Last week in review: Genesis Digital to create 100% Clean Energy Mining Centre in Sweden

Despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, crypto developments showed no sign of slowing down. Mexico mulls Bitcoin adoption, Ethereum’s upcoming consensus protocol bags its first award, EU makes a U-turn on its BItcoin ban and Genesis Digital pursues clean energy mining.

It was another eventful week for crypto. Here are the biggest moments to come from it.

Mexico may soon join El Salvador in adopting Bitcoin as currency

What 

Samson Mow, chief strategy officer at Blockstream and advisor to El Salvador during its Bitcoin adoption as legal tender, intimated that Mexico is on the list of countries that could be next to adopt Bitcoin

Why 

In announcing his departure from Blockstream on Twitter, Mow said his next main focus is to help with “nation-state bitcoin adoption”, adding that “Mexico is on the list” 

What next 

Mow said that now is a pivotal moment in Bitcoin’s evolution. “We’re on the verge of mass adoption,” he said

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Ethereum’s Proof of Stake earns place in MIT’s ‘Top Technological Breakthroughs’ of 2022

What 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has added Ethereum’s upcoming proof-of-stake blockchain to its list of top technological breakthroughs for 2022

Why 

According to a report published on its website, MIT chose the consensus mechanism due to its potential to end the energy consumption issues that are often a focus of the crypto space

What next

Ethereum plans to transition to proof-of-stake in the first half of 2022, the report adds

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‘Bitcoin ban’ removed from EU legislation

What

The European Parliament has scrapped wording from its proposed legislation that would have banned cryptocurrencies relying on proof-of-work (PoW) consensus

Why

Lawmakers intended to ban PoW networks citing high energy usage as their main concern

What next

Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation will continue to seek oversight over the crypto space

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Genesis Digital to create 100% Clean Energy Mining Centre in Sweden

What

Genesis Digital is set to create a mining centre powered by hydro, nuclear, and wind energy

Why

Bitcoin miners are continually incentivised to move toward cheaper, cleaner sources of energy

What next

The facility is scheduled to come online by 2024

Read the full story here

To catch up on other big stories from last week, be sure to check out these headlines:

SA mobile network operator MTN dials into the Metaverse

Lugano, Switzerland to accept Bitcoin as de facto legal tender

Cryptocurrency investments prevalent among India’s ultra-wealthy