One of the largest oil companies ventures into Bitcoin mining

Halliburton, an oil services company, has incorporated into its business a company that produces energy for data centers, such as BTC miners.

360 Energy converts waste gas into energy to power data centers and BTC miners.
More and more companies that were not originally linked to Bitcoin are beginning to adopt it among their strategies.

Halliburton (HAL), one of the largest oil services companies in the world, announced on December 18, 2024, its partnership with 360 Energy, a company that transforms natural gas into an energy solution for various applications. Among them, Bitcoin (BTC) mining.

Halliburton, founded in 1919 and headquartered in Texas, United States, provides services and products for the exploration, production, and processing of oil and gas.

On the other hand, 360 Energy, also located in Texas, is dedicated to capturing natural gas that would otherwise be wasted at natural gas extraction sites or oil fields. Part of that energy generation is used by 360 Energy to mine Bitcoin.

360 Energy employs a technology called "in-field computing" that converts this waste gas into energy to power modular data centers and support intensive computing operations, such as Bitcoin mining.

This technology performs computing processes directly at the location where the energy resource is found. Natural gas is a byproduct that cannot be easily transported due to a lack of infrastructure or because processing costs are higher than its market value.

In these cases, the gas is flared or released into the environment, resulting in waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Wild West for cryptoassets is coming to an end

Cryptoassets are no longer foreign to traditional investors. On December 30, the MiCA Regulation (an acronym for markets in crypto-assets) comes into effect, opening the door to a much broader market under a regulation that establishes guarantees for consumers and a series of requirements for operators. Those wishing to operate will need to have a license or registration with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), which has strengthened its authorization and supervision teams. Entities interested in marketing them could apply since September, and it is known that CaixaBank, BBVA, and Banco Santander have been preparing their respective offers.

Although critical voices believe that this regulation goes against the alternative, decentralized, and deregulated essence of investments in the world, entities that promote, market, and advise on these investments will need to be authorized. However, those that were already operating will have a transition period. “It creates a safe environment for the cryptoasset market. Both financial operators and investors can count on protection and guarantees similar to those of the traditional market,” explains Enrique Nieto, partner at Uría Menéndez, who emphasizes that despite these measures, there is no zero risk in investments. In fact, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has recently issued a communication warning of this.

Still, banks have it easier. “They have a more favorable treatment since they do not need an explicit MiCa license and can operate with their own banking license. Investment service companies or electronic money institutions will be able to provide cryptoasset services by notifying the competent authority in advance,” clarifies Alfonso López-Ibor, partner at López-Ibor DPM. The European regulation not only affects banking but also service providers, including exchanges or trading platforms.

What are cryptocurrency whales buying? This is a question that investors want to know, especially at a time when altcoin prices are nowhere near the peak they reached a few weeks ago.

Specifically, JasmyCoin (JASMY), XRP, and Polygon (POL) have emerged as the main targets for whale purchases. Here’s a closer look at why these assets are attracting significant attention and what could be next.

JasmyCoin (JASMY)
Known as the "Bitcoin of Japan," JasmyCoin has seen an increase in whale accumulation this week. This comes amid a 30% drop in the price of the altcoin over the last seven days.

According to IntoTheBlock, the Large Holders Netflow was 10.22 million on Monday, December 16. The Large Holders Netflow is the difference between the number of tokens that whales accumulated and distributed.

The figure has increased to 54.74 million, indicating that cryptocurrency whales bought around 44.52 million JASMY tokens this week. At the current price, this means that these entities invested 1.38 million dollars in the altcoin.

An eco-friendly Bitcoin ETF will soon be approved by the SEC

Nate Geraci, a recognized expert in the field of Bitcoin ETFs, has recently expressed his optimism about the launch of an unusual fund proposed by Nexo, a major player in the fintech sector. This fund, called Nexo 7RCC, combines investments in spot bitcoin and futures contracts on carbon credits, a first in the ETF industry. The Nexo 7RCC is designed to follow a portfolio composed of 80% bitcoin and 20% carbon credits. The carbon credits are related to emission allowances approved by the relevant authorities of the European Union and California, in the United States. This unique combination seeks to attract environmentally conscious investors while capitalizing on the growing popularity of BTC.

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has compared Bitcoin to gold, calling it "digital gold." Fink has emphasized that Bitcoin is a valuable international asset that can serve as a hedge against inflation and the devaluation of local currencies.
BlackRock has also launched the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which is tokenized by Securitize and was launched in March 2024 on the Ethereum network. BlackRock has announced that it will expand access through blockchain ecosystems with the launch of new share classes on Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, among others.
BlackRock has also filed to launch a physically backed Bitcoin ETF in the United States. On January 11, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a spot bitcoin ETF.

Europe says goodbye to USDT and USDC takes over
As of December 30, all exchanges in the European Union must remove USDT from their listings. Europe says goodbye to USDT and USDC takes over
As of December 30, all exchanges in the European Union must remove USDT from their listings. The measure corresponds to the entry into force of the MiCA Regulation.
USDC has the permissions to operate in Europe.
As of December 30, the European Union will fully implement the Regulation on Crypto-Asset Markets (MiCA), sidelining one of the most widely used stablecoins globally: USDT.

This change opens the doors to USDC and EURC, issued by Circle, consolidating a new balance in the European cryptocurrency market.

With a market capitalization close to $163 billion, USDT, the largest stablecoin in the world issued by Tether, has been a benchmark in crypto-asset trading.

However, compliance with the strict provisions of the MiCA Regulation has proven impossible for the issuance of this token. The regulation requires that all stablecoins listed on centralized exchanges be issued by entities that hold electronic money licenses and maintain at least two-thirds of their reserves in an independent bank.

To lick the wounds.

The market loses 1.5 trillion dollars in a day. What is happening?

The cryptocurrency market is not spared either.
The cryptocurrency market also experienced a significant drop, although it managed to benefit from its continuous nature by never closing. At one point, about 300 billion dollars were wiped out, although the losses were reduced to approximately 100 billion.

#MarketPullback Calm and precision, everything happens

#BTCReclaims101K for formal possession of trunk super confusion

$BTC strong corrections with the new government I doubt it from my point of view every week it corrects with drops and rises of 6k to 10k

Your shot loses, define your degree of masochism

I'm hereeee

What a big difference Binance would make for trading futures if they added the ability to modify your orders if we, the users, came to an agreement because they already charge a fee for opening but surely it is not profitable for them, most likely it is all business.

I don't understand why Binance does not have direct buy and sell orders and the ability to modify your stop losses with a touch like MetaTrader 5 and TradingView. But the commission is surely when you want to modify the order it's too late.

Hello, I am interested in your opinion if it has happened to you.

I am trying out a broker and I have withdrawn the minimum amount $10 twice and when I check my Binance account, I received $3.88. The other time I withdrew $12 and I received $7, is such a high commission normal? They attribute the problem to the network; in this last case it was (Tron, TRC 20).

Puppets Titeritero and the stage disguised as an ecosystem where some go happily and others go crying.

Recommendation.

When it comes to trading futures, in my opinion, it's better to operate directly with Bitcoin. The other currencies are governed by what Bitcoin does, regardless of technical analysis being favorable, indicators being favorable, or anything from books; it all becomes worthless in a second if Bitcoin changes direction, everything goes down the drain.

Top 3 altcoins to watch in the third week of November.

Aptos (APT) is trading above the support of $10.92, aligning with the Fibonacci Retracement. The launch of the Aptos Staking ETP could push APT beyond $14.05.

Floki (FLOKI) surged 128% in two weeks. Partnerships with Animoca and BAYC boost bullish sentiment, targeting $0.0003138.

Zcash (ZEC) rises 25.5% ahead of Network Upgrade 6. Maintaining support at $46.24 could push ZEC to $50, but losing $40.76 risks a correction.

Solana crypto crash raises questions.

Solana (SOL) sees its transaction volume drop from $12.60 billion to $5.72 billion, the entire crypto ecosystem is waking up, ready to interpret the slightest fluctuation. The question is: does this drop mean the end of the boom or a simple moment of turbulence?