TL;DR: Welcome to In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), a daily crypto news update. Bitcoin mining farm fire impacts block times. Zimbabwe blocks mobile money operators. Venezuelan president announces a crypto-based payment system. Ethereum gambling game FairWin smart contract emptied. Uzbekistan to charge miners a 3x premium on electricity, and Binance drops several cryptocurrency trading pairs.



Bitcoin Mining Farm Destroyed by Fire

A Bitcoin mining farm located in China was partially destroyed due to a fire consuming most of its equipment. Marshall Long posted that it was a big data center of Innosilicon, an ASIC manufacturer. While the location of the farm is undisclosed, more than $10 million in losses have been reported, and it caused longer block times, as much as two hours on the BTC network, something that hadn’t happened since 2014 according to Twitter users.

Zimbabwe Bans Mobile Money Operators

Zimbabwe blocked one of their main currency influx sources, mobile money operators from cash operations in a push to stop the country’s newly introduced fiat currency from losing value. The Central Bank of Zimbabwe also tightened the buy/sell spreads for exchange operators from 7% to 5% maximum. However, things are not looking good, with inflation of over 900% and dwindling cash flow.

Venezuelan President Announces Crypto Payment System is on the Way

The Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, announced an international crypto-based payment system for providers is on the way. Maduro declared they were working on “new instruments” that will allow bank transactions and payments. While he did not offer details, Venezuela is looking for ways to take their cryptocurrency savings and use them as part of their foreign reserves. This payment system is a logical step to avoid the current sanctions the country is facing.

FairWin Smart Contract Emptied

The gambling cryptocurrency dApp, FairWin, had its smart contract emptied of ethereum just a day after three vulnerabilities were discovered and disclosed in part by Philippe Castonguay, a developer at Horizon Games. While some are claiming this could be part of an attack by an outside source, it could also be the result of a mass withdrawal following the disclosure of the critical bugs. The contract had approximately $3 million worth of ethereum before having been cleared out, and moved a big amount of GAS daily.

Uzbekistan to Charge 3x Power Premium for Crypto Miners

Uzbekistan is introducing a new bill that would cause bitcoin miners to pay a 3x premium price for energy. The bill, introduced by the Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy, declared the first objective of the measure would be to endorse the rational use of electricity, collecting a fee three times higher than the normal. While power is just 3.5 cents per kWh, there is a public debate with opposing opinions. The draft can be commented upon publicly until the next October when it will be presented or dropped.

Binance Removing Various Cryptocurrency Exchange Pairs

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, will remove some exchange pairs of various cryptocurrencies from their platform. The reason behind this removal is to “improve liquidity and user trading experience among our wide range of available assets.” Along the cryptocurrencies impacted are Dogecoin, BTT, Wink, Waves and other cryptos with low trading volumes.

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