As a reminder, the topic of cryptocurrency mining already came up at the government level in March. In particular, in the middle of the month, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament rejected a proposal to ban the mining of digital assets. The issue was precisely about PoW coins, which include Bitcoin, Etherium in its current form and other popular cryptocurrencies.

Accordingly, fans of the coins have essentially been given the green light to continue their activities. And in other regions, the process is being approached quite creatively.

How cryptocurrency is mined

According to Decrypt’s sources, gas flaring, or so-called flaring, takes place during oil production, as natural gas is a by-product of the process. Now, instead of wasting the resource, ExxonMobil will use it to power a mining centre.

It is noteworthy that there has been no official announcement about this yet, and journalists received information from anonymous sources within the company. Accordingly, we should expect a direct statement from the giant's representatives in the future as well.

ExxonMobil’s mining programme, if successfully launched in North Dakota, could spread to Alaska, Nigeria, Argentina, Guyana and Germany. Company spokesperson Sarah Nordeen noted the following in a recent interview.

We are constantly evaluating new technologies aimed at reducing flaring at our facilities.

Accordingly, the option of diverting this resource did not come as a surprise - experts had been thinking of using it even earlier.

ExxonMobil

Nordin declined to comment on the rumoured mining centre. Accordingly, the only thing left now is to wait for an official announcement from ExxonMobil in the future.

Attempting to use the by-products of oil production is a very interesting decision against the backdrop of constant criticism of cryptocurrencies because of their negative impact on the environment. As a reminder, Bitcoin’s opponents often make the argument that its network’s energy consumption is too high, which is provided by power plants that are harmful to the atmosphere. In this case, however, the burning of gas cannot be avoided, but it will provide an additional source of energy for mining.

Bitcoin network energy consumption

By the end of this week, the positive news was not only in the cryptocurrency mining sector. The day before, one of Israel’s largest banks called Leumi Bank began the process of launching Bitcoin and Etherium trading. The bank’s digital platform called Pepper Invest has partnered with cryptocurrency company Paxos to launch trading operations. Pepper Invest customers can now officially buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies, reports Cointelegraph.

For now, support is only available for BTC and ETH, but there are plans to expand the list of crypto-assets later. The minimum transaction value for cryptocurrencies on transactions has been set at around $15.50 or 50 shekels. No launch date for the platform has been announced at the moment, with the initiative awaiting regulatory approval. The announcement publication also highlights the following detail.

Pepper Invest will automatically calculate taxes according to the guidelines of the Israeli tax authority, so that customers will not have to deal with the problem on their own.

Accordingly, conducting these transactions will be quite convenient, and investors will not have to worry about recording transactions for further payment of fees.

Leumi Bank

Previously, banks in many countries were hesitant to accept BTC and other cryptocurrencies, but that has changed as demand from corporates and individual customers has grown. Regulators have also shifted their focus from outright bans to developing a regulatory framework regarding Bitcoin and altcoins. In other words, Leumi Bank is not the first bank to actively develop in this direction, but it is still positive news for the industry as a whole.


We believe that such initiatives by large companies will be good for the reputation of cryptocurrencies. The current idea proves that it is possible to get coins even with what used to be considered waste. In addition, before, crypto was criticized precisely for its excessive energy consumption, so now the perception of coins will clearly change.


What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our Millionaire Crypto Chat. There we will discuss other important developments in the blockchain world.