Microsoft has prohibited cryptocurrency mining on its Azure cloud services, modifying the Universal License Terms for Online Services that the company had issued at the beginning of December. Customers of Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform will be required to obtain authorization from Microsoft before mining cryptocurrencies using the platform’s services.

The organization asserts that the approach will shield users from the hazards and pursuits associated with the sector. The corporation was not forthcoming about its new stance against cryptocurrency mining. Customers were informed through a revised use policy, as well as the Summary of Changes page and a paper distributed to the company’s partners.

Microsoft pushed the measure to protect its cloud ecosystem. The business asserts that cryptocurrency mining has the potential to disrupt or impair its Online Services. In addition, the organization believes that cryptocurrency users, if allowed to mine crypto unsupervised, may frequently be linked to cyber fraud and abuse attacks.

Google, Amazon, Digital Ocean, and OVH have also implemented policies that prevent users from using their cloud services to mine cryptocurrencies in some form. As Microsoft says, for the sake of Testing and Research about security detections, permission to mine cryptocurrency may be considered. Crypto still on a bumpy road The last year showcased some of the most dangerous aspects of crypto – its volatility, and the fact that it can be used in malevolent purposes.

Of course, the later of these attributes is not specific to crypto only, but given the poorly-regulated environment in which it operates and the lack of cohesion amongst regulations, it’s no surprise that crypto has been used by fraudsters more intensely. The most recent and important example is the one of FTX, which, as Douwe Lycklama from INNOPAY puts it, FTX was not a crypto failure, but a centralisation failure. In this case, basic hygiene factors of operational management were not attended to.

Such a large-scale business failure is not specific for crypto and not specific for regulators. Probably FTX completely outpaced regulators’ ability and willingness of action, partly because they were lured into believing the bonafide intentions of FTX. Also, Alameda probably was falling under other jurisdictions as it is headquartered in Hong Kong, despite being financially heavily intertwined with FTX.

It's cold out there When it comes to price volatility, however, this was not a great year for crypto. The prices dropped and the crypto winter hit hard. Faced with these steep market declines, cryptocurrency companies had to lay off more than 3,000 workers since June.

Like in the other cases, some of the most impacted companies seem to be the ones that grew the fastest. Coinbase, for example, went public 2021 and it was intending to embark on a hiring spree of 2,000 employees. However, it had to lay off 1,180 employees, or about 18% of its workforce, citing an upcoming crypto winter.

Similarly, Gemini cut about 10% of its 1,000 employees, and exchanges Crypto. com and BlockFi took the same decision, firing 5% and 20% of their workforces, affecting some 260 and 170 employees, respectively. Since then, Robinhood fired 713 employees following a drop in revenue, just three months after it already reduced its headcount by 9%.

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