Abstract :
MAKER OF bitcoin-mining hardware Cointerra has filed for bankruptcy in the US in the latest of a series of collapses and problems that have beset the ecosystem around the cryptocurrency. After the value of bitcoin peaked at $1,151 on the 4 December 2013, it had fallen ??? in a series of selling waves following the closure of the failed bitcoin exchange Mt Gox ??? to a little over $200 by mid-February this year. This, in turn, has hit the operations of bitcoin miners. Although miners collect transaction fees, their primary source of revenue lies in the bitcoins they collect when they successfully add a block to the ever-growing bitcoin blockchain that records every transaction involving the currency.