPiancey has <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CasPiancey\/status\/997338745199316992\">a quick how-to<\/a> on torrenting and using this amazing and revelatory dataset.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Tether printer just created <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eurtprinter\/status\/997547243946299392\">another 250 million USDT.<\/a><\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Bitfinex is now requiring some users to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wykop.pl\/wpis\/32045287\/dostalem-dzisiaj-takiego-maila-z-bitfinex-lekko-pr\/\">give them their tax information,<\/a> as required by the famously harsh tax regime of <em>(checks notes)<\/em> the British Virgin Islands. Whalepool is deeply unhappy about this \u2014 they suggest members <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/whalepool\/status\/997028873534627840\">boycott Bitfinex.<\/a> Bitfinex <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bitfinex\/status\/997055994680066048\">replies:<\/a> &#8220;We have not sent this message to all users. We have deliberately targeted users that we believe have an obligation to self-disclose.&#8221; One Whalepool member is so upset at the idea of giving his tax number to Bitfinex that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IyARTiK3tGg\">describes on team chat<\/a> his current and planned tax crimes, and here&#8217;s how he could do more in detail &#8230;<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Well uh, yes, Kris <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8qqUN7HsqV\">pic.twitter.com\/8qqUN7HsqV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dope Tugging Knob (@LizardRumsfeld) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LizardRumsfeld\/status\/997134498025299970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">the future case study I will never have the time to write: the intersection of <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; people who will scream that taxation is theft<br \/>&#8211; people who scream that &quot;the poors&quot; abuse the system by taking from society<br \/>&#8211; mine bitcoin using publicly built infrastructure <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0i3ZQh3XO2\">https:\/\/t.co\/0i3ZQh3XO2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/redlightvoices\/status\/997386062644248576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It&#8217;s not all <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/12\/11\/bitcoin-mining-accidents-2017-updated-version-with-photos\/\">NiceHash Mining Accidents<\/a> \u2014 Bitcoin reasserts itself: <a href=\"https:\/\/motherboard.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/9k8ykp\/heating-water-with-bitcoin-mining-asic-reddit\">This Guy Heated Bath Water With Bitcoin Mining To 122\u00b0F.<\/a><\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>How will the cryptocurrency world change when Ethereum switches to Proof-of-Stake? 2Miners <a href=\"https:\/\/2miners.com\/blog\/upcoming-ethereum-pos-switch-expert-roundup\/\">asked some crypto experts,<\/a> including me. (This answer eventually became <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/05\/13\/ethereum-casper-only-has-to-work-well-enough-worse-is-better-in-action\/\">this post.<\/a>)<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There&#39;s some hilarious mining rigs for sale on the Aussie gumtree trading site. And I love the way sellers call a rig highly profitable, when they also publish its hashrate and you can do the maths&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Toby Wintrmute (@wint_rmute) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wint_rmute\/status\/997306854161108992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GhostlyBeard: <a href=\"https:\/\/ghostlybeard.com\/blog\/blog\/beware-of-the-coin-men\">Beware of the Coin Men<\/a> in music.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>VeryPossible, 10 May 2018: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verypossible.com\/blog\/very-blog-19-five-ways-blockchain-could-disrupt-the-media-industry\">Five Ways Blockchain Could Disrupt the Media Industry<\/a> \u2014 very optimistic, but includes suitable party-pooping quote from me at the end.<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>CryptoComes, 12 May 2018: <a href=\"https:\/\/cryptocomes.com\/10-best-cryptocurrency-and-blockchain-books-of-all-time\">10 Best Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Books of All Time<\/a> \u2014 clearly <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/book\/\"><em>Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain<\/em><\/a> fits that description!<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just finished <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidgerard<\/a>\u2019s blockchain book and started <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/coreypein?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@coreypein<\/a>\u2019s Live Work Work Work Die.<br \/>This Bitcoin ad on an actual trashcan is apt: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EgklyxJwvY\">pic.twitter.com\/EgklyxJwvY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ashok Argent\u2013Katwala (@ashok) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ashok\/status\/996490245280616448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 15, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">After years of coin bros using Venezuela as their mascot, it\u2019s time to flip the script.<\/p>\n<p>Posit: this tech is *so* bad as money, it fails to see adoption even in the least functional economies, and even when the government itself has embraced the technology. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z2JSwdgNji\">https:\/\/t.co\/z2JSwdgNji<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; parker (@pt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pt\/status\/997480995690463232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bitcoin shills, allow me to introduce you to the car of the future:<br \/>1. Needs no gas, no driver&#39;s license.<br \/>2. Traffic cops &amp; toll roads resistant.<br \/>3. Top speeds of 120mph (as long as you&#39;re sitting in another car).<\/p>\n<p>Before you criticise it, remember that all innovations take time. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fWu2UMXeFF\">pic.twitter.com\/fWu2UMXeFF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Trolly McTrollface (@Tr0llyTr0llFace) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tr0llyTr0llFace\/status\/997436492397113344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">i like how people put the lightning \u26a1\ufe0f \u26a1\ufe0f \u26a1\ufe0f symbol in their twitter name so that you can easily tell they are crazy<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/997259083521675269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here&#39;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/comic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#comic<\/a> about <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/gold?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#gold<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/dragons?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#dragons<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JCbBOeb4Pu\">pic.twitter.com\/JCbBOeb4Pu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Skeleton Claw (@skeleton_claw) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/skeleton_claw\/status\/997143661610610688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">zero-point blockchain: even in empty space, countless &#39;virtual blockchains&#39;  constantly come into existence and annihilate each other. through advanced hashing techniques, Butterfly Labs has unlocked the transcendent power of the ur-blockchain, that which binds all living beings,<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/996779426112266240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/PixlSheep\/status\/997184500407898113<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">wtf is with bitcoin enthusiasts and dressing up as horrifying round abominations <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/64xVVL87VU\">pic.twitter.com\/64xVVL87VU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/996911758295142400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<br><br><div align=\"center\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\"><img src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/become_a_patron_button.svg\" alt=\"Become a Patron!\" title=\"Become a Patron!\" width=217 height=51><\/a><br><p style=\"align:center;\" class=\"patreon-badge\"><i>Your subscriptions keep this site going. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\">Sign up today!<\/a><\/i><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And how to research the Panama Papers yourself at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[659,21,38,662,661,657,663,658,6,350,660,33,39,615],"class_list":["post-7160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-bing","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitfinex","tag-british-virgin-islands","tag-cas-piancey","tag-digiconomist","tag-howeycoins","tag-htc","tag-links","tag-microsoft","tag-panama-papers","tag-sec","tag-tether","tag-whalepool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7160"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7183,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7160\/revisions\/7183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}