Week in BTX: Friday June 10, 2022
Feeling the Heat: Bitdeer, Argo, RIOT/Whinstone curtail Texas Bitcoin mining operations to help stabilize ERCOT
As Texas faces its first week of 100 degrees plus weather Bitcoin miners across the state are doing their part to help the grid.
Fox Business reporter Susan Li was live on the scene in Rockdale, Texas as RIOT powered down its mining operation to help stabilize the ERCOT grid.
RIOT/Whinstone’s Giga Chad Harris said that each day this week there are turning off between 3:00 and 7:00 P.M. when they get the notice from ERCOT and it literally happens in seconds.
Miners Summit just announced they are hosting a meeting with ERCOT to discuss the interconnection process and a large flexible load category. If you are a large miner or provide power to a Bitcoin miner or data center, you will want to be at this meeting.
General
Bear Market Vibes: Hashrate Index take on the bear market mauling Bitcoin mining stocks and mining profitability and says Bitcoin miners are entering an endurance game.
The Texas Bitcoin Foundation announced the launch of a new, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to exploring the impacts of bitcoin on global political economy. The journal's inaugural issue, The Satoshi Papers, is now accepting submissions until August 31st, 2022.
Public Policy/Politics/Regulatory
US Senator Cynthia Lummis much anticipated bill regulating the Bitcoin and crypto industry was released. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act is the most comprehensive and important piece of proposed legislation on crypto to hit Capitol Hill to date. The bill would classify most cryptocurrencies as commodities, rather than securities, potentially saving the industry from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s hard line toward the industry and costly reporting and registration requirements.
Dennis Porter and Mandy Gunasekara launched the Satoshi Action Fund (SAF) to protect Bitcoin and Bitcoin Mining in the USA. SAF is a 501c(4) dedicated to informing the policymakers and regulators about the benefits of Bitcoin mining. SAF actively engages in political campaigns and grassroots efforts to reshape the public policy landscape.
Miners Summit, Where Tech & Energy Meet is in College Station, Texas, June 15-16, 2022. This year, Miners Summit is an all-VIP executive conference for Bitcoin miners and energy companies at the Hilton College Station & Conference Center.
Mining
As high temperatures across Texas result in record energy demand, Texas based Bitcoin miners Bitdeer, Argo, RIOT/Whinstone respond by curtailing Bitcoin mining operations at peak times, helping to stabilize the ERCOT grid.
RIOT/Whinstone’s Chad Harris explains to Fox Business how Bitcoin miners help ERCOT.
CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos, one of the top Bitcoin reporters in the business, takes a peek inside RIOT/Whinstone’s Bitcoin immersion mine in Rockdale, Texas.
In May 2022 ARGO’s Bitcoin production dropped 25% from April due to its new Helios facility in west Texas experiencing "unplanned downtime," voluntarily curtailing mining operations during periods of high energy demand and mining difficulty increased on the Bitcoin network.
The Wolf of All Street’s Scott Melker interviews ARGO CEO Peter Wall about how Argo is securing the power grid in Texas, plans for their future, mining competition, the energy debate, and mining hot spots.
In May 2022 Marathon produced 268 self-minted bitcoin and reported 19,000 miners (1.9 E/Hs) ready to be energized and 9,941 BTC held. Marathon continues to install miners at its Texas facilities, but they have “experienced delays in energization as Compute North’s energy provider awaits federal agency confirmation of its exempt status for tax purposes based upon its arrangements with Compute North.”
In May 2022 Core Scientific powered-down a portion of its data center operations in Texas on 13 occasions for a total of 1,218 megawatt hours to enable and ensure electrical grid stability. Core reported operating over 170,000 ASICs in its five data centers and self-mined 1,138 bitcoins in May.
Geosyn Mining announced the opening of a second mining space North Texas. The 26,000 Sq Foot facility, located near Springtown, will house up to 12,000 miners by the end of Q3 2022 and will be capable of producing roughly to 100 Bitcoin/month. This facility is slated for further expansion to 100MW by summer 2023.
Icon Global and Bernard Uechtritz, the broker that sold the $240 million Alcoa’s Sandow Lakes Ranch in Rockdale, Texas that happens to be the home of the RIOT/Whinstone Bitcoin mining facility, takes a bow with a cover story in Land Magazine, titled The Science & Art of the Complex Deal.
EnergyFunders is hosting a tour on June 17, 2022 of their stranded natural gas powered immersion Bitcoin mining unit. Reach out to Laura Pommer for details.
Events
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
Fort Bitcoin Meetup June 14, 2022 in Fort Worth
North Houston Bitcoin Club June 14, 2022 in The Woodlands
Miners Summit June 15-16, 2022 in College Station ($100 discount using code BTXNEWS2022)
Austin Bitdevs June 16, 2022
EnergyFunders off grid immersion mine tour June 17, 2022. Reach out to Laura Pommer for details
Mckinney Bitcoin Meetup June 21, 2022
Houston Bitcoin Meetup June 23, 2022
Austin Bitcoin Club July 7, 2022 at Bitcoin Commons
Dallas Bitcoin Meetup July 14, 2022. DM @BossHogCapital or @Dallas_Bitcoin for details
Austin Bitdevs July 21, 2022
Houston Bitcoin Meetup July 28, 2022
Austin Bitcoin Club August 4, 2022 at Bitcoin Commons
Dallas Bitcoin Meetup August 11, 2022. DM @BossHogCapital or @Dallas_Bitcoin for details
BitBlockBoom August 25-28, 2022, in Austin
Texas Blockchain Summit November 17-18, 2022 in Austin
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
SpiderMining Inc is hiring a Mining Farm Site Development Director in Bowie
Fidelity is hiring a Bitcoin Mining Program Manager in Austin
US Bitcoin Corp is hiring an Office Manager
RIOT has launched a 10-week internship program for junior and senior-level college students
RIOT is hiring positions in Austin and Rockdale
LVL (a Bitcoin bank) is hiring a Backend Engineer II in Austin
Trammell Venture Partners is hiring marketing/communications lead and an Analyst in Austin
Poolin is hiring positions in Austin, Pyote and Pecos
Compass Mining is hiring numerous positions in Austin
Upstream Data is hiring a Business Developer based in Texas
Core Scientific is hiring in Austin, Denton, Pecos and Barstow
Cormint Data Systems (Fort Bocks) is hiring a Data Center Technician in Fort Stockton
Unchained Capital is hiring for 10 positions based in Austin & Dallas
Lancium is hiring positions based in the Houston area
NYDIG is hiring positions in the Houston area
The Blockchain Association’s job board shows 55 Texas based jobs.
Bitcoiner Jobs shows 12 Texas based Bitcoin jobs
People on the Move
Giga Chad Harris updated his title to Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer of RIOT.
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
The heavily wooded 12 acre tract in Polk County is on the market for about 5 Bitcoin. The tract is 5 miles southeast of the Lake Livingston Dam. Reminder, what happens behind the Pine Curtain stays behind the Pine Curtain!
To Ponder While You Wander
“I think what the important component is, is that in nanoseconds these facilities can turn on and off when the grid needs the support…..This week alone, each week, each day we turned off between 3:00 and 7:00 P.M. when we get the notice and it literally happens in seconds." - Giga Chad Harris explaining how Bitcoin mining helps the grid to Fox Business.