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12 May 2026, 03:30
Bitcoin Miner Cleanspark Posts $378M Loss in Q2
Cleanspark reported a $378.3 million net loss for its second fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2026, as a $224.1 million non-cash loss on bitcoin fair value weighed heavily on results even as the company expanded its hashrate and power capacity. Cleanspark Posts $378M Loss in Q2 as Bitcoin Fair Value Swing Hits Results Cleanspark’s (Nasdaq:
12 May 2026, 03:30
MARA shares sink on first-quarter revenue miss, $1.3B loss
MARA Holdings says Bitcoin mining remains the company’s “operational foundation” while it moves to expand into AI.
12 May 2026, 02:00
Keel Infrastructure Sells 269 BTC in 2026 as Revenue Slips and Company Pivots to AI
BitcoinWorld Keel Infrastructure Sells 269 BTC in 2026 as Revenue Slips and Company Pivots to AI Keel Infrastructure, the company formerly known as Bitfarms, reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $37 million on Thursday, a 23% decline year-over-year, as it continues to execute a sweeping corporate transformation. The company also posted a net loss of $128 million, which included a $41 million loss on its cryptocurrency holdings. As part of its ongoing strategy to reduce its Bitcoin exposure, Keel disclosed it has sold 269 BTC for $20 million so far this year, trimming a position that still stands at roughly $197 million. A Strategic Pivot from Mining to High-Performance Computing The Q1 results reflect a company in transition. Keel has completed a multi-phase restructuring that included relocating its corporate headquarters from Canada to the United States, rebranding from Bitfarms, selling its Latin American mining assets, and redirecting its focus toward developing high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The operating loss widened to $98 million for the quarter, driven largely by the crypto-related impairment and costs associated with the strategic shift. The company now holds approximately $533 million in total liquidity, with Bitcoin representing a significant but shrinking portion of that balance. The sale of 269 BTC aligns with Keel’s previously stated plan to gradually reduce its Bitcoin holdings, a move that signals a broader industry trend among publicly traded miners who are diversifying away from pure crypto exposure. Why This Matters for the Market Keel’s pivot is emblematic of a maturing sector where mining firms are seeking more predictable revenue streams. The HPC and AI data center market offers long-term contracts and higher margins compared to the volatile Bitcoin mining business, which is sensitive to both hash rate difficulty and BTC price fluctuations. For investors, the key takeaway is that Keel is prioritizing balance sheet stability over speculative crypto upside. Impact on Bitcoin Holdings and Future Outlook With roughly $197 million still in Bitcoin, Keel remains a significant corporate holder, but the trend is clearly toward reduction. The company has not provided a specific timeline for further sales, but the first-quarter activity suggests a methodical approach. The $41 million loss on crypto holdings underscores the risk of maintaining a large digital asset treasury during periods of price volatility. Keel’s future performance will increasingly depend on its ability to execute in the HPC and AI sectors, where competition is intense but demand is growing. Conclusion Keel Infrastructure’s Q1 2026 report highlights a company in the midst of a fundamental reinvention. By selling Bitcoin, exiting legacy mining operations, and investing in HPC and AI data centers, Keel is attempting to reposition itself for a more stable and growth-oriented future. The 23% revenue decline and net loss are transitional costs that the company hopes will be offset by the long-term value of its new strategic direction. FAQs Q1: Why is Keel Infrastructure selling its Bitcoin? Keel is reducing its Bitcoin position as part of a broader strategic pivot away from pure cryptocurrency mining toward HPC and AI data center operations, which offer more predictable and stable revenue streams. Q2: How much Bitcoin does Keel still hold? As of May 8, 2026, Keel holds approximately $197 million worth of Bitcoin, down from a larger position at the start of the year after selling 269 BTC for $20 million. Q3: What is Keel’s new business focus? Keel is now focused on developing and operating high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, having sold its Latin American mining assets and relocated its headquarters to the United States. This post Keel Infrastructure Sells 269 BTC in 2026 as Revenue Slips and Company Pivots to AI first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
11 May 2026, 19:00
America's biggest banking lobby is making a last-minute push to block stablecoin reward provisions
America’s biggest banking lobby, ABA, is making a desperate attempt to change a crypto bill just days before a key Senate vote. The head of the American Bankers Association, Rob Nichols, sent a letter late Sunday night to bank executives across the country. He asked them to call their senators before Thursday. He stated in the letter that it was “urgent advocacy fight that requires your immediate engagement”. He warned that if the bill got the green light, the money would drain out of the traditional banks into the crypto world. Nichols said the bill fails to stop crypto companies from offering what he called “interest-like rewards” on stablecoins, digital currencies tied to the value of regular money. “Without additional changes, we believe the current proposal would unnecessarily incentivize the flight of bank deposits into payment stablecoins, putting both economic growth and financial stability at risk,” he wrote, while also acknowledging that the ABA does support putting some form of crypto rules in place. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a markup session on Thursday, May 14, at 10:30 a.m. ET on the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act of 2025. If passed, the bill would be the first law to set up a full federal system for regulating the crypto industry. SEC and CFTC will split the oversight to mainly decide which digital tokens are securities and which fall in commodities. Last year in July, the House already passed its own version of the bill 294 to 134. The Senate version will still need to be aligned with separate language from the Senate Agriculture Committee before it can go to a full floor vote. This is not the first time the bill has come close. The committee had planned a markup back in January. However, it was called off at the last moment because Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the country, backed out over concerns about how stablecoin rewards would be treated. A compromise that satisfied Coinbase but not the banks After months of talks between lawmakers, the White House, crypto firms, and banking groups, Senators Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Thom Tillis of North Carolina put forward a compromise on May 2. Their language bans “covered parties” from paying any form of interest or yield to U.S. customers just for holding stablecoins, or anything that works the same way as interest on a bank deposit. However, rewards tied to actual activity or transactions would still be allowed. Coinbase accepted the compromise, as reported by Cryptopolitan previously. The banks did not. On May 8, a coalition of financial trade groups wrote to Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and senior Democrat Elizabeth Warren, asking for technical changes to the language. They said it remains unclear whether certain practices would be permitted, for example, paying a customer a fixed monthly amount for holding stablecoins, with the payment growing as the balance increases. “We are concerned that the proposed language includes exceptions that will enable evasion of the intended prohibition,” the groups wrote. The White House hit back. Patrick Witt, the administration’s top crypto adviser, said on X that he had personally invited Nichols and other bank CEOs to meetings in February to work through the issue. “They refused,” Witt wrote. “I guess the White House was beneath them?” Crypto markets are already voting yes While Washington fights, markets are moving in one direction. Crypto investment products took in $857.9 million last week, the sixth straight week of inflows and the biggest haul since April 24. Bitcoin climbed past $80,000 on Monday, its highest point since February. Total assets under management in the space hit $160 billion. U.S. investors led with $776.6 million in inflows, up sharply from $47.5 million the week before. Bitcoin alone drew $706.1 million, bringing its year-to-date total to $4.9 billion. Bets against Bitcoin saw $14.4 million in outflows, the most this year, suggesting traders are growing more confident the rally holds. Ethereum pulled in $77.1 million, reversing the prior week’s $81.6 million in outflows, while Solana and XRP brought in $47.6 million and $39.6 million, respectively. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
11 May 2026, 15:38
How to Earn Gold-Backed DeFi Yield in 2026
Most articles about tokenized gold cover what it is. Fewer cover what to do with it once you understand the category exists. Gold backed DeFi yield in 2026 isn't a single product or a single mechanism. It's a category covering four distinct paths that turn gold exposure (or tokenized gold positions) into yield: staking production-backed protocols, holding fee-share platform tokens, providing AMM liquidity on gold-paired pools, and using vault-backed gold as collateral for borrowed yield strategies. Each path has different risk characteristics, different return profiles, and fits different investor types. This piece walks through the four practical ways to earn gold-backed yield in 2026, what each one delivers, and which path matches different allocation goals. What "Gold-Backed DeFi Yield" Means Gold-backed DeFi yield refers to returns generated from positions where gold (either physical bullion, tokenized gold, or gold mining output) anchors the yield mechanism. The category sits structurally apart from stablecoin yield, ETH staking yield, or pure crypto-native yield because the underlying asset producing the return is gold-related instead of crypto-native. Two structural models exist. Production-backed yield pays from operational mining output: tokens like AYNI distribute PAXG from gold extracted at real mining concessions. Vault-backed yield generates returns from tokenized bullion positions through fee shares, liquidity provision, or composability strategies. PAXG, XAUT, KAU, and similar bullion-backed tokens are the primary inputs. The four paths below cover both models, with mechanics, sources, and structural trade-offs for each. 1. Stake AYNI for Production-Linked Yield The first path generates yield from real gold mining output. Ayni Gold is a DeFi protocol that turns gold mining output into on-chain yield, with stakers receiving PAXG rewards quarterly from mining production at the Minerales San Hilario concession in Peru. The mechanic works as follows: investors buy AYNI tokens, stake them through the protocol, and receive PAXG distributions every quarter, funded from gold extracted on-site, sold through Peruvian banking channels, and converted on-chain. The yield rate isn't fixed; it tracks the gold price at sale, extraction volume, and operational costs. Distributions are paid in PAXG (the Paxos-issued tokenized gold), so stakers receive yield denominated in gold itself instead of in stablecoins. The verification stack includes smart contracts audited by CertiK (Skynet score 70.81, top 25% of audited projects) and PeckShield in October 2025. The 8 km² concession is registered with INGEMMET (Peru's mining authority) under No. 070011405. Extraction rates, operational costs, and net gold value are published on-chain throughout each quarter, with break-even at $1,842/oz against gold currently trading above $4,600. Best for: investors looking for gold backed crypto yield anchored in physical production. The path adds operational exposure on top of pure gold-price tracking; the yield depends on mining continuing to perform as planned. 2. Hold KAU or KAG for Kinesis Fee-Share Yield The second path generates yield from network transaction fees on a tokenized precious metals platform. Kinesis Money issues KAU (tokenized gold) and KAG (tokenized silver), with the tokens 1:1 backed by physical metals in LBMA-certified vaults across Singapore, London, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. The mechanic: holders of KAU or KAG automatically receive a share of platform transaction fees, distributed continuously as additional KAU or KAG. The yield is functionally a fee dividend generated from the platform's spread on metal trades, redemption fees, and currency conversion activity. Yield rates have historically run in the 0.5% to 2% range depending on platform volume. The distinctive feature is that yield is passive (no staking required) and denominated in the same metal as the position. KAU holders get more KAU; KAG holders get more KAG. The mechanic doesn't depend on mining production or external yield sources; it's a network-usage dividend on a real metals platform with real custody and LBMA-certified bullion backing. Best for: investors wanting basic tokenized gold exposure with modest yield as a small bonus, without taking on operational mining risk or DeFi-protocol smart contract risk. The yield is real but small relative to production-linked or composability strategies. 3. Provide Liquidity for Tokenized Gold AMM Pools The third path generates yield from trading fees on automated market maker pools containing tokenized gold. PAXG/USDC, PAXG/ETH, and similar pairs exist on Uniswap V3 , Curve, and Balancer, with liquidity providers earning swap fees proportional to their share of the pool. The mechanic: deposit PAXG plus a paired asset (USDC, ETH, or another stablecoin) into a liquidity pool. Earn trading fees from swaps that route through the pool. Pool fees on Uniswap V3 typically range from 0.05% to 1% per swap depending on the pool tier and pair volatility. The honest concern with this path is impermanent loss. If gold (PAXG) appreciates significantly against the paired asset, or if the paired asset depreciates, the LP position will underperform a simple buy-and-hold of either asset. The yield from trading fees needs to exceed impermanent loss for the strategy to net positive over the holding period. Best for: investors with active position management capability who can monitor pool dynamics. Returns can be strong in periods of elevated trading volume but compress quickly in quiet markets. Best suited for sophisticated DeFi users, not passive holders looking for set-and-forget yield from gold-backed positions. 4. Use PAXG as Collateral for Borrowed Yield Strategies The fourth path uses tokenized gold as collateral to access borrowed liquidity, which then gets deployed in higher-yielding positions elsewhere. Aave V3 accepts PAXG as collateral, letting holders borrow stablecoins against their gold position at a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio typically around 50-60%. The mechanic: deposit PAXG on Aave V3 as collateral. Borrow stablecoins (USDC, USDT, DAI) against it at 50-60% LTV. Deploy borrowed stables in higher-yielding DeFi strategies: tokenized Treasury positions, lending pools, or staked stablecoin protocols paying 4-8% APY. Net yield equals the spread between deployed yield and Aave borrow rate, plus the underlying PAXG price appreciation on the collateral position. The honest concern with this path is liquidation risk from added leverage. If gold price drops significantly, the PAXG collateral position approaches liquidation thresholds. Borrowers need to monitor health factors actively or reduce borrow exposure when gold price weakens. Best for: investors with DeFi sophistication who want to keep gold price exposure while accessing DeFi gold yield without selling the underlying. The strategy effectively turns a static gold position into a yield-generating one without giving up gold-price exposure on the original position. Which Path Fits Which Investor The four paths produce different return profiles for different investor types: Passive holders wanting yield without active management: Path 2 (Kinesis fee-share) delivers modest yield with minimal complexity and no smart contract risk on top of standard tokenized gold custody Investors seeking operational exposure to gold mining: Path 1 (AYNI staking) provides production-linked PAXG distributions tied to real extraction at a registered Peruvian concession Active DeFi users with capital deployment capability: Path 3 (AMM liquidity) or Path 4 (collateral strategies) deliver higher potential returns with active position management Investors building DeFi yield diversification across gold-backed sources: combinations of multiple paths spread risk across mining, custody, and composability mechanics No single path dominates the others on all metrics. The right choice depends on what tolerance the investor has for operational, leverage, and impermanent loss risks, and what role gold is meant to play in the broader portfolio. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
11 May 2026, 14:05
Zcash Mining Now Over 4x More Power-Efficient Than Bitcoin, Data Shows
BitcoinWorld Zcash Mining Now Over 4x More Power-Efficient Than Bitcoin, Data Shows A recent analysis of cryptocurrency mining economics reveals that Zcash (ZEC) mining is currently more than four times as profitable as Bitcoin (BTC) mining when measured by power efficiency. The finding comes amid a broader shift in miner attention toward networks offering better energy-to-reward ratios. Power Efficiency Gap Widens According to data compiled from mining profitability trackers, Zcash miners are earning significantly more value per kilowatt-hour consumed compared to Bitcoin miners. This efficiency gap has widened over the past six months, driven in part by Zcash’s lower network difficulty and the relatively high market price of ZEC relative to its mining cost. The Zcash network hashrate has doubled since September 2023, indicating that miners are actively redirecting computational power to the network. Hashrate growth is a direct signal of miner confidence and network security, as it represents the total combined processing power dedicated to validating transactions. Why Efficiency Matters for Miners Mining profitability is a function of three primary variables: the price of the mined cryptocurrency, the network difficulty, and the cost of electricity. Bitcoin’s massive network hashrate — currently in the exahash range — means that individual miners face extreme competition, which compresses margins. Zcash, by contrast, operates on a smaller scale with the Equihash algorithm, which is ASIC-resistant and more accessible to GPU-based miners. For miners operating in regions with high electricity costs, power efficiency is often the deciding factor in choosing which network to support. A 4x efficiency advantage can mean the difference between operating at a profit or a loss. Implications for the Broader Market The shift in miner behavior toward Zcash may have several downstream effects. First, increased hashrate strengthens the Zcash network against 51% attacks, improving its security profile. Second, it could lead to greater liquidity and market depth for ZEC as miners sell rewards to cover operational costs. Third, it highlights a growing trend of miners diversifying away from Bitcoin dominance in favor of networks with more favorable short-term economics. Industry observers note that this dynamic is not unprecedented. Similar hashrate migrations occurred during the 2017 bull run and again during the 2021 mining boom, when alternative proof-of-work coins like Ethereum Classic and Litecoin saw temporary surges in mining activity. Conclusion Zcash’s current power efficiency advantage over Bitcoin represents a meaningful shift in mining economics, driven by lower network difficulty and favorable price dynamics. While Bitcoin remains the dominant proof-of-work network by market capitalization and total hashrate, the data suggests that miners are increasingly evaluating networks on a cost-per-reward basis. The doubling of Zcash’s hashrate since September signals that this trend has real momentum. FAQs Q1: What makes Zcash mining more power-efficient than Bitcoin mining? A1: Zcash uses the Equihash algorithm, which is memory-hard and ASIC-resistant, allowing GPU miners to compete more effectively. Combined with lower network difficulty and a favorable ZEC price relative to mining costs, miners earn more value per unit of electricity compared to Bitcoin’s highly competitive SHA-256 mining landscape. Q2: Does higher hashrate always mean better network security? A2: Generally yes. A higher hashrate makes it more expensive and difficult for an attacker to execute a 51% attack. However, network security also depends on the distribution of hashrate among miners and the economic incentives for honest behavior. Q3: Is this trend likely to continue? A3: It depends on several factors, including Zcash’s price trajectory, Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustments, and electricity costs. If ZEC price remains stable or rises while Bitcoin difficulty continues to increase, the efficiency gap may persist or widen. However, market conditions can change rapidly. This post Zcash Mining Now Over 4x More Power-Efficient Than Bitcoin, Data Shows first appeared on BitcoinWorld .
