Week in BTX: Thursday March 17, 2022
See you in two weeks at Empower: Energizing Bitcoin even in Houston March 30-31.
Looking forward to seeing y’all at the Digital Wildcatters Empower: Energizing Bitcoin event two weeks from now (March 30-31) in Houston! Let me know if you will be there, would love to meet in person.
The event will feature US Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, Congressman Pete Sessions, and leaders from energy, mining, finance, politics and builders in the Bitcoin space.
Be sure to attend the Why Texas will be the Bitcoin Mining Capital of the World and the Legitimizing Bitcoin - The Political Landscape panels that I am moderating with some great panelist.
I am personally looking forward to seeing Texas country artist Casey Donahew perform. Anyone who has survived a full Bitcoin cycle will appreciate Casey Donahew’s Drove Me to the Whiskey song……
General
Unchained Capital’s Parker Lewis and Jeff Vandrew joined Preston Pysh’s podcast to talk Bitcoin Retirement planning and the importance of self custody.
Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston announced A 75-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man have been indicted for their roles in a $750,000 Bitcoin money laundering scheme that went down in Longview.
Chad E. Meacham, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced that the owners of Dallas based crypto exchange Bitqyck, Bruce Bise and Samuel Mendez, were sentenced to a combined eight years for tax evasion.
Public Policy/Politics/Regulatory
Politico Influence reports that;
Crypto.com has hired its first federal lobbyists, retaining teams from Blue Star Strategies, Miller Strategies, K&L Gates and Sidley Austin in the past two months, in addition to bringing on the public affairs firm Hamilton Place Strategies and joining the industry’s largest trade group, the Blockchain Association. Miller Strategies Jeff Miller advised former Texas Governor Rick Perry’s 2016 Presidential campaign.
Andreessen Horowitz hired Michele Korver to lead regulatory affairs for its crypto unit. Previously Michele was the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Networks first-ever digital currency advisor.
Blockchain groups from 32 states have banded together to form the Coalition of Multi-State Blockchain Associations to coordinate their playbook for state policy efforts as well as their talking points for Democrats and Republicans on policy issues like taxes and energy.
Mining
In March the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) will vote on whether to create a task force to assess the number of Bitcoin mines on the ERCO grid and the impact.
In Texas O&G wildcatters are turning to Bitcoin mining, meanwhile in Kentucky coal miners are getting in the game.
KVUE reports that central Texas is positioning itself to become the "strongest semiconductor ecosystem in the world."
Crypto research firm, Messari, released a report on how Bitcoin mining is improving the environment. Bitcoin mining consumed 0.05% of the total energy consumed in 2021, with 39% of the energy sources coming from renewable methods.
RIOT/Whinstone released financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021 and reported;
Earning 3,812 Bitcoin and $213.2 million in total revenue.
A net loss of $7.9 million in 2021, as compared to a net loss of $12.7 million in 2020.
Increased hashing capacity to 3.1 EH/s.
Increased Bitcoin held on balance sheet to 4,884 BTC.
Invested in 82,500 Bitmain S19, S19 Pro, S19j Pro, and S19XP Antminers which, when fully installed by January 2023, are expected to achieve an estimated aggregate Bitcoin mining hash rate capacity of 12.8 EH/s.
Following RIOT/Whinstone’s end of year results their stock (NASDAQ: RIOT) took a 3% hit in after-hours trading, despite Bitcoin being up over 4% in the last 24 hours.
CNBC reporter MacKenzie Siglos recently toured RIOT/Whinstone’s facility in Rockdale, noting that Bitcoin miners are helping to bring renewables onto the power grid. Is another story in the works?
Dallas based Skybox Datacenters announced a 141,000 square-foot, $548 million data center in Pflugerville. The 30-megawatt facility will be supported by two substations and is supplied by Oncor. Skybox has a history of building Bitcoin mining facilities, no word yet if this is a Bitcoin mine.
Bloomberg reports on the give and take between Texas small-town utilities, city owned utilities and needs of Bitcoin miners looking to move in.
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
SATSxSW events March 10-20, 2022 in Austin around SXSW
SXSW edition of Austin BitDevs March 17, 2022
Bitcoin Takeover at SXSW March 18 at Bitcoin Commons in Austin
Texas Blockchain Council Austin Happy Hour March 28
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
Midland Bitcoin Meetup April 14, 2022
Texas Beef (and Bitcoin) Initiative Conference April 23-24, 2022 in Kerrville
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
TMGcore is hiring a Mine Manager - Crypto Mining Environment in Plano
Cormint Data Systems (Fort Bocks) is hiring a Data Center Technician in Fort Stockton
US Bitcoin Corp is hiring a Computer Repair Technician in Pecos.
Frontier Mining is hiring a data center technician in Midland
Bitmain is hiring a data center operator in Rockdale.
Lighting Capital is hiring its first employee, an experienced Go developer to help Lightning node operators manage their Bitcoin capital.
Rhodium is hiring 4 positions in Austin and Temple and an armed security officer in Rockdale.
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 and Site Operations Manager in McCamey.
RIOT is hiring 4 positions in Austin, including Associate General Counsel.
Okcoin is hiring 3 positions based in Austin.
Poolin is hiring maintenance technicians and journeyman electricians in west Texas and corporate positions in Austin
Unchained Capital is hiring for 16 positions based in Austin & Dallas.
Lancium LLC is hiring positions based in The Woodlands and a Data Center Site Facilities Manager in Abilene.
NYDIG is hiring 6 roles in the Houston area.
Compass Mining is hiring in Austin
The Blockchain Association’s job board shows 64 Texas based jobs.
People on the Move
Send me your career moves!
Bitcoin Citadel
The 650 acres high-fenced Bar E Ranch is situated in the transition zone between South Texas Brush Country and the Hill Country features magnificent rolling terrain and elevated areas with beautiful views. Located about five miles north of Hondo and within an easy commute to San Antonio, Bar E Ranch offers endless opportunities. In addition to abundant native game, the ranch also has over 100 exotic species including axis, fallow, black buck, red deer and aoudad.
To Ponder While You Wander
“Businesses and investors want regulatory clarity much more quickly than the federal government can deliver it. Moreover, it’s often cheaper and easier to influence state policy, which typically sways how the federal government responds.” - Arry Yu, chair of Washington state’s Cascadia Blockchain Council, who helped launch the new Coalition of Multi-State Blockchain Associations.