Week in BTX: Friday Oct. 21, 2022
Election Day is only 17 days.....LFG Astros!
Like Bitcoin’s eventual dominance, the Astros domination of MLB is inevitable, but not without some bumps in the road 🤣🤣🤣. LFG Astros!
Election Day is only 17 days away and Early Voting starts on Monday October 24 and runs to Saturday, October 29. You can find your early voting and election day voting locations here.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is a strong proponent of Bitcoin and an advocate for Bitcoin mining in Texas. His Democratic opponent, Beto O'Rourke, has not released a policy position on Bitcoin or Bitcoin mining in Texas. I guess he doesn’t support high paying jobs for rural Texans….
On Monday go early vote for pro Bitcoin candidates like Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian.
General
Bear Market Vibes: Bitcoin miner bankruptcy, mining rigs sitting in boxes, miners liquidating Bitcoin and liquidity pressures.
Elon Musk's Tesla reported third-quarter earnings and showed no change in its bitcoin holdings, currently valued around $218,000,000. Does Elon finally have 💎💎💎 ✋✋✋?
Reminder to store your Bitcoin in cold storage (I recommend Unchained Capital). KSEN 5 reports that two San Antonio residents pleaded guilty in a SIM swap scheme to steal $250,000 of cryptocurrency.
Public Policy/Politics/Regulatory
The Texas State Security Board Director of Enforcement Joseph Rotunda confirmed that they are investigating FTX Trading, FTX US, and their principals, including Sam Bankman-Fried, for selling unregistered securities in the form of yield-bearing accounts.
The Texas State Security Board filed enforcement actions to stop sales of fraudulent NFT investments tied to the Metaverse.
FTX’s Sam Bankman Fried released a controversial blog post proposing his version of digital asset industry standards.
Mining
Hashrate Index released their buzz killing Q3 2022 mining report on the state of the mining industry, including these gems;
Nationally the average cost of industrial electricity increased 25% from $75.20 a megawatt hour to $94.30 per megawatt hour from July 2021 to July 2022.
In Texas the price increased 64%, from $52 to $85.10.
Cost to produce 1 BTC in Texas w average industrial electricity costs Q3-2022 was $14,326 vs Q3-2021 at $4,709.
Riot is hosting a Special Meeting of Stockholders on November 19, 2022 to vote on issuing additional shares of stock.
Riot announced groundbreaking on new 265-acre Bitcoin mining site in Navarro County. The first phase of the facility will consist of 400 megawatts, with self-mining and data center hosting operations expected to commence by Q4 2023. The facility’s total capacity of 1 GW has already been approved by ERCOT.
Genesis Digital Assets announced officially breaking ground on a new Bitcoin mine Glasscock County, near Midland. The project is expected to be completed and fully operational by December 2022 and will provide jobs to the local community and critical tax revenue to rural Glasscock County.
Shaun Connell, EVP of Lancium, provided a deep dive into how flexible bitcoin mining loads helped support the ERCOT grid this past Summer. Check out his slides.
Compass Mining’s “Texas 3” facility in west Texas is STILL NOT fully deployed after months of delays. Per Compass they are awaiting approval from ERCOT following “unexpected maintenance in late September on the site's substation and generator.”
Dallas-based hedge fund manager Kyle Bass, who shorted mortgage debt in the lead up to the global financial crisis, was revealed as one of the investors behind the historic purchase of Sandow Lakes Ranch in Rockdale, Texas that is home Riot, the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America.
Argo’s 125,000-square-foot Helios facility in Dickens County added $17 million to the local tax based according to Dickens County Judge Kevin Brendle. That economic infusion has allowed Dickens County to cut county property taxes by around 1.5%, give small raises to county staff, and purchase new equipment for the sheriff’s office and for road and bridge improvements.
Events
Texas Blockchain Council Woodlands Meetup Oct. 25, 2022
Mckinney Bitcoin Meetup Oct. 26, 2022
Houston Bitcoin Meetup Oct. 27, 2022
Austin Bitcoin Club Nov. 3, 2022
Fort Bitcoin Meetup Nov. 8, 2022 in Fort Worth
Midland Bitcoin Meetup Nov. 10, 2022
Dallas Bitcoin Meetup Nov. 10, 2022. DM @BossHogCapital or @Dallas_Bitcoin for details
Texas Blockchain Summit November 17-18, 2022 in Austin
Houston Bitcoin Meetup Nov. 21, 2022
Midland Bitcoin Meetup Dec. 8, 2022
Dallas Bitcoin Meetup Dec. 8, 2022. DM @BossHogCapital or @Dallas_Bitcoin for details
Houston Bitcoin Meetup Dec. 22, 2022
BitBlockBoom August 24-27, 2023, 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
Bitdeer is hiring Business Development Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Electrician and Procurement Manager in Texas
Piper Maddox is hiring an ERCOT Market Manager, ideally with Bitcoin mining experience
Crusoe is hiring an Oil & Gas Field Equipment Mechanic, Field Tech, Warehouse Lead and Field Electrician based in Midland
Bitcoin Depot is hiring an Quality Assurance Field Tech in Dallas
RIOT is hiring positions in Rockdale and Austin
Unchained Capital is hiring software engineers in Austin
Rhodium is hiring a Full Stack Software Engineer in Austin
The Blockchain Association’s job board shows 30 Texas based jobs.
Bitcoiner Jobs shows 1 Texas based Bitcoin job
People on the Move
Heard a rumor that a prominent former member of the Texas House of Representatives signed up to lobby for a publicly traded Bitcoin miner with substantial operations in Texas.
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
Loma Vista Ranch homesites range from 3-10+ acres starting at about 5 Bitcoin. These wooded homesites are 10 minutes from Kerrville, 30 minutes from Fredericksburg and that are surrounded by the beautiful hill country scenery.
To Ponder While You Wander
“Throughout the quarter, public companies continued to hock mining rigs and BTC to fund operations and pay down debt, distressed asset sales started to crop up, and we witnessed the first major bankruptcy of the bear market. As the summer months have cooled into autumn and Q4 is afoot, Q3's troubles are looking like they were only a sample of what's to come now that hashprice is in all-time low territory.” - Hashrate Index Q3 2022 Report