Bitcoin stormed above $66,000 for the first time, riding a wave of excitement about how the financial establishment is increasingly accepting the digital currency’s rise. APNews reported that one Bitcoin was valued at $66,096, as of 4:15 p.m. Eastern time, after earlier climbing as high as $66,974.77. The digital currency has roared back after sinking below $30,000 during the summer to top its prior record set in April. That previous all-time high was nearly $64,889, according to CoinDesk. The surge has come as more businesses, professional investors and even the government of El Salvador buy into Bitcoin, further broadening its base beyond its initial core of fanatics. The AP continued saying: “The latest converts came into the world of crypto on Tuesday, when the first exchange-traded fund linked to Bitcoin found huge interest from investors. Shares of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF changed hands 24.1 million times in a resounding debut. It was even busier on Wednesday, with trading volume topping 29.4 million. The ETF doesn’t invest directly in Bitcoin. It instead invests in the futures market tied to Bitcoin, but the industry sees the ETF bringing in a new class of investors. Someone with an old-school brokerage account can buy the ETF, for example, without having to open a trading account for crypto.” Active Companies in the markets today include The OLB Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OLB), Sphere 3D Corp. (NASDAQ: ANY), Bit Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: BTBT), Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF) (TSXV: BITF), HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HIVE) (TSXV: HIVE).
The APNews article continued: “Investors are getting more interested in Bitcoin because they’re always looking for assets whose prices moves independently of everything else in their portfolios. One school of thought says Bitcoin can offer investors protection from high inflation, and some fans see it as akin to “digital gold,” though it doesn’t have a long track record to back that up. More high-minded fans say digital assets are simply the future of finance, allowing transactions to sidestep middlemen and fees with a currency that’s not beholden to any government. Cryptocurrencies are still very far from winning over everyone, though. Critics point to how they’re still not widely used as forms of payment. Cryptocurrencies are also notorious for their sharp swings in price. The last time Bitcoin set a record high, the price dropped by half in roughly three months. A big reason for that volatility is how wide the range of possibilities is for Bitcoin’s future, said Gil Luria, technology strategist at D.A. Davidson. ”
The OLB Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OLB) BREAKING NEWS: OLB Group Announces Launch of 5 Bitcoin Data Centers with Additional 500 Antminer S19j Pro Cryptocurrency Asic Miners – The OLB Group, Inc., a diversified eCommerce merchant services provider and Bitcoin mining enterprise, announced today that DMint, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of OLB (“DMint”), has expanded its Bitcoin mining operation with the addition of five hundred (500) Antminer S19j Pro cryptocurrency mining computers. DMint anticipates having a total of 1000 computers in operation at its newly completed Bradford, PA location by the end of 2021 and projects to reach 24,000 Bitcoin mining computers – in various locations – in the next 24 months.
As the U.S. overtakes China as the top destination for Bitcoin mining, OLB Group is at the forefront of institutional cryptocurrency adoption as one of the first eCommerce merchants to host Bitcoin mining data centers. By applying innovative processes to their unique merchant services expertise, OLB’s entrance into the mining industry signals the next wave of mining operations in North America.
“The addition of 500 state-of-the-art Antminer S19j Pro computers is a major step towards scaling our Bitcoin Mining operation,” said Ronny Yakov, Chairman and CEO of the OLB Group. “The positive price movement since the start of our mining operations makes us even more optimistic about the long term viability of our operations. We remain fully committed to scaling our operations to 24,000 computers by the fall of 2023.”
Yakov continued, “Because we are a diversified company with a robust core eCommerce business, we have a stable revenue base as our foundation as we ramp up our Bitcoin mining operations.”
Once at full capacity – assuming current market price and mining network size – DMint expects to mine 24.5 Bitcoins per month, generating $129,166 in monthly revenue.
OLB provides merchants with omnicommerce services including leading-edge crypto commerce capabilities, eCommerce, back office and kitchen operations, and payment acceptance online, in store, and on mobile devices. Merchants utilizing OLB’s OmniSoft Business Management platform can transact with customers through digital wallets, cryptocurrency wallets, and traditional card-based payment. OLB expects to leverage DMint mining operations to power expanded crypto commerce services including financing, lending, and fundraising for small and medium sized businesses