Welcome to the "Week in BTX" newsletter, your weekly source for all things Texas and Bitcoin. This week we are focused on the 88th Texas legislative session that convened this week in Austin.
The Texas legislative session runs for 140 days and began on Tuesday Jan. 10 and runs till May 29, 2023. Republicans control the Texas House and Senate and every statewide elected office in Texas.
The 88th Texas legislative session will focus on issues big and small, from property tax reform, public education and immigration, to Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining policy!
The Texas Blockchain Council is leading the charge during the 88th Texas Legislative Session advocating for all things Bitcoin (and crypto/blockchain). The Bitcoin related policy issues they are pushing include:
Consumer Protection / Dynamic Proof of Reserves and Liabilities Legislation - will enable Texas to define industry standards for the nation
Grid Stability and Bitcoin Mining Legislation - will incentivize participation in ERCOT programs like this one recently published
Flare Gas Mitigation - will exempt severance tax from formerly flared gas when it is used for on-site mobile data centers (63% reduction in the carbon footprint when a flare is redirected to a generator)
A proposed time bounded sales tax holiday for Lighting retail point of sale
Enabling legislation that allows Texas to custody bitcoin or other large market cap asset in the Texas Bullion Depository or similar institution
A Joint Resolution noting Texas’ opposition to CBDCs
A Joint Resolution listing out the rights to self-custody virtual currency anonymously in a digital wallet
A Joint Resolution on privacy rights for users of digital services
General
Bear Market Vibes: Bitcoin is over $18k, the bear market is over now right?? 😂😂
Midland is back! ASIC Jungle has a billboard on I-20 between Odessa and Midland.
Korok Ray will be teaching the first ever Bitcoin class at Texas A&M University this spring. The class will be called the Bitcoin Protocol, and cross-listed in the College of Engineering and Mays Business School. Shoutout to Gideon & Felicia Powell and Riot Platforms for supporting the class!
The glossy D Magazine interviews DFW area business leaders on the future of Bitcoin & crypto.
Public Policy/Politics/Regulatory
The 88th Texas Legislative Session convened in Austin for 140 days. Follow along with the #txlege hashtag on twitter.
The State of Texas has a record $188.2 billion available for the 2024-25 biennium. The market cap of Bitcoin is $331.74 billion. We are still early.
The US House Financial Services Committee appointed Representative French Hill (AR-02) as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion. The subcommittee’s jurisdiction will cover, among other things:
Providing clear rules of the road among federal regulators for the digital asset ecosystem | Developing policies that promote financial technology to reach underserved communities | Identifying best practices and policies that continue to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the digital asset ecosystem
Mining
Hashrate Index publishes 2022 Bitcoin Mining Year in Review & 10 Bitcoin Mining Predictions in 2023.
If you are not following The Miner Mag on twitter you are seriously missing out. Give them a follow now. TheMinerMag was launched by BlocksBridge Consulting as a research and data portal focusing on institutional bitcoin miners.
Texas Bitcoin miners returned enough power to heat 1.5 million homes during the December 2022 Texas winter storm.
Argo mined 25% less Bitcoin (147 Dec. vs 198 Nov.) in December 2022 due to curtailment of mining operations at the Helios facility in Dickens County, Texas in response to the widespread winter storm that impacted Texas
Agora Digital, a South Carolina based Bitcoin miner with operations in west Texas, quietly withdrew their $50 million IPO.
Riot Blockchain announces corporate rebranding to Riot Platforms to reflect increasingly diversified, Bitcoin-driven, business operations.
Bolt Mining shutters operations at its retail focused Clyde, Texas facility due to “macroeconomic headwinds and the squeeze on mining profitability.”
🤡🤡🤡 Compass Mining’s 🤡🤡🤡 “Texas 3” facility is STILL not 100% operational. Yes, my miner is STILL offline.
Events
BitBlockDallas Bitcoin Meetup Jan. 13, 2023
Bitcoin Basics Bootcamp Jan. 14, 2023 in Tyler
Austin BitDevs Jan. 19, 2023
Houston Bitcoin Meetup Jan. 26, 2023
McKinney Bitcoin Meetup Jan. 26, 2023
NAPE Bitcoin Mining Pavillion Feb. 2, 2023 in Houston
Austin Bitcoin Club Feb. 2, 2023
Midland Bitcoin Meetup Feb. 9, 2023
Dallas Bitcoin Meetup Feb. 9 2023
Austin BitDevs Feb. 16, 2023
Digital Wildcatters Empower Bitcoin March 8-9, 2023 in Houston
Dallas Bitcoin Meetup March. 9 2023
Austin BitDevs March 16, 2023
Bitcoin 2023 May 18-20, 2023 in Miami. Use “TEXASBITCOIN” for 10% off all tickets.
BitBlockBoom August 24-27, 2023, in Austin
East Texas Bitcoin Alliance Meetup (Join the facebook group for details)
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
Digital Wildcatters is hiring an COO in Houston
Oilman turned Bitcoin miner Griffin Haby is hiring a Landman
Riot is hiring for a 10-week internship program designed to empower the next generation of innovators by giving them first-hand experience in solving real-world problems
Riot is hiring Operations Manager, Electrical Field Engineer and IT Technician in Rockdale and Corsicana
Giga Energy is hiring a Director of Manufacturing and EPG Shop Technician in the Beaumont area
Poolin is hiring IT Technicians in Pecos
Core is hiring Finance, accounting and operations positions in Austin
The Blockchain Association’s job board shows 23 Texas based jobs.
Bitcoiner Jobs shows 10 Texas based Bitcoin jobs and internships
People on the Move
Baylor Landry of Core Scientific is joining Giga Energy as Senior Manger of Business Development
Riot Platforms hired Brian Morgenstern as Head of Public Policy. Brian is a Trump White House and Treasury Department alum
ERCOT hired Mark “Always on Message” Miner as Director of Corporate Communications. Mark will lead ERCOT’s corporate communications initiatives with regulatory and government agencies, media, market participants, and customers
Bitcoin Marketplace
I am considering adding a “Bitcoin Marketplace” section to the newsletter. Subscribers can offer their Bitcoin related products and services, skills for hire, in search of, etc. Send me your feedback on this idea and what types of products and services you would find valuable. Reach out if you have something you want to list or are in search of.
Bitcoin Citadel: Bear Market Edition
This 185 acre ranch in Edwards County has a three bedroom, three bath ranch house, big oak trees, intermittent creek, and rolling hills filled with axis, whitetail, aoudad, sika, fallow, hogs and turkey.
To Ponder While You Wander
The State of Texas has $27 billion in its rainy day fund. That will buy about 1.5 million Bitcoin at today's price. HODL for 10 years. Use proceeds to buy down property taxes, secure the border, fund public education, fund the police, etc.