What you need to know

• Bitcoin has enjoyed something of a rally over the past year, reaching a new all-time high of $73,000 back in the spring, making it the best-performing asset of its type for 2024.
• Improved guidelines at a state level has driven increased confidence in the cryptocurrency, which has even Microsoft seemingly interested in jumping on the crypto train.
• On December 10, 2024, Microsoft plans to let shareholders vote on whether or not to invest in the currency.

Bitcoin has had a pretty good year so far, so good in fact that Microsoft itself is now considering investing in the cryptocurrency.

For those who don't know, bitcoin is an industry-leading cryptocurrency whose "scarcity" is artificially perpetuated by processing-heavy math calculations. Dubbed crypto "mining," the practice uses GPUs like those supplied by NVIDIA to perform increasingly complex calculations, in exchange for fragments of a bitcoin token. Those bitcoins are then exchanged and traded as you might otherwise trade gold or other investable commodities, verified by a blockchain. A notable difference is that the market for bitcoin trading is always online, 24/7, and has been the subject of various controversies.

RELATED: How to mine crypto and earn passive income

Cryptocurrencies are often exploited by criminals to avoid the same kinds of scrutiny that traditional currencies face, and they also require vast amounts of processing power, which has led to criticism over their contributions to climate change and carbon emissions. Bitcoin is increasingly mined using renewable energy, however, and improvements in the regulatory environment have also made it easier to track criminals that exploit the currency for their own ends.

Indeed, many of those regulatory improvements over the past year have led to a boost in confidence in the currency over the past year. It hit a new high of $73,000 per coin earlier in the year and has maintained a steady rate ever since. Bitcoin has outperformed various other similar assets too, and is often seen as a safe haven "off the grid" digital investment that can potentially avoid similar pitfalls faced by other assets, although bitcoin seems to generally react similarly in line with traditional stocks when volatility occurs.

In any case, the confidence boost seems to have landed well at Microsoft, which plans to give its investors a vote on whether or not the company itself should start investing in the currency, per a new SEC filing.

Reportedly, Microsoft's board of directors is investing that shareholders vote against the proposal, and it's not hard to see why. Bitcoin is notoriously volatile. Tesla lost over $100 million playing around with the currency in 2022, although it still maintains mountains of assets in the currency. Elon Musk's car firm recently moved $750 million of its cryptocurrency assets into private wallets, which has some fearing a big sell-off may be around the corner. The overall market seems to be generally optimistic, however, with bitcoin almost hitting its spring highs again through October 2024.

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Could Microsoft really invest in Bitcoin?

It's not entirely surprising that Microsoft may seek to invest in bitcoin. For all its volatility, it has remained a strong performer over time, and will probably only get stronger as technology improves, regulatory oversight improves, and nation-state politicians actually educate themselves on what it actually is. I don't hold any myself, but like many, I sure as hell wish I bought in early when it first arrived on the scene back in the day. It would be unlikely to do much for Microsoft's so-called climate pledge credentials, though.

Microsoft's board of directors is advising shareholders not to vote in favor of the investment, which will likely sport enough influence to prevent the motion from going through. Microsoft wouldn't be the first traditional company to jump on the bitcoin train, though. Beyond Tesla itself, companies like BlackRock, Square, and various others have bitcoin holdings. Nation states like the United States and Germany have also massive bitcoin holdings, owing in part to legal forfeitures from law enforcement activities. Germany in particular sold billions of dollars worth of its crypto holdings over the past year, much of which was seized from criminals and the like.

As usual, if you plan to invest in Bitcoin or, well, anything, be sure you're only investing as much as you'd be willing to lose, and speak to a qualified financial advisor!

Do you think Microsoft should invest in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency? Hit the comments.

What you need to know

• Intel will supply Bitcoin startup GRIID with chips designed to mine cryptocurrency more efficiently, according to a recent report.
• GRIID has reportedly signed a supply agreement with Intel to use the "Bonanza Mine" chips.
• Intel's Bonanza Mine announcement is said to be on the way in February 2022.

Intel is expected to announce its new Bonanza Mine chips in February 2022. They are said to be able to make mining Bitcoin more energy efficient than the current offerings on the market, allowing companies and individuals to obtain cryptocurrency without having to use as much power. According to an S-4 filing spotted by Fox Business, a Bitcoin mining startup called GRIID will be the first to use Intel's Bonanza Mine processors.

"We have entered into a definitive supply contract with Intel to provide ASICs that we expect to fuel our growth. The initial order will supply units to be delivered in 2022 and GRIID will have access to a significant share of Intel's future production volumes," said GRIID in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (via HotHardware).

Bonanza Mine Chips, also called BZM2 ASICS (application-specific integrated circuits), could increase the profit margins of crypto mining companies such as GRIID. Mining Bitcoin requires a lot of energy, which is increasingly expensive. By lowering the energy required to mine cryptocurrency, GRIID and other companies could significantly lower their costs.

It's expected that Intel will officially announce its Bonanza Mine chips at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in February 2022.

Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency have been under increased scrutiny recently due to their impact on the environment. Russia recently proposed a ban on mining crypto. Reducing the environmental footprint of mining cryptocurrency could help the image of the emerging technology.

What you need to know

• Cryptocurrency has many critics and skeptics.
• El Salvador is not among those two camps, however, and has instead embraced cryptocurrency and now plans to build an entire city around it.
• The city will be placed near a volcano, wherein Bitcoin can be mined, and energy can be harvested.

Many people do not believe in the cryptocurrency revolution. Others are skeptical about the whole thing while still maintaining interest in it, including Mark Cuban and Elon Musk. And when it comes to countries, nations such as the United States are wary of the headaches cryptocurrency incurs. But not all entities share the same reservations.

Enter: El Salvador. Not only has the country made Bitcoin a legal form of currency within its jurisdiction, but now, it's doubling down with a commitment to build Bitcoin City. In other words, should you live in El Salvador, you may want to learn how to mine crypto and earn passive income. The new city is set to border a volcano, being established along the Gulf of Fonseca.

The city will be shaped like a circle (coin-like, if you will) and will utilize its nearby volcano's energy to fuel mining operations. If you're wondering where this unusual news comes from, well, look no further than the president of El Salvador himself: Nayib Bukele.

Bitcoin City isn't just going to be a mining hub, however; it's set to be a real city with proper commercial and residential areas, as well as an airport. The only tax that will exist within Bitcoin City is VAT tax.

Considering many were getting amped over the prospects of AMC letting crypto miners pay for popcorn with their gains, one can only imagine what sort of attention this city could potentially draw. If this news has you hyped, check out what the best GPUs for crypto mining currently are.

What you need to know

• AMC has announced it will be accepting four different types of cryptocurrency within the next few months.
• The four chosen currencies will be Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum.
• These crypto options will soon be valid tender for movie tickets and concessions at AMC.

By the time Sonic the Hedgehog 2 rolls into theaters in April 2022, AMC will let you pay for your ticket and popcorn via cryptocurrency. At least, that's the promise the company's CEO, Adam Aron, has made. Over on Twitter, he confirmed four different types of cryptocurrency would be eligible to replace ye olde cash when buying tickets and snacks: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash.

The change is said to be happening by year's end, though as is the case with all announcements, nothing's guaranteed until the day it's made a reality. With that being said, AMC has had a trend recently of announcing big moves and acting on them relatively swiftly ever since it became the center of attention alongside GameStop in the great meme stock shakeup of early 2021.

For example, back when the memes were at peak potency and shaking the stock market like a can of carbonated soda, AMC announced it would reward shareholders for being there for the company. Shortly thereafter, it came through, offering investors free popcorn (via Reuters). Since then, AMC has continued to reward shareholders with various perks, such as free food items and early screenings of select films.

This is all a long way of saying that if you were interested in learning how to mine crypto or want to know what the best GPUs for crypto mining are, now's the time.

If you go into crypto for the popcorn and movies, just be ready to take some of the blame when gamers complain about not being able to score the best graphics cards.

GPU Bitcoin mining has been surpassed for most people

Mining Bitcoin is a harder task than it used to be. Unless you're going to build a serious rig with a lot of GPUs in it, it's not really worth the time.

Using a single GPU to process the algorithm for Bitcoin won't be profitable, as the return is so low, especially compared to the cost of buying the GTX 1080 Ti, and the power to run the machine its attached to.

Other cryptocurrencies can be mined with GPUs, but for Bitcoin, other methods are required. The time it takes to mine Bitcoin would far exceed the life of the graphics card.

An ASIC miner doesn't require a PC

One of the more accessible ways for folks to jump in and do a little home mining is with an ASIC miner. These don't require a PC and are a self-contained unit with a dedicated power supply, built purposely for mining using the SHA-256 algorithm.

The miner will have a simple web interface you can interact with on your regular PC, but for the purposes of mining, it can just sit there doing its own thing.

Your returns will vary depending on the power of your miner, of course. The better the hash rate, the more you'll be paying.

An ASIC miner is around the same cost as a GTX 1080 Ti

A beginner ASIC miner like the AntMiner S9i with a power supply is around the same price as a GTX 1080 Ti. The difference is you'll get better returns, and have lower overheads since you're not powering an entire PC. ASIC miners are much more power efficient.

It's a fairly small unit, too,

There's also the simple fact that this is a really intensive process, and a dedicated miner won't be taking up any of the resources on your PC. By contrast, mining on your personal PC is going to take its resources away from work or gaming.

If you have any Bitcoins, they are no longer welcome by Microsoft for payment of digital content for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. The company has quietly removed the option of adding Bitcoins to Microsoft accounts for those two operating platforms.

This Windows 10 support page on the Microsoft site{.nofollow} states:

Microsoft started accepting Bitcoins in Microsoft account back in December 2014. Once in the account, they could be used to buy digital content from the Windows Store for things like apps, games and in-app purchases, along with the Xbox Store for games and other content.

At the moment, this change appears only to affect Windows 10 PC and Mobile users, since the option to redeem Bitcoin to a Microsoft account via other means is apparently still live.

Via: Softpedia

Microsoft has announced that it is now accepting Bitcoin as a payment option for buying digital content. The integration allows you to add funds to your Microsoft account with Bitcoin, which can then be used for purchasing digital content on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox.

You cannot directly buy digital content with Bitcoin just yet, as Microsoft illustrates:

All transactions will be handled by BitPay. For instructions on how you can add funds to your Microsoft account using Bitcoin, head to the link below. How many of you are excited to see Microsoft integrate Bitcoin as a payment method?

Source: Microsoft Commerce; Via: Coin Base

Thanks for the tip Mark!

For the past few years, Microsoft’s Bing search engine has offered up the ability to convert multiple currencies. For example, simply head over to the site and enter “1 USD to Rupees” to learn that 1 US Dollar is equal to 62.03 Indian Rupees.

Now, the Redmond based company has added the digital currency, Bitcoin, to its arsenal of knowledge. Moreover, for all of you who are wondering, No – Google does not offer Bitcoin conversion at this time.

For those unfamiliar with Bitcoin, it is a peer-to-peer open source payment system that was introduced almost ten years ago in January 2005 and has since grown to worldwide popularity.  Unlike traditional currency, a Bitcoin is not based upon any physical material, but instead relies on digital “mining”. One of the many benefits of Bitcoin include the fact that it is decentralized and does not rely on a middle man as standard government currency does.

Downsides include a highly volatile market and a lack of widespread use. To learn more about Bitcoin, you can head over to their official website by clicking here.

Are you a Bitcoin fanatic – are you happy to see integration within Bing?

Source: Bing Blogs

There are a handful of exchanges out there if you’re looking to trade your local currency with an electronic currency like Bitcoin. Coinbase and MtGox are two of the most popular Bitcoin exchanges, but there are a quite a few others if you want choice. Kraken (www.kraken.com) is one of those exchanges and there’s a new app by the same name in the Windows Phone Store to keep you posted to current rates for various cryptocurrencies.

This is an unofficial app that does one thing and one thing well – keeps you informed on the current market rate for currencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Namecoin and others. You can view the exchange rate for those currencies against others like the US Dollar and Euro.

Need some more Bitcoin apps? We covered one called Blockchain back in the summer that brought wallet integration. You can also use Bitcoin to purchase items in the Windows Phone Central Store.

The app is free (no ads) and available for folks on Windows Phone 8. The developer does include his Bitcoin address so you can send donations if you’re interested. Grab it in the Windows Phone Store or use the QR code below. 

We've had a lot of demand from users to begin accepting Bitcoin at the Windows Phone Central Store, and today I'm happy to announce that support is here! Just in time for the holidays, Bitcoin users can now checkout with the digital currency at the Windows Phone Central Store and our other Mobile Nations stores including ShopAndroid, the iMore Store and ShopCrackBerry.

To kick off the Bitcoin support, we've even extended our Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale to run a full week. That means until this Friday, December 6th at midnight PST tonight, you can save 25% on ALL orders using coupon code CYBER13.

Take me to the Windows Phone Central Store!

Using Bitcoin Checkout at the Windows Phone Central Store

After selecting items to purchase, simply visit your cart. On the cart page there is a Pay with Bitcoin button. Look for the button below your checkout Total. Simply click the Pay with Bitcoin button and follow the instructions on the pages that follow. 

Woah. What's all this Bitcoin stuff about?

Bitcoin is making lots of headlines these days, and it can be a confusing concept to grasp at first until you read up on it and it "clicks". Long story short, Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer online financial network and a digital currency (that also goes by the name Bitcoin). There's no middle man with Bitcoin. Instead, Bitcoin payments are sent over the network directly from sender to receiver and the management of the transactions is carried out by the collectively by the network. The infographic below provides a good walk through (more info on Wikipedia and Bitcoin.org).

Infographic by bpalacio@mac.com.

Why support Bitcoin?

That's an easy one. We love technology, we love our users and we love choice. Nobody quite knows where Bitcoin will go, but it has a real community movement behind it and we have customers asking for it, so we're happy to support it and be part of the story as it continues to evolve!

Blockchain has been available on Windows Phone for some time, but we've failed to cover it until now. Billed as the first app on the platform to support Bitcoin, the app enables you to carry out transactions using the Wallet service (www.blockchain.info). The developer is also the same soul who was behind Web2Tile back in 2011.

So what exactly is Bitcoin? It's an open-source cryptocurrency where the creation and transfer of "bitcoins" is based on a cryptographic protocol that is independent of any central authority. The concept was introduced back in 2008, billed as a "peer-to-peer, electronic cash system". Bitcoins can be transferred through a computer or smartphone without an intermediate financial institution.

Think of it as an online, peer-to-peer, freedom bank.

Each user has a bitcoin address (slightly like email addresses on PayPal), which is essentially a cryptographic public key. Its string of numbers and letters is often stored in a digital wallet or mobile device and it is protected by a password (or other means of authentication). Each bitcoin transaction is signed by the private key of the user initiating the transaction. In this case, Blockchain is the bitcoin client that helps you interact with your online wallet.

Blockchain allows you to view your current balance, check out previous transactions and wire bitcoins to recipients, just as you would on a desktop client. If you're still rather baffled by the concept (we were at first), be sure to head on over to We Use Coins (www.weusecoins.com/en/questions) for some quick answers about multiple parts of the system.

The http://www.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8Windows Phone 8 app is an interesting solution that integrates with the default Wallet Hub, offering quick and convenient access to the service. It's worth noting that you need to have a Bitcoin wallet with Blockchain to use this app (requires authentication before continuing). Here's a quick video of the app in action:

If you're an avid fan of Bitcoin or use it on a daily basis for transactions, Blockchain is well worth checking out. You can download Blockchain from the Windows Phone Store for free.