Week in BTX: February 3, 2022
Texas based Bitcoin miners have VOLUNTARILY curtailed their load to help provide excess power reserves and stabilize the grid during the storm + grifters gonna grift.
As Texas braces for a winter storm on the one year anniversary of Winter Storm Uri, Nathan Nichols with Rhodium made a timely announcement that Texas based Bitcoin miners have VOLUNTARILY curtailed their load to help provide excess power reserves and stabilize the grid during the storm.
Texas based miners Rhodium, RIOT/Whinstone, Bitdeer, Computer North and Layer 1 have all confirmed they are curtailing their load.
Want to learn more about how Bitcoin mining helps stabilize the Texas grid? Check out Digital Wildcatters Empower: Energizing Bitcoin event in Houston on March 30-31 and hear from the state’s largest miners. They have a huge speaker announcement coming soon, stay tuned!
Week in BTX subscribers can use code BTC-NEWS to get $50 off your ticket.
In other news, political grifters are flocking to Bitcoin. First up, long shot candidate for Governor of Texas Allen West jumps on Governor Abbott’s bandwagon and releases a statement full of buzz words like “blockchain technologies,” “DEFI” and “hyperledger.”
Next up Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers introduced SB 1341 defining Bitcoin as legal tender, a good thing, while also tweeting support for meme coin SHIB.
Everyone has their own path to focusing on Bitcoin, myself included, but these two politicians are starting from the bottom of the barrel.
General
Misfit bitcoin hacker startup Pleb Lab decided to grow up and turn into a C-Corp so it can raise funding to keep helping open source Bitcoin developers in Austin.
The Federal Trade Commission said that bogus cryptocurrency investments led to an unprecedented increase in online scams last year, resulting in more than 95,000 people reported losing around $770 million to fraud schemes on social media.
Public Policy/Politics/Regulatory
A new federal PAC with a goal of spending $20 million launched, GMI PAC, focused on congressional candidates in the midterms, including Texas races ahead of the March 1st primaries. The PAC’s founding board members and donors include CMS Holdings co-founder Dan Matuszewski, Framework Ventures co-founder Vance Spencer, FTX Digital Markets CEO Ryan Salame, Texas based Multicoin Capital, Messari, Blockchain Capital and Anthony Scaramucci's Skybridge Capital.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and a who’s who of Bitcoin haters in Congress sent Texas based RIOT Blockchain, Marathon Digital Holdings, Stronghold Digital Mining, Bitdeer Group, Bitfury Group and Bit Digital a letter demanding answers about “the impact these operations may have on climate change, the local environment, and the cost of electricity for retail consumers.”
Bloomberg’s Michael Smith ($) writes that Texas Governor Abbott Turns to Bitcoin Miners to Bolster the Grid and His Re-Election
Mining
FitchRatings issues a warning about Bitcoin mining posing a challenge to public power utilities and cites miners expanding in Texas due to “the structure of the regional energy market offers other perceived business advantages.”
CoinShares Bitcoin mining report estimates that Texas Bitcoin miners draw 650 MW of power, placing Texas behind New York (928 MW), Kentucky (867MW) and Georgia (805).
My hometown paper, the Houston Chronicle ($), falsely claims that Rockdale, Texas Bitcoin miner RIOT/Whinstone operates a coal fired power plant to mine Bitcoin with. The coal fired power plant was actually owned by Luminant and closed in 2018. What RIOT/Whinstone is doing is providing high paying jobs to this community that was devastated by the loss of the power plant.
Digital Wildcatters is bringing Bitcoin Mining to the Energy Capital of the World.
Empower will be the first bitcoin mining event with a focus on energy — bringing together energy, mining, finance, and other professionals in the city that powers the world. We are shutting down the streets in Houston for an iconic two-day event at 8th Wonder Brewery, where you will get to learn and network with energy producers, capital groups, miners, and other builders in the space.
Use code BTC-NEWS to get $50 off your purchase at checkout.
Events
Austin Bitcoin Club February 3, 2022
Beef & Bitcoin with Texas Slim and K&C Cattle February 4, 2022 in Austin
Scott’s Crypto Mining Conference February 7-8, 2022 in Round Rock
Texas Blockchain Council Houston Meetup February 9, 2022 in Midtown Houston
Mckinney Bitcoin February 9, 2022
Texas Blockchain Council Sugar Land Meetup February 10, 2022
The Great (Houston) Bitcoin Node Live Action Role-Play February 11, 2022
Texas Bitcoin Foundation Launch Happy Hour February 15, 2022 in Austin.
Austin BitDevs February 17, 2022
Houston Bitcoin Meetup February 24, 2022
Austin Bitcoin Club March 3, 2022
Austin BitDevs March 17, 2022
Digital Wildcatter’s Energy + Bitcoin Mining Conference March 30-31, 2022 in Houston ($50 of tickets with code BTC-NEWS)
Bitcoin 2022 Conference April 6-9, 2022 in Miami (10% off with code TEXAS10)
Austin Bitcoin Club April 7, 2022
Consensus June 10-12, 2022 in Austin
BitBlockParty June 10, 2022 during Consensus in Austin
Coin Center Annual Dinner June 10, 2022 during Consensus in Austin
BitBlockBoom August 25-28, 2022, in Austin
Texas Blockchain Summit November 18, 2022 in Austin SAVE THE DATE
LinkedIn says Bitcoin and crypto job postings grew 395% in 2021: 3x the tech industry. Have a Bitcoin related job you want to promote? Reach out!
Jobs
Satoshi Energy is hiring 5 positions in Austin.
Argo Blockchain is hiring Security Guards, Blockchain Mining Technicians, Facility Cooling Engineers and Facility Electrical Engineers for its west Texas facility.
Compute North is hiring Field Technicians in Grandbury
RIOT is hiring 7 positions in Austin, including Associate General Counsel.
Okcoin is hiring 4 positions based in Austin.
Poolin is hiring maintenance technicians and journeyman electricians in west Texas. Commutable from Odessa, Midland, Pecos, Pyote, Monahans or Fort Stockton.
Poolin is hiring in Austin.
Unchained Capital is hiring for 16 positions based in Austin & Dallas.
Lancium LLC is hiring for 10 position based in The Woodlands.
Rhodium is hiring for numerous positions based in Austin.
Aggie lead Giga Energy is hiring electricians.
NYDIG is hiring 2 roles in the Houston area.
Core Scientific is hiring an Investment Analysis in Austin.
Compass Mining is hiring 4 positions in Austin
Hash Haus Mining is hiring a Mobile Data Center Manager in Midland
The Blockchain Association’s job board shows 40 Texas based jobs.
People on the Move
Send me your career moves!
Bitcoin Citadel
The 1,013± acre Desert Rose Ranch is for sale in Terrell County amongst the hills and valleys of the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. This hunting and recreational ranch offers spectacular views of the Sierra Madre Mountains and canyons, deep draws, scrub brush flats, rugged ridges, vistas, and miles of wet weather creeks characterize the topography on the ranch.
To Ponder While You Wander
“The extraordinarily high energy usage and carbon emissions associated with Bitcoin mining could undermine our hard work to tackle the climate crisis – not to mention the harmful impacts crypto mining has on local environments and electricity prices,” - Senator Elizabeth Warren in a letter to Bitcoin miners