Mining Roundup: New Viper Tests and Bitmain’s Debut Cloud Mining Service

September is here, bringing cold air to many parts of the world that play home to bitcoin mines on both the hobby and industrial scale. If you’re a home rig operator, you’re no doubt looking forward to the day when you can turn down the air conditioning and let some of that cool fall air inside.

This week’s roundup takes a look at several corners of the mining community, from inside the new rig of a solar power-producing hobbyist to inside Bitmain’s manufacturing facility.

Alpha Technology releases update on Viper

The long-awaited Viper scrypt miner has reportedly moved closer to completion, according to a new development update from Alpha Technology.

Ross Ulbricht Pleads Not Guilty to New Drug Charges

UPDATE (8th September 15:30 BST): Article updated with comment from Ross Ulbricht’s legal defense.

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Ross Ulbricht, the accused ringleader of the now-defunct online black marketplace Silk Road, has plead not guilty to a series of new charges levied against him by federal prosecutors.

Filed on 21st August, the charges include narcotics trafficking, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identification documents and distribution of narcotics by means of the Internet. Those charges followed previous allegations that Ulbricht had engaged in drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and engaging in a criminal enterprise.

Ripple Unveils Next-Generation System for Digital Transaction Consensus

Decentralized systems like digital currencies rely on consensus. This enables the network to agree that certain events – transactions, in the case of bitcoin – have taken place.

Miners are certainly needed to generate new bitcoins. Yet, their role is far more critical in confirming that bitcoins were actually sent from one place to another, thus maintaining an agreed-upon ‘truth’ in the network. This keeps the block chain reliable and, arguably, underpins its very existence.

FBI: No Illegal Techniques Used in Silk Road Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released information on Friday detailing how it allegedly discovered Silk Road and linked Ross Ulbricht to the illicit website.

The 58-page filing, submitted to the US District Southern Court of New York, offers a lengthy rebuttal to recent assertions by Ulbricht. He claimed the methods used by federal officers during the investigation of Silk Road were unlawful and that, as such, the information recovered through this process should not be admissible in court.

Penned by FBI agent Christopher Tarbell, the document offered a four-point critique of the motion Ulbricht and his defense team first filed in August, though the overall tone was crafted as to suggest that the FBI is dismissive of any claims levelled against its work by Ulbricht.

Mining Roundup: New Viper Tests and Bitmain’s Debut Cloud Mining Service

September is here, bringing cold air to many parts of the world that play home to bitcoin mines on both the hobby and industrial scale. If you’re a home rig operator, you’re no doubt looking forward to the day when you can turn down the air conditioning and let some of that cool fall air inside.

This week’s roundup takes a look at several corners of the mining community, from inside the new rig of a solar power-producing hobbyist to inside Bitmain’s manufacturing facility.

Alpha Technology releases update on Viper

The long-awaited Viper scrypt miner has reportedly moved closer to completion, according to a new development update from Alpha Technology.

Ross Ulbricht Pleads Not Guilty to New Drug Charges

Ross Ulbricht, the accused ringleader of the now-defunct online black marketplace Silk Road, has plead not guilty to a series of new charges levied against him by federal prosecutors.

Filed on 21st August, the charges include narcotics trafficking, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identification documents and distribution of narcotics by means of the Internet. Those charges followed previous allegations that Ulbricht had engaged in drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and engaging in a criminal enterprise.

The 30-year-old Texas native appeared in a Manhattan federal court today to answer to the charges issued in the latest indictment, Bloomberg reports.

Ripple Unveils Next-Generation System for Digital Transaction Consensus

Decentralized systems like digital currencies rely on the function of consensus. This enables the network to agree that certain events – transactions, in the case of bitcoin – have taken place.

Miners are certainly needed to generate new bitcoins. Yet, their role is far more critical in confirming that bitcoins were actually sent from one place to another, thus maintaining an agreed-upon “truth” in the network. This keeps the block chain reliable and, arguably, underpins its very existence.