國外神人嘗試用 GameBoy 來挖比特幣，沒想到還真的可以
顯卡持續缺貨，而且幾乎沒有改善跡象，為了能挖礦，礦主們可說什麼裝置都想試試看，繼手機、筆電、M1 Mac 之後，最近國外更有 YouTuber 嘗試用 GameBoy 挖比特幣，沒錯，就是那幾十年前的老舊掌上遊戲機，結果沒想到最後還真的成功，只不過挖礦算力超級慢。
國外神人嘗試用 GameBoy 來挖比特幣
稍早一位 stackmashing 在他 YouTube 頻道分享使用 GameBoy 挖比特幣的實測影片，影片中他說到，幾天前看到 Tesla 正式接受使用比特幣付款後，他決定要加入挖比特幣的行列，不過現在各大網站的顯卡都缺貨，最後想到，何不就用他手邊的遊戲機 GameBoy 來挖礦？而實測就這麼開始：
不過要用 GameBoy 挖礦有很多事情需要解決，像是如何讓 Bitcoin Node、Bitcoin Network 與 GameBoy 進行溝通，來發送挖礦指令。GameBoy 不支援 WiFi，因此只能透過實體方式來實現，好消息是，GameBoy 側邊有外接連接埠：
因此他使用 Raspberry Pi Pico 主機板以及其他所需配件，來實現電腦發送請求讓 GameBoy 執行挖礦：
把一切都接上後，就準備開始挖礦：
結果真的成功，確實可以執行比特幣挖礦程式，不過也不意外，速度非常慢，挖礦算力為 0.8 Hash/s，跟 ASIC 挖礦相比，慢了 125,000,000,000,000x，畢竟 GameBoy 的硬體非常老舊，搭載 4.19MHz 的 Sharp LR35902 處理器，也吃 4 顆 3A 電池，不像現在的顯卡、挖礦機都使用電源供應器：
這部影片有詳細講解實現 GameBoy 挖礦的原理，想實際動手玩玩看的人很推薦看完整部。既然 GameBoy 成功，未來沒意外，應該會再看到其他老舊遊戲機的實測挖礦影片：
Crypto Long & Short: Bitcoin Outflows Aren’t the Bullish Signal You Think They Are
Conventional wisdom suggests that when big amounts of bitcoin exit exchanges, the hodlers are socking away coins in their cold-storage hoards, presumably forever. The reality is more complicated than that, and bitcoin outflows in 2021 have a lot more to do with another important digital asset: stablecoins.
But first, how we got here: The crypto industry still isn’t happy about FinCEN’s proposal to require crypto exchanges to collect data on both sides of any outflow transactions. Now, crypto advocates have a civil liberties group taking their side in comments on the proposal. That caused me to wonder, just how much money are we talking about?
The chart above shows the estimated notional value of bitcoin flowing out of exchange wallets, summed by month. The real number is probably larger. Notably, Coinbase goes to greater lengths than most exchanges to disguise its bitcoin addresses and therefore the largest U.S.-accessible exchange by volume is almost certainly undercounted here.
Related: Cryptocurrency Market Value Nears $2T for First Time, Doubling in Just 3 Months
However, $60 billion a month is nothing to sneeze at. It’s no wonder regulators are paying attention to these flows.
You’re reading Crypto Long & Short, a newsletter that looks closely at the forces driving cryptocurrency markets. Authored by CoinDesk’s head of research, Noelle Acheson, it goes out every Sunday and offers a recap of the week – with insights and analysis – from a professional investor’s point of view. Noelle is on vacation, so Galen Moore, our director of data and indexes, authored this week’s column. You can subscribe here.
Much of the increase in outflows is due to bitcoin’s extraordinary Q1 price run. It was a record first quarter for the orange coin. Historically, for whatever reason, the first quarter has been a weak one, with negative returns in five of the past seven years, according to CoinDesk Research. In 2021, bitcoin rose 103% on the quarter.
Story continues
That’s not the whole story, however. Last week saw another record: a single-day high-water mark in bitcoin-denominated outflows, with 1,365 BTC transferred off exchanges in a 24-hour period.
Related: Bitcoin News Roundup for April 5, 2021
Some interpret these transfers bullishly: bitcoiners moving their exchange bitcoin into cold storage. Crypto analyst Willy Woo calls these hodlers “Rick Astleys” because the U.K. pop singer’s chart-topping 1987 single, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” aptly describes their feelings about bitcoin. But as I said on CoinDesk TV’s “All About Bitcoin” show on Friday, it’s possible that they are Stevie Wonders. Meaning, they’re “Part-Time Lover(s).”
Here’s what I mean by that: One of the underlying market dynamics of the past three years has been the rise of stablecoins. Tether (USDT), in particular, has replaced bitcoin as the dominant quote currency of crypto altcoin trading. What that means is, when I want to use crypto to buy crypto on an exchange, I’m much more likely to be doing that in tether or, to a limited extent, USD coin (USDC), Circle’s dollar-pegged stablecoin.
What we’re looking at here is quote currency volumes, the volume of markets priced in bitcoin and the top two stablecoins for the top four altcoins: ether, cardano, chainlink and stellar, on three exchanges included in TradeBlock’s bitcoin XBX index, plus Binance. So, this is a sample of the market, but a significant one. (TradeBlock is owned and operated by CoinDesk, and its XBX index is drawn from the most liquid exchanges that are accessible to U.S. investors. I’m using Binance as a reliable proxy for the rest of the world.)
As the chart shows, by the beginning of 2020 a flippening had occurred, with stablecoins already replacing bitcoin as the dominant crypto quote currency. Since then, tether and USDC have continued to eat up a growing share of quote currency volume, replacing bitcoin more and more. Bitcoin’s quote volume is now down to 12% versus the two largest stablecoins. And so, increasing bitcoin outflows reflect that trend as much as anything else: as volume moves from markets quoted in bitcoin to markets quoted in tether, exchange wallet balances reflect that move.
In other words, when it comes to the popular narrative of bitcoin outflows as a bullish signal of hodler activity, I think that’s a story dreamed up by the Doobie Brothers: it’s “What a Fool Believes.” I tend to lean more toward Tina Turner on this metric, wondering, “What’s Love Got to Do With It“? My advice to investors would be to stay like Daryl Hall & John Oates, and keep their “Private Eyes” watching this market closely.
Having traded in a band between $50,000 and $60,000 for more than a month, bitcoin seems likelier every day to make a breakout. Be cautious of narratives based on tea leaves in the blockchain data.
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Market Dominance of Bitcoin Drops below 56%
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is facing a sharp decline in its market dominance as other digital currencies are posting strong gains. XRP, Binance Coin and Ethereum have jumped significantly in the last 24 hours.
According to the data published by Coinmarketcap, Bitcoin’s market dominance stands at around 55.9%, its lowest level since May 2019. The overall market cap of digital currencies has reached $1.95 trillion, its highest level on record.
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Ethereum, the world’s second-largest crypto asset has gained nearly 20% in the last 7 days. ETH registered an all-time high of $2,140 on 3 April after a significant surge in retail and institutional demand. ETH’s current market cap stands at around $240 billion as the cryptocurrency has a market dominance of 12.3%.
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“XRP price is rising as Bitcoin’s market cap dominance is decreasing. It now sits at 55%. In the last market cycle, BTC dominance shrunk to roughly 35%, and I’ll not be surprised to see something like that again this cycle,” a crypto researcher mentioned on Twitter.
Finance Magnates earlier reported a surge in XRP and Binance Coin. Both cryptocurrency assets have gained substantial value in the last 7 days.
Bitcoin and Altseason
The market dominance of the world’s most valuable digital currency touched a low of 32.8% during the last bull season in January 2018. BTC’s market dominance reached a high of nearly 70% in January 2021. Bitcoin has been losing its market dominance sharply since the start of this year. Digital currencies like Ethereum, XRP, Binance Coin, Polkadot, Uniswap and Chainlink have posted strong gains in the last 13 weeks. DeFi boom and a growing interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have also played an important role in Bitcoin’s recent market dominance dip.
BTC is currently trading near $59,000. The digital currency touched an all-time high of $61,200 on 14 March. Bitcoin reported its best Q1 performance since 2013 after a substantial gain of nearly 100% in the last 3 months. JPMorgan recently announced its Bitcoin target of $130,000 in a research note.