The use of hydrocarbon fuels in mining Bitcoin has seen a sharp decline over the past 13 years, with the use of coal energy in mining dropping significantly.

The share of coal energy use in Bitcoin (BTC) mining has dropped from 63% in 2011 to 20% in 2024, an average annual decrease of roughly 8%, according to a new report released on March 31 by the MiCA Crypto Alliance.

In parallel, the share of renewable energy used in Bitcoin mining has steadily increased, growing at an average rate of 5.8% per year.

Bitcoin absolute energy consumption trends and share of renewable and coal energy. Source: MiCA Crypto Alliance

The data reflects a steady shift of Bitcoin mining to cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions, with the study forecasting further decarbonization and mitigation of BTC’s environmental footprint in the coming years.

Global coal energy use surged to new highs in 2024

The transition comes amid rising global coal consumption, adding contrast to Bitcoin’s changing energy profile.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based intergovernmental policy organization, global coal use surged to a new record in 2024, estimated at 8.8 billion tonnes.

Global coal consumption from 2000 to 2026. Source: IEA

According to the IEA, global demand for coal energy is set to stay close to record levels through 2027 as emerging economies like India, Indonesia and Vietnam are expected to see a sharp rise in coal consumption in the coming years.

Five scenarios for Bitcoin’s energy path to 2030

The report lays out five future scenarios for Bitcoin’s carbon footprint, ranging from a bearish $10,000 BTC price to an ultra-bullish $1 million scenario.

The study specifically included five BTC price scenarios, with $10,000 considered as a low price scenario, a base price scenario at $110,000, a medium price scenario at $250,000, a high price scenario at $500,000 and a “very bullish” price scenario at $1 million per BTC.

Peak annual carbon footprint estimations for different Bitcoin price scenarios and IEA’s different energy transition scenarios. Source: MiCA Crypto Alliance

In a medium price scenario, renewable energy is estimated to constitute between 59.3% and 74.3% of Bitcoin’s total electricity usage, depending on the policy scenario, excluding nuclear energy use, the report stated.

Related: Crusoe to sell Bitcoin mining business to NYDIG to focus on AI

The report also mentions an expected peak in Bitcoin mining energy consumption around 2030, echoing a similar forecast in a study by the digital asset platform NYDIG released in September 2021.

According to NYDIG’s estimations, even in a high-price scenario, Bitcoin’s electricity consumption would peak at 11 times its 2020 level, but it will only account for 0.4% of global primary energy consumption and 2% of global electricity generation.

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

Japan-based Metaplanet has expanded its Bitcoin holdings, purchasing 696 BTC for 10.2 billion yen ($67 million), the company announced in an April 1 post on X.

The investment lifts Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin stash to 4,046 BTC, valued at over $341 million at the time of writing.

Source: Metaplanet

Stock split targets investor accessibility

The acquisition comes shortly after Metaplanet issued 2 billion Japanese yen ($13.3 million) of bonds to buy more BTC, Cointelegraph reported on March 31.

Source: Simon Gerovich

The move also comes shortly after Metaplanet’s 10-to-1 reverse stock split. The company had previously warned in a Feb. 18 filing that its share price had risen significantly, creating a high barrier to entry for retail investors.

“We implemented a reverse stock split consolidating 10 shares into 1. Since then, our stock price has risen significantly, and the minimum amount required to purchase our shares on the market has now exceeded 500,000 yen, creating a substantial financial burden for investors,” according to a Feb. 18 notice.

Stock split announcement. Source: Metaplanet

The stock split aims to lower the price per trading unit to improve liquidity and expand the firm’s investor base.

Metaplanet stock split history. Source: Investing.com

The 10-to-1 stock split was completed on March 28, according to investing.com.

Related: $1T stablecoin supply could drive next crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman

Metaplanet, often referred to as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” aims to accumulate 21,000 BTC by 2026 as part of a plan to lead Bitcoin adoption in Japan. With 4,046 BTC in its treasury, it currently ranks as the ninth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, according to Bitbo data.

Related: Crypto trader turns $2K PEPE into $43M, sells for $10M profit

Strategy is also buying the Bitcoin dip

Metaplanet’s purchase comes during a period of institutional dip buying, with Michael Saylor’s Strategy announcing its latest acquisition on March 31. Strategy purchased 22,048 Bitcoin for $1.92 billion at an average price of $86,969 per Bitcoin in its latest weekly BTC haul.

The company now holds over 528,000 Bitcoin acquired for $35.6 billion at an average price of $67,458 per BTC, Saylor said in a March 31 X post.

Source: Michael Saylor

Institutions are showing confidence in Bitcoin despite the global market uncertainty around US President Donald Trump’s looming tariff announcement, which may create significant volatility in both crypto and traditional markets.

“Risk appetite remains muted amid tariff threats from President Trump and ongoing macro uncertainty,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.

The April 2 announcement is expected to detail reciprocal trade tariffs targeting top US trading partners, a development that may increase inflation-related concerns and limit demand for risk assets like Bitcoin.

Magazine: SCB tips $500K BTC, SEC delays Ether ETF options, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 23 – March 1

Tether, issuer of the USDT stablecoin, acquired 8,888 Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2025, according to onchain data.

Onchain transaction data shows that Tether moved its newly acquired Bitcoin (BTC), worth roughly $750 million at the time of writing, from a Bitfinex address to a wallet it controls. Data provided by onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the firm currently holds 100,521 BTC, worth about $8.46 billion.

Tether’s Bitcoin balance chart. Source: Arkham Intelligence

The news follows mid-February reports that Tether could be forced to sell part of its Bitcoin holdings to comply with proposed US regulations. JP Morgan wrote in a report that potential stablecoin regulation could consider a significant portion of the firm’s current reserve as non-compliant:

“Under the proposed bills, Tether would have to implicitly replace its non-compliant assets with compliant assets. […] This would imply sales of their non-compliant assets (such as precious metals, Bitcoin, corporate paper, secured loans.”

Still, Tether argued against the conclusion of the JP Morgan analyst. A Tether spokesperson criticized the analysts in correspondence sent to Cointelegraph, saying “they understand neither Bitcoin nor Tether” and highlighting that the US stablecoin laws have yet to be finalized.

Related: Binance ends Tether USDT trading in Europe to comply with MiCA rules

Tether becomes an investment powerhouse

Tether reported $13 billion of profit in 2024, leading to a significant capital reserve that the firm funneled into large-scale investment ventures. As a result of this explosive growth, the stablecoin issuer became the world’s seventh-largest buyer of US Treasurys, surpassing financially significant countries such as Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway and Hong Kong.

At the end of March, Tether invested 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in Italian media company Be Water. In February, the firm acquired a majority stake in Juventus FC, a major Series A football club based in Turin, Italy, and also sought to acquire a majority stake in South American agribusiness Adecoagro.

The firm’s influence is already growing as a result of those investments. Rumble, a video platform in which Tether invested $775 million in late 2024, recently announced the launch of its wallet for content creator payments with support for Tether’s USDt.

Related: ‘Stablecoin multiverse’ begins: Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino

USDt keeps growing

Tether’s USDt is the world’s leading stablecoin and the third digital asset by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap data. At the time of writing, USDt’s total supply stands at just under 148 billion.

Ignoring the minor deviations from the US dollar’s value, that supply would place the current market cap at almost $148 billion. Whale Alert data shows that on March 31, Tether minted a billion dollars worth of USDt on the Tron blockchain.

USDt minting, burning and Bitcoin price. Source: Whale Alert

Bitcoin’s price has historically tended upward following upticks in USDt minting and large-scale USDt minting has usually followed significant Bitcoin price increases. David Pakman, managing partner at crypto-native investment firm CoinFund, recently said that the global stablecoin supply could surge to $1 trillion by the end of 2025, potentially becoming a key catalyst for broader cryptocurrency market growth.

Magazine: Chinese Tether laundromat, Bhutan enjoys recent Bitcoin boost: Asia Express

A US dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by a cryptocurrency platform tied to US President Donald Trump’s family could complicate ongoing bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation in Congress, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

The Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) crypto platform launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin in early March, prompting concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

Despite political pushback from Democratic Party lawmakers, WLFI’s stablecoin plans are in line with the current US stablecoin legislation, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.

“The planned backing, audits, qualified custody, public blockchains and no native yield-bearing — all these elements are well in line with the GENIUS and STABLE acts,” she said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

“I would argue that this is a direct expression of support to the US-based stablecoins, and in any case, the stablecoin issuer is subject to the authorization of OCC, state regulators and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” she added.

Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom

The launch comes as two major stablecoin bills move through Congress.

The STABLE Act, introduced on Feb. 6, aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins. It focuses on transparency and consumer protection and enables issuers to choose between federal and state oversight.

Source: STABLE Act

The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws. The act recently passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6.

Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy

Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is “throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts”

While some see WLFI’s stablecoin as a positive signal for crypto adoption, others fear it may complicate the passage of current legislation, politicizing it in the process.

“Trump’s new US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, is throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation, possibly something like the GENIUS Act,” according to Dmitrij Radin, the founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum.

“With the Trump family holding a major stake and revenue share, critics like Senator [Elizabeth] Warren and Representative [Jim] Himes are calling out potential conflicts of interest,” Radin told Cointelegraph, adding:

“The concern would be that any law could be seen as financially benefiting Trump, making some lawmakers hesitant. While the bill could still pass, this twist might delay it or force stricter rules to keep it neutral.”

While stablecoins appear ready for mainstream adoption, “political drama” may push innovation offshore if regulators become overly restrictive, Radin said, adding that banks and the Federal Reserve are still “pushing back” against stablecoin adoption.

Meanwhile, crypto industry professionals have urged US lawmakers to create more regulatory clarity around stablecoins and crypto banking relationships before legislators switch their focus to crypto tax laws.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

A US dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by a cryptocurrency platform tied to US President Donald Trump’s family could complicate ongoing bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation in Congress, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

The Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) crypto platform launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin in early March, prompting concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

Despite political pushback from Democratic Party lawmakers, WLFI’s stablecoin plans are in line with the current US stablecoin legislation, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.

“The planned backing, audits, qualified custody, public blockchains and no native yield-bearing — all these elements are well in line with the GENIUS and STABLE acts,” she said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

“I would argue that this is a direct expression of support to the US-based stablecoins, and in any case, the stablecoin issuer is subject to the authorization of OCC, state regulators and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” she added.

Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom

The launch comes as two major stablecoin bills move through Congress.

The STABLE Act, introduced on Feb. 6, aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins. It focuses on transparency and consumer protection and enables issuers to choose between federal and state oversight.

Source: STABLE Act

The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws. The act recently passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6.

Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy

Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is “throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts”

While some see WLFI’s stablecoin as a positive signal for crypto adoption, others fear it may complicate the passage of current legislation, politicizing it in the process.

“Trump’s new US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, is throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation, possibly something like the GENIUS Act,” according to Dmitrij Radin, the founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum.

“With the Trump family holding a major stake and revenue share, critics like Senator [Elizabeth] Warren and Representative [Jim] Himes are calling out potential conflicts of interest,” Radin told Cointelegraph, adding:

“The concern would be that any law could be seen as financially benefiting Trump, making some lawmakers hesitant. While the bill could still pass, this twist might delay it or force stricter rules to keep it neutral.”

While stablecoins appear ready for mainstream adoption, “political drama” may push innovation offshore if regulators become overly restrictive, Radin said, adding that banks and the Federal Reserve are still “pushing back” against stablecoin adoption.

Meanwhile, crypto industry professionals have urged US lawmakers to create more regulatory clarity around stablecoins and crypto banking relationships before legislators switch their focus to crypto tax laws.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

A US dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by a cryptocurrency platform tied to US President Donald Trump’s family could complicate ongoing bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation in Congress, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

The Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) crypto platform launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin in early March, prompting concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

Despite political pushback from Democratic Party lawmakers, WLFI’s stablecoin plans are in line with the current US stablecoin legislation, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.

“The planned backing, audits, qualified custody, public blockchains and no native yield-bearing — all these elements are well in line with the GENIUS and STABLE acts,” she said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

“I would argue that this is a direct expression of support to the US-based stablecoins, and in any case, the stablecoin issuer is subject to the authorization of OCC, state regulators and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” she added.

Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom

The launch comes as two major stablecoin bills move through Congress.

The STABLE Act, introduced on Feb. 6, aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins. It focuses on transparency and consumer protection and enables issuers to choose between federal and state oversight.

Source: STABLE Act

The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws. The act recently passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6.

Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy

Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is “throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts”

While some see WLFI’s stablecoin as a positive signal for crypto adoption, others fear it may complicate the passage of current legislation, politicizing it in the process.

“Trump’s new US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, is throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation, possibly something like the GENIUS Act,” according to Dmitrij Radin, the founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum.

“With the Trump family holding a major stake and revenue share, critics like Senator [Elizabeth] Warren and Representative [Jim] Himes are calling out potential conflicts of interest,” Radin told Cointelegraph, adding:

“The concern would be that any law could be seen as financially benefiting Trump, making some lawmakers hesitant. While the bill could still pass, this twist might delay it or force stricter rules to keep it neutral.”

While stablecoins appear ready for mainstream adoption, “political drama” may push innovation offshore if regulators become overly restrictive, Radin said, adding that banks and the Federal Reserve are still “pushing back” against stablecoin adoption.

Meanwhile, crypto industry professionals have urged US lawmakers to create more regulatory clarity around stablecoins and crypto banking relationships before legislators switch their focus to crypto tax laws.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Hackers stole more than $1.63 billion in cryptocurrency during the first quarter of 2025, with the Bybit exploit accounting for more than 92% of total losses, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.

PeckShield reported that over $87 million in crypto was lost to hacks in January, while February saw a dramatic spike to $1.53 billion, largely due to the Bybit attack. That incident was one of the largest crypto thefts to date.

In addition to the Bybit hack, other attacks in February caused $126 million in losses. This included a $50-million exploit targeting Infini, a $9.5-million hack on zkLend and an $8.5-million loss from Ionic.  

Hack-related losses dropped significantly in March, decreasing by 97% from February. PeckShield reported only $33 million in crypto assets were stolen last month. Some funds were even recovered, helping offset damage to users and protocols.

Crypto hacks saw a 131% year-over-year increase

According to PeckShield, the first quarter of 2025 saw more than 60 crypto hacks. The blockchain security firm said the $1.63 billion loss in Q1 2025 represented a 131% year-over-year increase from the first quarter of 2024, when losses reached $706 million.

The largest incident in March was a $13 million exploit involving decentralized finance protocol Abracadabra.Money. PeckShield said the attacker drained 6,260 Ether (ETH) from the protocol on March 25.

Crypto hack losses in March. Source: PeckShield

Related: North Korean crypto attacks rising in sophistication, actors — Paradigm

The second-biggest incident during the month was an $8.4-million hack on the real-world asset (RWA) restaking protocol Zoth. 

On March 21, security firm Cyvers flagged a suspicious Zoth transaction, an attacker withdrawing $8.4 million from the protocol’s wallets. The assets were converted into a stablecoin and transferred to another address. 

While millions were lost in March, some cases saw assets being returned. On March 7, a crypto hacker who stole $5 million from decentralized exchange (DEX) 1inch returned 90% of the funds. 

After a smart contract vulnerability was exploited, the DEX offered a 10% bounty to the attacker, worth $500,000, in exchange for returning the rest of the crypto assets. The hacker obliged and sent back $4.5 million to 1inch. 

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Binance has discontinued spot trading pairs with Tether’s USDt in the European Economic Area (EEA) to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has delisted spot trading pairs with several non-MiCA-compliant tokens in the EEA in line with a plan disclosed in early March, Cointelegraph has learned.

While spot trading pairs in tokens such as USDt (USDT) are now delisted on Binance, users in the EEA can still custody the affected tokens and trade them in perpetual contracts.

USDT is available for perpetual trading on Binance. Source: Binance

According to a previous announcement by Binance, the spot trading pairs for non-MiCA-compliant tokens were to be delisted by March 31, which is in line with a local requirement to delist such tokens by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Delistings on other exchanges in EEA

Binance is not the only crypto exchange delisting non-MiCA-compliant tokens for spot trading in the EEA.

Other exchanges, such as Kraken, have delisted spot trading pairs in tokens such as USDT in the EEA after announcing plans in February.

According to a notice on the Kraken website, the exchange restricted USDT for sell-only mode in the EEA on March 24. At the time of writing, the platform doesn’t allow its EEA users to buy the affected tokens.

Kraken restricted USDT to sell-only mode in the EEA on March 24. Source: Kraken

Among other non-MiCA-compliant tokens, Binance has also delisted spot trading pairs for Dai (DAI), First Digital USD (FDUSD), TrueUSD (TUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), Anchored Euro (AEUR), TerraUSD (UST), TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and PAX Gold (PAXG).

Related: Tether acquires 30% stake in Italian media company Be Water

Kraken’s delisting roadmap in the EEA only included five tokens: USDT, PayPal USD (PYUSD), Tether EURt (EURT), TrueUSD and TerraClassicUSD.

ESMA doesn’t prohibit custody of non-MiCA-compliant tokens

Binance and Kraken’s move to maintain custody services for non-MiCA-compliant tokens aligns with a previous communication from MiCA compliance supervisors.

On March 5, a spokesperson for the ESMA told Cointelegraph that custody and transfer services for non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins do not violate the new European cryptocurrency laws. 

On the other hand, the same regulator previously advised European crypto asset service providers to halt all transactions involving the affected tokens after March 31, adding a certain extent of confusion over MiCA requirements.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

OpenAI is set to launch an “open” version of its language model this year, allowing developers to run the model on their own hardware.

In an update posted to X on March 31, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the artificial intelligence firm would release the powerful “new open-weight language model with reasoning” in the coming months but first wanted to gather feedback about “how to make it maximally useful.”

“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but other priorities have taken precedence. Now it feels important to do,” he said, adding it was the first “open-weight” model since GPT-2 in 2019.

Adding that: “We still have some decisions to make, so we are hosting developer events to gather feedback and later play with early prototypes.”

Source: Sam Altman

An open-weight language model is publicly available for anyone to use, download, modify or deploy for their own purposes. It’s not as open as an open-source model, but it would be a change from GPT-3 and GPT-4, which were fully closed.

Altman said developer events for GPT-2 will start in San Francisco, California — where OpenAI is headquartered — in the next few weeks, followed by sessions in Europe and the Asia–Pacific region, according to Altman.

Source: Steven Heidel

“We’re excited to see what developers build and how large companies and governments use it where they prefer to run a model themselves,” Altman said.

“We will do extra work given that we know this model will be modified post-release.”

OpenAI’s first “open” model” since GPT-2 in 2019

OpenAI’s open-weight language model GPT-2 was partially released in February 2019, followed by a full release in November of the same year.

Related: ‘Our GPUs are melting’ — OpenAI puts limiter in after Ghibli-tsunami

Altman also said on Feb. 12 his firm wants to ship GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 in the coming weeks or months.

The AI arms race has been heating up with the launch of rival DeepSeek, which functions similarly to ChatGPT but was reportedly created at a fraction of the cost and time.

Alibaba Group launched its new open-source AI model for cost-effective AI agents on March 26, while Google introduced Gemini 2.5, its latest experimental artificial intelligence model, on March 25.

Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a March 19 Threads post that the firm’s AI model family, Llama, released in February 2023, had hit 1 billion downloads.

Magazine: ‘Chernobyl’ needed to wake people to AI risks, Studio Ghibli memes: AI Eye

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has sent a crew of four private astronauts on the first manned space flight to orbit the Earth’s poles, in a mission bankrolled and led by a wealthy crypto investor.

Chun Wang, the Chinese-born Maltese entrepreneur who founded the Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool F2Pool, paid for and is leading SpaceX’s “Fram2” mission, which is named after a 19th-century Norwegian Arctic exploration ship.

Wang and three others blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 1:46 am UTC on April 1, on a three- to five-day orbit that will be the first human space mission to fly over the North and South poles.

Liftoff of Fram2 and the @framonauts! pic.twitter.com/XBL5juCnHQ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2025

Wang hasn’t disclosed how much he paid SpaceX for the flight, but he brought along German polar scientist Rabea Rogge, Norwegian cinematographer Jannicke Mikkelsen and Australian Arctic adventurer Eric Philips.

SpaceX said the crew will also carry out 22 experiments — including taking the first X-ray in space and growing mushrooms — which are designed to inform on human health in space and the effects of long-duration space flight.

Chun Wang (right) onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule with Jannicke Mikkelsen (center-right), Rabea Rogge (center-left) and Eric Philips (left). Source: SpaceX

Wang was born in China but said in 2023 that he became a citizen of Malta. He founded F2Pool in 2013, which was one of China’s first Bitcoin mining pools and is currently the fourth-largest with a market share of just under 10%, according to mempool.space.

He went on to create the Ethereum staking pool provider Stakefish in 2018, which beaconchain data shows is currently the eighth largest pool, boasting around 2,025 validators.

Related: Inside ‘eccentric’ Ripple founder’s multibillion-dollar space station plan 

After blasting off from Florida, it took Wang and his crew less than 30 minutes to reach the South Pole flying around 265 miles (430 kilometers) above the Earth. They’re expected to completely circle the globe about every one and a half hours.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule will splash down off the coast of California after the mission ends, which will be the first for the company.

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