Bitcoin
mining
might
soon
gain
a
new
player:
telecommunication
giant
Deutsche
Telekom,
the
parent
company
of
one
of
the
largest
U.S.
telcos,
T-Mobile.
“We
will
engage
in
digital
monetary
photosynthesis
soon,”
Dirk
Röder,
Head
of
web3
infrastructure
and
solutions
of
T-Mobile’s
Telekom
MMS,
said
during
the
BTC
Prague
conference
last
week.
When
asked
by
the
conference
host
if
T-Mobile
is
mining
bitcoin,
he
answered,
“We
will.”
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The
announcement
comes
as
the
mining
sector
has
experienced
a
tremendous
roller-coaster
ride,
with
2021’s
bull
market,
subsequent
crypto
winter
and
the
latest
halving,
which
lowered
the
bitcoin
rewards
by
half.
Röder
didn’t
specify
where
or
at
what
capacity
his
company
will
be
mining
bitcoin,
but
the
entrance
of
such
a
large
corporation
has
both
positive
and
potentially
negative
implications
for
the
industry.
Deutsche
Telekom
has
been
very
active
in
the
digital
assets
sector
for
years.
It
has
been
running
validators
on
networks
such
as
Polygon,
Q,
Flow,
Celo,
Chainlink
and
Ethereum.
The
telecom
giant
also
started
Energy
Web
Chain
last
year,
which
the
company
said
was
“the
world’s
first
public
blockchain
designed
explicitly
for
the
energy
sector”
and
will
help
to
create
a
“more
decentralized,
digitalized,
and
decarbonized
energy
system.”
Röder
also
said
during
the
conference
that
his
company
has
been
running
a
Bitcoin
node
and
Lightning
nodes
since
2023.
The
move
has
given
the
sentiment
of
the
bitcoin
mining
community
a
boost,
as
T-Mobile
(TMUS)—which
has
more
than
$200
billion
market
cap—participating
in
making
Bitcoin
safer
is
positive
for
the
network.
However,
it
also
poses
the
question
of
whether
such
a
large
player
entering
the
arena
will
ramp
up
the
competition
for
the
incumbent
miners
who
are
already
facing
tougher
competition.
T-Mobile’s
Web3
journey
has
previously
seen
some
controversy,
as
the
company
faced
several
lawsuits
after
customers
of
T-Mobile,
along
with
its
competitor
AT&T,
had
been
victims
of
“SIM
swapping”
attacks.
