Bitcoin Daily: The Cost Of Bitcoin Mining, Diamonds Are Crypto’s Best Friend

Even in the face of government regulation, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are bullish on cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported. “These technologies can’t flourish and grow without thoughtful regulation that connects them to finance,” Tyler Winklevoss, chief executive and co-founder of the Gemini Exchange, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “As long as jurisdictions strike the right balance, we think that it’s going to be a huge boon and win for cryptocurrencies.” Already, digital coins have been a win for the Winklevoss brothers, whose cryptocurrency holdings have brought them great wealth as investors and founders of Gemini.

In Israel, the country’s diamond exchange plans to launch two cryptocurrencies in an industry where cash and handshakes are the norm, Reuters reported. One cryptocurrency will be known as the Cut, but diamond owners beware: It will only be available to dealers, who will be vetted by the exchange. Another digital coin, the aptly named Carat, will be issued to retail and institutional investors. It is designed for those seeking exposure to the diamond market without owning physical diamonds.

Ever wondered how much it costs to mine a single bitcoin coin? In the U.S., mining costs are an average of $4,758 per coin, The Motley Fool reported. And even though the U.S. is the 40th cheapest place to mine a bitcoin, the economics are not looking as good as when the cryptocurrency was at its peak. Profit on a single coin has dropped from around $15,000 to $4,000 per coin with the recent drops in bitcoin’s value.

And once a coin is mined, do investors buy them on credit? Apparently, yes. Approximately 20 percent – or one fifth – of cryptocurrency users buy the coins on borrowed money, CNET reported. According to a survey from CoinDesk, more than 80 percent of the 3,000 people surveyed said they “didn’t go into debt to purchase cryptocurrency.” But even among those who did, half were able to pay back their loans, according to the report.