Bitcoin’s decline is making it more difficult for some miners to repay as much as $4 billion in loans that are backed by their equipment, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Analysts say an increasing number of loans are underwater, as many of the mining rigs that lenders accepted as collateral have halved in value, along with the price of Bitcoin, the report said. Ethan Vera, co-founder of Seattle-based mining company Luxor Technologies, estimated there was as much as $4 billion in loans backed by machines. Few miners have defaulted so far, but some have sold Bitcoin reserves, which puts further pressure on prices, ... (full story)