mining

Celsius faces hurdle as judge hints at new vote for Bitcoin mining shift

Judge Martin Glenn reportedly said that the firm’s proposed transformation into a Bitcoin mining business deviates significantly from the deal creditors initially voted on.

Celsius Network, a cryptocurrency lending platform, might need to secure a fresh vote from creditors for its planned shift to a Bitcoin mining venture, suggested a U.S.

The crypto lender provided details on Nov. 30, of its plan to only mine Bitcoin (BTC) once it emerges from bankruptcy, a scaled-down business that reflects guidance from regulators.

According to a report, Judge Martin Glenn, responsible for Celsius Network’s Chapter 11 proceedings, voiced displeasure on Nov.

Judge Glenn reportedly highlighted that the proposed transformation into a Bitcoin mining business deviates significantly from the deal creditors initially voted on, potentially encountering considerable resistance from creditors.

Celsius recently announced a scaled-back post-bankruptcy strategy, narrowing its focus to Bitcoin mining due to the U.S.

Celsius attorney Chris Koenig reportedly contended during the Nov.

As per the report, two customers, proceeding without legal representation, expressed dissent toward the agreement in the court documents, contending that Celsius should undergo complete liquidation instead.

Related: Celsius grants access to withdrawals for eligible crypto holders

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 protection in July 2022, one of several crypto lenders to go bankrupt following the industry’s rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the new proposal, Celsius creditors are projected to receive a 67% recovery, surpassing the 61.2% under the previous Fahrenheit arrangement, according to court records.

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Solana launches emissions dashboard to spur blockchain carbon footprint transparency

The Solana Foundation has launched a real-time carbon emissions tracker to monitor the Solana blockchain.

The Solana Foundation, in collaboration with data platform Trycarbonara, announced the launch of a real-time tracking dashboard to measure carbon emissions on the Solana blockchain. 

According to a blog post from the foundation, this represents the first “major smart-contract blockchain” to measure carbon emissions in real time. The organization hopes this will spur a trend toward carbon emission transparency in the blockchain ecosystem:

“The Solana Foundation hopes to set a new standard for measuring emissions in blockchain by publishing this data.”

The new dashboard can be found on the Solana Climate website. Trackers there currently display the total node count, megawatt-hours, total carbon emissions average and marginal use, alongside numerous other indicators.

Related: Bitcoin mining and increasing energy bills — Sen. Warren vs. Crypto Twitter

The new dashboard also contains several emissions comparison charts where users can view side-by-side conversions depicting Solana usage versus numerous other emission-producing activities.

Burning a gallon of gasoline, according to the chart, produces the equivalent of conducting 140,416.67 transactions on the Solana blockchain, whereas performing a Google search adds up to one and a quarter transactions.

The data used to power the Solana Foundation’s real-time carbon emissions dashboard is available open-source and is modeled on the estimated carbon footprint of the Dell PowerEdge R940.

Whether other blockchain outfits will adopt similar tracking systems remains to be seen, but this move from the Solana Foundation comes amid increasing global efforts to utilize blockchain technology to monitor carbon emissions around the world.

As part of its “Shaping Europe’s digital future” initiative, the European Commission, a politically independent arm of the European Union’s executive that operates in tandem with the European Council, has lauded blockchain’s ability to serve as a foundation for the accurate measurement of carbon emissions in any sector.

In an article on the EU’s digital strategy blog, the commission wrote, “Blockchain can be utilised through smart contracts to better calculate, track and report on the reduction of the carbon footprint across the entire value chain.”

Meanwhile, in the United States, President Joe Biden recently floated budget plans that would add an excise on electricity used for cryptocurrency mining in the amount of 30%.

Bitcoin mining and increasing energy bills — Sen. Warren vs. Crypto Twitter

“I’ve been ringing the alarm about the risks that Bitcoin poses to our power grids and climate,” said Senator Warren, agreeing with a New York Times article on the matter.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren blamed the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry for rising energy prices in American households based on unverified mainstream reporting. However, Crypto Twitter was not ready to let it slide and unanimously decided to clarify the disinformation. 

While Senator Warren has prominently spoken against the crypto ecosystem, the latest dig at Bitcoin mining comes based on a New York Times article. The report accuses Bitcoin miners of cashing in on electricity and indirectly forcing the public to pay the price. The narrative fit Warren’s perception of the crypto industry as she stated:

“I’ve been ringing the alarm about the risks that Bitcoin poses to our power grids and climate. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy should use their authority to require cryptominers to disclose their energy use and emissions.”

To help Warren rethink and make an informed decision, numerous entrepreneurs responded, trying to fix the misconception. Bitcoin podcaster Stephan Livera straight up dismissed the NYT report, stating that the “NYT report is filled with disinformation.”

On the other hand, MicroStrategy founder and chairman Michael Saylor contradicted Warren’s statement. He explained how Bitcoin mining does not contribute to pollution but helps decrease energy bills.

Others from the Crypto Twitter community sought to tag Tesla CEO and Dogecoin (DOGE) supporter Elon Musk in the conversation, who has been actively trying to eradicate disinformation campaigns on his newly-owned social media platform.

The New York Times was one of the first news publications to become a victim of Musk’s attack against disinformation and propaganda. Twitter recently stripped the verified blue mark from NYT’s primary account after the organization refused to comply with the subscription requirement. Cointelegraph reported on a method to find out who paid for Twitter Blue verification.

Related: Elon Musk reportedly buys thousands of GPUs for Twitter AI project

In a recent FOX interview, Musk revealed the development of a ChatGPT rival known as TruthGPT. According to the entrepreneur, TruthGPT is a large language model that will be trained to explore the mysteries of the universe. In his words:

“I’m going to start something which I call TruthGPT, or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe.”

In the interview, Musk told Fox anchor Tucker Carlson that ChatGPT “is programmed by left-wing experts, which train the chatbots to lie.”

Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime

BTC price heading under $30K? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin faces a battle for key BTC price support to start the week, while market participants stay optimistic about trend continuation.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week under $30,000 as analysts’ predictions of a short-term support retest come true.

The largest cryptocurrency saw a classic dive following its latest weekly close as the latest gains evaporated, but will they return?

Ahead of a fairly innocuous week for macro data releases, catalysts are likely to come elsewhere as BTC price action decides on a key support zone.

Much is at stake for traders, as the week prior offered the opportunity to reinvestigate altcoins as Bitcoin itself cooled its upside. With a retracement now in effect, attention will be on whether those altcoins can hold at their own higher levels.

Under the hood, it appears to be business as usual for Bitcoin, with network fundamentals already at or near all-time highs, showing no definitive signs of a comedown this week.

It may be too early to determine how price performance will impact hodlers, but the temptation to sell at 10-month highs must be clear, with the percentage of the overall BTC supply now in profit at an impressive 75%.

Cointelegraph takes a look at these factors and more in the weekly rundown of potential Bitcoin price triggers.

BTC price: $30,000 hangs in the balance

After a “boring” weekend for BTC price action, volatility returned in classic style at the April 16 weekly close.

With it came a return to $30,000 for BTC/USD, marking its first major support retest since hitting 10-month highs above $31,000 last week.

Traders and analysts had widely predicted the move, arguing that it would constitute a healthy retracement to prepare for the continuation of the uptrend.

Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, was among those eyeing a buy-in just below $30,000 but kept his options open in the case of a deeper correction.

“Bitcoin is getting towards the long areas. Back towards the range low, through which a sweep can be granted as an entry point towards $32K,” he told Twitter followers.

“$28,600 could also be a long entry, but then I think we won’t be starting to make new highs, for now.”

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/ Twitter

Analytics resource Skew noted how the dip had played out on exchanges, mentioning a “clean divergence” between spot sellers and derivatives traders.

“This is exactly the BTC retest I was talking about,” popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital meanwhile continued, striking an optimistic note.

“$BTC is currently successfully retesting the top of the Bull Flag price broke out from a few days ago. Hold here would be a good contributing sign for continuation.”

An accompanying chart showed BTC/USD close to resting on an important trend line on daily timeframes.

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Rekt Capital/ Twitter

A more cautious Daan Crypto Trades nonetheless flagged a tug-of-war between bulls and those simply trading the current range.

“Bitcoin Range Traders having the time of their lives while breakout traders are getting trapped on these range deviations/wicks,” part of commentary stated on the day.

“Likely to keep ranging until one side gives up.”

BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/ Twitter

Earnings dominate macro debate

After a key week of macroeconomic data releases, the coming days are set to offer risk asset traders some comparative respite.

United States jobless claims and manufacturing figures will come toward the end of the week, but the macro focus will be elsewhere — specifically on earnings.

These are due, among others, from heavyweights Tesla and Netflix, as well as a slew of banks — all keenly watched by market participants in the wake of recent events.

“Earnings season is officially here,” financial commentary resource The Kobeissi Letter summarized.

Last week, Tedtalksmacro, a financial commentator also focusing on crypto, summed up the current environment as highly favorable to continued Bitcoin upside.

“Price breaking bear market structure, macro data trending favourably, momentum oscillators reset + USD liquidity higher than pre-tightening levels… Yet the majority continue to look for swing shorts to new lows,” he stated.

“~500 days of bear has created a strong recency bias…”

However, the picture appears muddier when it comes to stock markets themselves, with consensus among market participants being hard to ascertain.

Sven Henrich, CEO of NorthmanTrader, called for more proof of a breakout for the S&P 500 “bull market” narrative to become valid.

“Some day they will be correct, but in my view, based on history, a new bull market is not confirmed until $SPX moves above the monthly 20MA and SUSTAINS such a move, i.e. defends it as support,” part of a tweet read last week.

Henrich was considering a claim by Tom Lee, managing partner and the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, who described bears as “trapped.”

“The other measure here is the weekly 100MA which is just above 4200. While developments have been technically bullish since the October lows markets are near these key resistance points with the $VIX on the floor of its multi year uptrend,” Henrich continued.

“Will recent liquidity injections, which have contributed to suppressed volatility, be enough to sustain a move above resistance as the economy is approaching a recession per the Fed staff? That’s the big question I suppose everybody has to ask themselves.”

S&P 500 vs. VIX volatility index chart. Source: Sven Henrich/ Twitter

Bitcoin mining difficulty eyes fifth record-high in a row

In what is becoming a bi-weekly regular, Bitcoin network fundamentals are offering nothing but new all-time highs.

This week, difficulty is due to inch higher — currently by an estimated 0.45% — according to estimates from monitoring resource BTC.com.

Bitcoin network fundamentals overview (screenshot). Source: BTC.com

This will mark the fifth increase in a row, which has not happened since February 2022.

Since the start of 2023 alone, over 4 trillion has been added to the difficulty tally, while the hash rate is also continually setting new highs.

Raw data from MiningPoolStats recently estimated the latest all-time high as 413.4 exahashes per second (EH/s) on April 15. On Jan. 1, the estimated hash rate was 285 EH/s.

Bitcoin hash rate raw data (screenshot). Source: MiningPoolStats

As Cointelegraph previously reported, however, hash rate changes in and of themselves may not be relevant as a yardstick for Bitcoin health if measured using exact figures.

As Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief technology officer of Casa, stated in a new blog post released on the same date as the all-time high hash rate estimate, all may not be as it seems.

“Whenever you see someone claiming that a change in the network hashrate is newsworthy, you should always question the method and time range used to achieve the hashrate estimate,” he summarized after comparing various methods of hash rate estimation.

In Bitcoin, only old hands remain

As $30,000 appears and gets tested as support, the temptation to sell among those who weathered the 2022 bear market is increasing.

Mean on-chain transaction volumes have hit multimonth highs, according to data from analytics firm Glassnode.

BTC mean transaction volume. Source: Glassnode

Overall, more than three-quarters of the mined BTC supply is now in profit — the most in a year and arguably a clear incentive to take some of that profit off the table.

BTC % addresses in profit. Source: Glassnode

Analyzing market composition, Glassnode lead on-chain analyst Checkmate had some encouraging conclusions.

Long-term holders currently outnumber short-term holders or speculators significantly, with the 2022 bear market sparking a shakeout that has left the market more resilient to price fluctuations.

“Nobody except the hardcore HODLers remains, nobody knows we’re up 100% from the lows. They will probably only be back for real as we approach ATHs,” he predicted in part of a tweet this week.

Checkmate added that “Almost none of the folks who have been here for several months+, are spending right now.”

“They appear to require and demand higher prices before they sell. I certainly know do,” he wrote.

Crypto “greed” inches from November 2021 peak

Bitcoin may be far from its all-time high of $69,000, but one metric rapidly homing in on repeating the climate of November 2021 is the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Related: What is the Crypto Fear and Greed Index?

The return to $30,000 was marked by a rapid increase in “greed” throughout the crypto market, its data shows.

As of April 17, Fear & Greed scored 69/100, just 10% away from its 75/100 mark from when BTC/USD traded at its most recent peak.

Cointelegraph has often reported on the potentially overheated atmosphere within sentiment this year, and now nerves appear to be spreading.

“Now this isn’t a metric I swear by as it is lagging, but it gives a good indication of when to look to de-risk and be cautious,” popular trader Crypto Tony reasoned about the Index over the weekend.

“The last time we came up to the 75 region was back on November 7th 2021 when Bitcoin was trading at over $65,000. Food for thought.”

Crypto Fear & Greed Index (screenshot). Source: Alternative.me

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Montana ‘right to mine’ crypto bill passes the House

The legislation had already passed in the Senate in February and will now make it to the table of Governor Greg Gianforte.

The bill, seeking to enshrine crypto miners’ rights in the United States state of Montana, successfully passed the third reading in the state’s House of Representatives. Now, the only thing required to become law is the governor’s signature.

Bill number 178, prohibiting local authorities from obstructing the crypto mining operations, was passed during the third reading by 64 votes to 35 on April 12. The legislation had already passed through Senate voting in February. It will now make it to the desk of Governor Greg Gianforte. While Gianforte has a right to veto the bill, it’s unlikely he will do so, as he belongs to the Republican party, along with the bill’s sponsor, state Senator Daniel Zolnikov.

The legislation aims to establish a “digital asset mining right” and forbid any discriminatory electricity rates charged to cryptocurrency miners. Additionally, it seeks to safeguard mining operations that take place “at home” and remove the authority of local governments to utilize zoning laws to impede crypto-mining activities.

The bill also bars any extra taxes on using cryptocurrency as a means of payment. It categorizes “digital assets” comprising cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and nonfungible tokens as “personal property.“

Related: How Montana stands to benefit if its pro-crypto mining bill is approved

The amended bill draft contains one significant change compared with the original draft, with section three significantly shortened. The old version of section three occupied almost three full pages and included several articles unrelated to crypto mining. Now, section three outlines three specific areas limiting the power of the local authorities, including a restriction on imposing different requirements on mining centers from those on data centers. Additionally, authorities cannot prevent crypto mining in industrial areas and private homes.

In early April, a bill protecting crypto miners from discriminatory regulations and taxes passed through the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate, and now also awaits the governor’s decision.

Magazine: Inside the Iranian Bitcoin mining industry

Bill limiting incentives for crypto miners passes Texas Senate, moves to House

Senate Bill 1751 will next move to the Texas House of Representatives, which is scheduled to meet and discuss legislation on April 13.

Texas lawmakers in the state’s Senate have approved a bill aimed at largely removing incentives for crypto miners operating under the seemingly friendly regulatory environment.

In a 30-1 vote on the floor of the Texas State Senate on April 12, lawmakers in the 88th legislative session passed Senate Bill 1751, legislation that would amend sections of the state’s utilities and tax code to add restrictions for crypto mining firms. The Senate session marked the first time the bill had moved forward in the state government after more than a week, when the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce passed it on April 4.

The bill will next move to the Texas House of Representatives, which is scheduled to meet and discuss legislation on April 13 — though it’s unclear whether lawmakers intend to address SB 1751 at that time. If passed in the House, Texas Governor Greg Abbott — a self-described “crypto law proposal supporter” — will be able to sign the bill into law.

Senate Bill 1751 passing the Texas State Senate on April 12.

SB 1751 has garnered national attention from crypto advocacy groups, including the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Satoshi Action Fund. The organizations have called on Texas residents to voice their opposition to the bill through their local representatives but also plan to gather crypto mining supporters at a rally at the Texas State Capitol on April 25.

Under the proposed legislation, crypto mining firms participating in a program intended to compensate them for load reductions on Texas’ power grid would have their incentives capped at 10%. Certain companies operating data centers would also not receive an abatement on state taxes starting in September 2023.

“Elected officials only know how to use hammers — they don’t know how to be surgeons,” Fred Thiel, CEO of mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings, told Cointelegraph prior to the Senate vote. “They started whacking at crypto, and Bitcoin mining has gotten caught up in the whacking.”

Thiel added that should the bill pass in Texas, some mining firms, including Riot Platforms, that participate in the energy grid load reduction program would likely see reduced revenue. According to the Marathon Digital CEO, all miners operating in the state would be affected by the tax abatement policy, potentially leading to companies reconsidering Texas as a home — a move that could be interpreted as a part of anti-crypto sentiment at the federal level.

“What politicians are attempting to do now is push crypto and Bitcoin offshore, which is only going to mean that countries that the U.S. doesn’t want having control of this technology will gain control of it.”

Related: Texas lawmaker introduces resolution to protect Bitcoin miners and HODLers

Marathon Digital largely obtains power for its Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations in Texas through a wind farm, and other firms operating in the state include Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, White Rock Management and Argo Blockchain. Core Scientific filed for bankruptcy in December 2022 but continues to mine in Texas, while Argo announced at roughly the same time it planned to sell its Texas facility to Galaxy Digital.

Magazine: Crypto City: Guide to Austin

Core Scientific debtors petition bankruptcy court to approve new president

The debtors appointed Adam Sullivan, a managing director at investment banking firm XMS Capital Partners, to assume the role of president amid the firm’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The debtors behind bankrupt cryptocurrency mining firm Core Scientific filed a motion for the approval of hiring a permanent president.

In an April 10 filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Core Scientific said it was addressing “a gap in the Debtors’ management team” prior to the firm filing for bankruptcy in December. The debtors appointed Adam Sullivan, a managing director at investment banking firm XMS Capital Partners, to assume the role of president amid the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

“Mr. Sullivan is no stranger to the digital asset mining space and has extensive experience in the digital asset investment banking industry,” the filing said. “[He] will principally work on financial and strategic matters, including working with customer, supplier, and creditor relationships and assisting with the negotiation of a plan of reorganization in his capacity as a member of the management team.”

According to the debtors, Sullivan will receive a base salary of $500,000 as well as a guaranteed annual bonus of at least $500,000 in 2023 in his role as president. Soon-to-be former Core Scientific president Todd DuChene will stay on as the firm’s chief legal officer as well as assume the role of chief administrative officer.

Prior to its bankruptcy filing, Core Scientific reported it expected its “existing cash resources will be depleted by the end of 2022,” citing the low price of Bitcoin (BTC), increased electricity costs and litigation with crypto lender Celsius. The mining firm had hosted more than 37,000 rigs for Celsius and alleged in court filings that the crypto lender had failed to pay its power bills, contributing to its liquidity issues.

Related: Core Scientific to transfer $20M of equipment to settle bankruptcy dispute

Though moving through bankruptcy proceedings, the Texas firm continues to mine BTC despite disruptions to its supply of rigs. The bankruptcy court approved Core Scientific handing over more than 27,000 miners to the New York Digital Investment Group in February as part of a deal to pay off roughly $38 million in debt.

Magazine: Crypto winter can take a toll on hodlers’ mental health

Bitcoin mining firm Bitmain reportedly fined for tax violations in China

Bitmain has reportedly failed to pay personal income taxes in accordance with China’s laws on the administration of tax collection.

Beijing-based cryptocurrency mining firm Bitmain has reportedly violated tax regulations in China, with local authorities imposing major fines.

Bitmain Technologies has been slapped with a tax penalty from the Beijing Municipal Office of the State Administration of Taxation, the local news agency Sina Finance reported on April 11.

The authority fined Bitmain about 25 million Chinese yuan ($3.7 million), the report notes, citing details from China’s data registry of private and public companies, Qichacha.

According to the data, Bitmain was penalized on April 4, 2023, with the firm allegedly failing to pay personal income taxes in accordance with China’s laws on the administration of tax collection. The statement specifically referred to certain violations related to taxes on the income from Bitmain employees’ salaries, bonuses, labor dividends, allowances and more.

The tax authority also mentioned that tax inspectors delivered notice on certain tax violations to Bitmain in August 2022. So far, Bitmain’s Beijing unit has failed to pay personal income tax totaling 16.6 million yuan, or $2.4 million.

Founded in 2013, Bitmain is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining companies, widely known for manufacturing crypto mining-specific hardware and solutions. The company was reportedly forced to stop its business in China in October 2021 in response to a blanket ban on crypto imposed by the Chinese government in September 2021.

It’s unclear how the firm has been running its operations since. Bitmain did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Related: Bitcoin proponents respond to New York Times’ BTC mining report

Despite regulatory uncertainty and a major bear crypto market in 2022, Bitmain’s business has continued to see success. In December 2022, Bitmain’s latest Antminer device reportedly sold out in less than a minute despite tanking mining profitability.

In September 2022, Bitmain founder Jihan Wu set up a $250 million fund to support the mining industry affected by the prolonged cryptocurrency winter. After leaving Bitmain in 2021, Wu founded Bitdeer, a new crypto mining firm and a spin-off of Bitmain.

Magazine: Asia Express: US and China try to crush Binance, SBF’s $40M bribe claim

Texas’ gold-backed digital currency project: Law Decoded, April 3–10

While Ted Cruz and Ron DeSantis attack the idea of American CBDC, Texan lawmakers propose to create a statewide one.

The topic of central bank digital currencies is in the crossfire of United States politicians, with figures like Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz trying to prevent them from existing. But what about a statewide digital currency? The first of its kind, a gold-backed state-based digital currency project has appeared in Texas. 

On the same day, two Texan lawmakers introduced identical bills for creating a state-based digital currency backed by gold. Each unit of the digital currency would represent a particular fraction of a troy ounce of gold held in trust, according to the bills. Once a person purchases a certain amount of digital currency, the comptroller uses that money received to buy an equivalent amount of gold. Although neither of the bills has been passed or presented for a vote, both state that the act will take effect from Sept. 1, 2023.

Meanwhile, another bill has been passed by a senate committee in Texas. The bill would largely remove incentives for miners operating under the state’s regulatory environment. Under the bill, crypto firms participating in a program intended to compensate them for load reductions on Texas’ power grid would be capped for anticipated demand of “less than 10 percent of the total load required by all loads in the program.” Certain crypto mining companies would also not receive a reduction on state taxes for participation in the program starting in September 2023.

Regulators announce $10 million settlement with Robinhood ‘for failing investors’

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said that the company behind cryptocurrency and stock trading platform Robinhood will likely pay more than $10 million in penalties “for operational and technical failures that harmed main street investors.” The settlement resulted from an investigation by the North American Securities Administrators Association in conjunction with securities regulators from Alabama, Colorado, California, Delaware, New Jersey, South Dakota and Texas. The platform suffered a series of system outages in March 2020, causing users to miss out on trades while many of its services were unavailable.

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Coinbase supports new court action to remove Tornado Cash ban

The U.S. Department of the Treasury faces a renewed legal challenge aiming to overturn its decision to sanction the crypto mixer Tornado Cash. The challenge was filed by six individuals backed by the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. A motion for a partial summary judgment was filed on April 5 in a Texas district court, with the Coinbase-backed plaintiffs moving for the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) to settle the first two counts from its original complaint filed in September 2022. The counts claimed OFAC exceeded its statutory powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and violated the free speech clause of the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment.

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Bill protecting Bitcoin mining rights passes in Arkansas

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A bill seeking to regulate Bitcoin (BTC) mining activity in Arkansas has passed in the state’s Congress. It will now move to the governor’s office for approval. Under the legislation, crypto miners will enjoy the same rights as data centers. The bill outlines that Arkansas’ government should not “impose a different requirement for a digital asset mining business that is applicable to any requirement for a data center.” Arkansas’ move follows a similar initiative in the state of Montana, where the Senate passed a bill to protect crypto miners in late March. 

‘Don’t Mess with Texas Innovation’ — Advocates criticize bill removing crypto mining incentives

Lawmakers in a Texas Senate committee moved forward on Senate Bill 1751 on April 4, paving the way for a floor vote for the legislation some have labeled as against crypto miners.

Three crypto advocacy groups have launched a campaign in response to proposed legislation that would remove many incentives for miners operating in Texas.

In an April 10 announcement, the Texas Blockchain Council, Chamber of Digital Commerce, and Satoshi Action Fund called on Texas residents to reach out to lawmakers in opposition to the state’s Senate Bill 1751. The legislation, if passed, would amend sections of Texas’ utilities and tax code to add restrictions for crypto mining facilities.

The campaign, named “Don’t Mess With Texas Innovation” — a play on the state’s anti-littering slogan, which has been used by many lawmakers to describe government overreach — claimed many aspects of the mining bill were antithetical to free market principles. Currently, some crypto mining firms are allowed to participate in a program organized by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which compensates them for adjusting their load on the state’s power grid during periods of high demand.

“We need to send a strong message to policymakers that the people do not want protectionist policies that push innovation out of the market,” said Chamber of Digital Commerce founder and CEO Perianne Boring. “At a time when folks here are concerned with the economy, jobs, and a reliable energy grid headed into summer, this bill is the wrong proposal at the wrong time.”

Operations concerning Texas’ power grid have been under increased scrutiny from federal and state lawmakers and regulators since a massive winter storm in February 2021 left millions of residents without power — as well as running water — for days. Such conditions have also contributed to damage to certain miners due to burst water pipes.

Many experts said that it was unlikely crypto firms contributed to the energy crisis in Texas in 2021 due to them temporarily shutting down or scaling back operations as part of the ERCOT program. Some lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have probed ERCOT on the energy usage and potential environmental impact of crypto mining companies.

“Bitcoin mining companies were able to curtail 50,000 megawatt hours of electricity in July 2022 alone to respond to record heat and energy demand, ensuring that Texans could continue to cool their homes,” said the campaign. “No other industry can perform the same service as efficiently or effectively.”

Related: Texas lawmakers propose a gold-backed state digital currency

According to the three crypto advocacy groups, more than 22,000 people in Texas are employed by Bitcoin (BTC) miners. Some of the largest companies include Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, White Rock Management and Argo Blockchain — though Argo announced in December that it would be selling its Texas facility to Galaxy Digital.

Magazine: Crypto City: Guide to Austin