Today in crypto, Bitcoin miner debt surged up 500% over a year as miners have raced to meet demand from AI and crypto mining, US Congress is moving to update anti–money laundering rules by raising decades-old reporting thresholds. Hong Kong has also joined Canada, Brazil and Kazakhstan in approving a spot Solana ETF.
Bitcoin miner debt surges 500% as miners beef up for the hashrate fight
Debt among Bitcoin miners has increased from $2.1 billion to $12.7 billion in just 12 months as they race to meet demands for artificial intelligence and Bitcoin production, according to investment giant VanEck.
Without continued investment in the latest machines, a miner’s share of the global hashrate deteriorates, resulting in a reduced share of the daily awarded Bitcoin, VanEck analysts Nathan Frankovitz and Matthew Sigel said on Wednesday in their October Bitcoin ChainCheck report.
“We refer to this dynamic as the melting ice cube problem. Historically, miners relied on equity markets, not debt, to fund these steep Capex costs,” they said.
A growing number of Bitcoin miners have been diversifying income streams by shifting their energy capacity toward AI and HPC hosting services after the April 2024 halving cut mining rewards to 3.125 Bitcoin, hurting overall profitability.
At the same time, several miners who the pair spoke to for the report revealed they are exploring methods to monetize excess electrical capacity when demand for AI services is low.
Congress moves to revamp Bank Secrecy Act’s reporting thresholds after 50 years
A group of US senators led by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has introduced legislation to modernize the Bank Secrecy Act, the foundation of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework.
The Bank Secrecy Act, passed in 1970, obliges banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to help federal authorities detect and prevent financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and related illicit activity.
The proposed legislation, known as the STREAMLINE Act, would raise the Bank Secrecy Act’s reporting thresholds for the first time since its creation more than 50 years ago.
The bill increases the Currency Transaction Report (CTR) threshold to $30,000 from $10,000 and the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) thresholds from $2,000 to $3,000 and $5,000 to $10,000, while requiring the Treasury Department to adjust these amounts every five years to account for inflation.
Under current law, financial institutions must file CTRs for cash transactions exceeding $10,000 and SARs for transactions involving $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the level of suspicion or evidence of criminal activity.
Senator Pete Ricketts, who supports the bill, said, “After more than 50 years of inflation, the Bank Secrecy Act’s reporting thresholds are badly outdated. They must be modernized.”
He added that the new bill “cuts red tape for banks and credit unions,” ensuring “law enforcement still has the tools they need to do their job.”
US-based crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken are also required to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act.
Hong Kong approves its first spot Solana ETF ahead of US
Hong Kong approved its first spot Solana ETF, marking the third spot crypto ETF approved by the city after Bitcoin and Ethereum.
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) granted approval for the China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Solana ETF, which will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to a report by the Hong Kong Economic Times.
The product will include both Chinese yuan counters and US dollar counters, meaning it can be traded and settled in both currencies. Each trading unit will consist of 100 shares, with a minimum investment of about $100. The fund is expected to debut on Monday.
The ETF’s virtual asset trading platform will be operated by OSL Exchange, while OSL Digital Securities will serve as sub-custodian. ChinaAMC has set a management fee of 0.99%, with custody and administrative fees capped at 1% of the sub-fund’s net asset value, resulting in an estimated annual expense ratio of 1.99%.
ChinaAMC (Hong Kong) is already known for launching Asia’s first Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) spot ETFs, both of which were approved earlier this year.
