ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Bernese Cantonal Parliament in Switzerland passed a proposal with 85 votes in favor and 46 against, which will explore the use of Bitcoin mining to absorb surplus electricity and stabilize the grid. The proposal was introduced by a bipartisan Bitcoin parliamentary group on March 14, 2024, and was approved despite government opposition. The proposal requires the government to submit reports on three key aspects: identifying unused energy areas in Bern, assessing the feasibility of collaborating with Swiss mining companies for Bitcoin mining, and analyzing its potential to stabilize the grid during fluctuations in power supply.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, French multinational company Schneider Electric has suffered a ransomware attack, with the hacker group "Hellcat" demanding $125,000 worth of baguettes or the cryptocurrency Monero as ransom, or they will publicly release 40GB of sensitive data stolen from the company.It is reported that the group published the ransom note through anonymous social media accounts, claiming to have obtained key information about the company's customers and operations. This attack marks the third cyber attack on Schneider Electric in two years.The company has confirmed that it is investigating the incident, stating that the attacked platform is in a quarantined environment and that the company's products and services have not been affected. Analysts point out that the hackers' choice of baguettes as a demand is for "marketing" purposes, to increase their visibility in the ransomware market.

ChainCatcher news, Electric Capital partner Maria Shen released a global cryptocurrency developer distribution research report showing that, through the analysis of over 110,000 developer profiles, North America's leading position in the share of cryptocurrency developers has been surpassed by Asia. The share of developers in North America has sharply declined from 44% in 2015 to 24% in 2024. Meanwhile, Asia's share has risen from 13% to 32%, becoming the largest continent for crypto talent for the first time.By country, the United States ranks first globally with a share of 18.8%, followed by India and the United Kingdom with 11.8% and 4.2%, respectively. Since 2015, the U.S. share of global cryptocurrency developers has plummeted by 51%. During the same period, the cryptocurrency market size skyrocketed from $5 billion to $2.4 trillion, an increase of nearly 480 times.Additionally, although the cryptocurrency industry is often thought to be concentrated in traditional tech hubs like California and New York, in reality, 64% of developers are distributed outside these areas. The study analyzed over 200,000 crypto-related Git commit records, involving more than 350,000 code repositories. Maria emphasized that cryptocurrency development should not be partisan, as developers are spread across states, representing different political backgrounds.

ChainCatcher news, the director of the Criminal Investigation Department of Bukit Aman, Su Haizir, stated that since 2020, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has lost over 440 million ringgit (approximately 101 million USD) due to electricity theft, with losses amounting to 103 million ringgit so far this year. Illegal Bitcoin mining is the main culprit behind most of the cases. (thestar)

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the mayor of Hadeland, Kjell-Børge Freiberg, stated that the noise from the Bitcoin mining center disturbed many residents, and the mining facility was closed during the week of September 9.However, Dennis Porter, co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, pointed out that the decline in electricity demand in the area after the ban led to other users having to bear higher electricity costs to compensate for the revenue loss caused by the exit of Bitcoin mining businesses.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the DeFi abstraction platform Infinit has completed a $6 million funding round, with participation from Electric Capital, Mirana Ventures, Hashed, and Arthur Hayes' family office Maelstrom, Lightspeed Faction, Nomad Capital, Robot Ventures, Tangent, and Presto Labs.It is reported that the new funds will be used to enhance its infrastructure and provide a smoother service experience for DeFi protocol builders.

ChainCatcher News, Tokyo Electric Power Company's subsidiary Agile Energy X in Japan has begun experimenting with Bitcoin mining using surplus power from renewable energy sources such as solar energy. The company has installed mining equipment next to solar power plants in Tochigi and Gunma Prefectures as part of its green energy utilization efforts.Company representative Kenji Tateiwa stated that mining can provide a new source of revenue for power generation companies and promote further adoption of green energy.The Japanese government plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon neutrality, by 2050, and it is expected that the share of renewable energy will further increase in the future. According to Agile Energy X's estimates, if renewable energy accounts for nearly half of the national power supply, approximately equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 70 million households will be wasted. If 10% of this can be utilized for Bitcoin mining, it is expected to generate an annual revenue of about 360 billion yen (2.5 billion USD).

ChainCatcher message, the National Electricity Administration of Paraguay (ANDE) recently discovered and seized an illegal Bitcoin mining operation with 693 miners. ANDE confirmed its illegal act of stealing electricity, which is classified as a criminal offense under Law No. 7300/24, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the National Electricity Administration of Paraguay (ANDE) recently discovered and seized an illegal Bitcoin mining operation with 693 miners. ANDE inspectors found a tampered electricity meter that failed to record all the electrical energy consumed by the devices connected to the grid. The detection was carried out using the SCADA system.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, Malaysian officials crushed 985 Bitcoin mining devices on Monday as part of a nationwide crackdown on electricity theft related to cryptocurrency miners.Videos circulating show a heavy roller slowly rolling over the mining equipment in an attempt to crush it. This operation destroyed equipment worth approximately $450,000.Malaysian officials are working to combat electricity theft, which is why the seized mining devices were destroyed.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report from Bernama on Saturday, last week, three local residents and four foreigners were arrested and detained for allegedly providing electricity for Bitcoin mining operations through electricity theft.The report stated that the police chief of Sepang, ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof, indicated that these individuals had no prior criminal records, and the authorities' aim is to "investigate illegal Bitcoin mining activities involving electricity theft."Local police added that they seized 52 Bitcoin mining devices and other electronic equipment, with a total estimated value of 250,000 Malaysian Ringgit (RM), equivalent to 57,000 USD.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog post this week written by Shafik Hebous, Deputy Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, and another economist, Nate Vernon-Lin.The authors emphasized the environmental challenges posed by cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence data centers, noting that these sectors already account for 2% of global electricity consumption. They added, "According to our estimates based on projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA), this share could rise to 3.5% within three years."The report warns that this increasing energy use could lead to cryptocurrency mining contributing 0.7% of global carbon emissions by 2027, and emphasizes, "Expanding the analysis to data centers (according to IEA estimates) means that by 2027, carbon emissions from these sectors could reach 450 million tons, accounting for 1.2% of the global total."To address this issue, Hebous and Vernon-Lin proposed a targeted electricity tax, stating, "A tax system is a way to guide businesses to reduce emissions. According to IMF estimates, a direct tax of $0.047 per kilowatt-hour would encourage the cryptocurrency mining industry to curb its emissions in line with global targets."However, critics argue that these taxes could severely hinder the development of the cryptocurrency industry. Additionally, some studies have shown that the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining remains relatively small compared to other major industries such as e-commerce or traditional finance.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Fiscal Affairs Department, Shafik Hebous, and economist Nate Vernon-Lin from the Climate Policy Department stated that a tax of 0.047 yuan per kilowatt-hour "will drive the cryptocurrency mining industry to curb its emissions in line with global goals." If the impact of miners on local health is taken into account, the tax will rise to 0.089 dollars per kilowatt-hour. Increasing taxes will raise the average electricity price for crypto miners by 85%, generate an additional 5.2 billion dollars in global government revenue annually, and reduce emissions by 100 million tons per year, equivalent to Belgium's emissions.They claimed that the electricity consumed by a single Bitcoin transaction is roughly equivalent to the average electricity usage of a Pakistani person over three years, while the energy required for the AI model ChatGPT is ten times that of a Google search. The two also proposed a 0.032 dollars per kilowatt-hour energy usage tax on AI data centers, which would rise to 0.052 dollars when accounting for pollution costs, as "these data centers are often located in areas with greener electricity." IMF officials stated that this tax could generate 18 billion dollars in revenue for the government each year.

According to ChainCatcher news, data from RootData shows that the Electric Vehicle Zone token (EVZ) has increased by 57.17% in the last 24 hours, currently priced at $0.006.Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData indicates that Electric Vehicle Zone is a shared infrastructure platform for electric vehicle charging that automatically connects chargers and electric vehicle users during idle times, providing shared value and addressing energy issues.

ChainCatcher news, Trump stated during his speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference that after being elected president, he will make the United States the country with the lowest energy and electricity costs, and the U.S. will become the undisputed powerhouse in Bitcoin mining, with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies driving economic growth in the United States.

ChainCatcher news, the on-chain order exchange Kuru announced the completion of a $2 million seed round financing, led by Electric Capital, with participation from Brevan Howard Digital, CMS Holdings, Pivot Global, Breed, and Velocity Capital, as well as angel investors such as Keone Hon, Jarry Xiao, and Eugene Chen.Kuru intends to use the new funds to expand its team and prepare for audits before the launch of the Monad testnet.It is reported that Kuru is an on-chain order book DEX on Monad, providing users with a single platform to discover, research, and trade on-chain spot assets.

According to ChainCatcher news, data from RootData shows that the Electric Vehicle Zone token (EVZ) has increased by 47.74% in the last 24 hours, currently priced at $0.0069.Additionally, the Web3 asset data platform RootData indicates that Electric Vehicle Zone is a shared infrastructure platform for electric vehicle charging that automatically connects chargers and electric vehicle users during idle times, providing shared value and addressing energy issues.

ChainCatcher news, Russian President Putin stated that cryptocurrency mining accounts for 1.5% of Russia's electricity consumption.

ChainCatcher news, according to News.bitcoin, the Paraguayan Senate has passed a series of reforms that change the penalties for energy theft related to cryptocurrency mining. Now, individuals and companies found stealing energy for cryptocurrency mining activities will face up to 10 years in prison, while energy theft for other purposes will face a maximum penalty of 3 years.