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Happy Friday!
Everyone with an X handle is now an expert on the Iran War, including yours truly.
We’re being cheeky, of course, but that won’t stop us from trying our best to explain what the conflict means for bitcoin miner. So for today’s letter, we put on our macro hats and break out the tarot cards to read into how spillover effects from the war could affect regional power prices and shipping costs for bitcoin miners.
Plus, a new report we've covered gives scorecards for the best and worst places to mine bitcoin, a new L2 is getting serious with its latest Tether-led fundraise, and more!
(P.S. we are only 4 weeks away from OPNEXT at the NY Times Center in New York, New York! Use code PODCAST for 20% off a ticket to OPNEXT NYC).
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What the Iran War means for bitcoin miners
We’re two weeks into Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israel operation in Iran that has left energy markets reeling.
The war – which identifies as a “military operation,” according to U.S. officials – has resulted in Iranian officials closing the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf’s primary shipping artery that brings 25% of the world’s oil to market. Oil prices have gone parabolic accordingly. WTI Crude is currently trading at $95/barrel, Brent Crude, $105/barrel, with each respectively up 57% and 53% over the last month.
This isn’t a politics/macro/finance newsletter, so we’ll spare you the doomer posting. But every professional and every industry in the world right now is probably turning over the same rhetorical question in their heads: “How will this impact my industry?”
For bitcoin miners, parts of this answer are more obvious than others.
Let’s start with the less obvious.
The best places to mine BTC: Introducing the Bitcoin Mining Ease to Mine Index (EMI)
At first glance, you might think that bitcoin miners would gravitate toward regions with the lowest cost of power. The real equation, though, is more complicated than that.
The Ease to Mine Index is the most comprehensive research of country level attractiveness for deploying and scaling bitcoin mining operations. The index captures a holistic view of the bitcoin mining regulatory environment and operating conditions across 18 countries.
Download the full report to see where each country falls!
In the News
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Ark Labs closes $5.2M seed round led by Tether to build programmable finance on Bitcoin
Ark Labs has raised $5.2 million in a seed round led by Tether to build programmable finance tools on the Bitcoin network. - link
Bitcoin crosses 20 million BTC milestone, leaving 1 million coins left to mine
Bitcoin crossed the 20 million circulating supply threshold early Tuesday morning, leaving fewer than one million coins remaining to be mined. - link
Foundry to launch compliant Zcash mining pool for institutional miners
Bitcoin mining pool operator Foundry Digital plans to launch an institutional-grade Zcash mining pool this April. - link
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao net worth surpasses Bill Gates: Forbes
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao surpassed Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates in total net worth as of Wednesday. Forbes estimates Zhao holds $110 billion to Bill Gates’ $108 billion, marking a $47 billion wealth increase over the past year. - link
Strive raises SATA stock dividend, acquires $50M of Strategy’s STRC
Strive announced Wednesday a 0.25% increase to its preferred stock dividend alongside purchases of Strategy’s STRC preferred stock and bitcoin. - link
Strategy buys $1.28 billion in bitcoin, holdings hit 738,731 BTC
Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) acquired 17,994 bitcoin at an average price of $70,946 per coin last week, bringing its total holdings to 738,731 bitcoin as of Sunday. - link
Greenidge Generation restructures debt with new senior notes
Greenidge Generation announced an exchange offer on Wednesday to swap $36.6 million of its outstanding senior notes for new debt, offering an early exchange premium of 45% over the recent volume-weighted average price. - link
Blockspace Podcasts
On the latest Blockspace Podcast, Nazar Khan, CTO of TeraWulf, joins us to talk about the company's expansion into AI and HPC. We dive deep into their new sites in Kentucky and Maryland, the strategy behind repurposing brownfield industrial infrastructure, and why battery storage is the key to grid reliability. Nazar explains the transition from bitcoin mining to AI loads and how TeraWulf plans for its bitcoin mining fleet amid the AI expansion.
Liang Wang, VP of Canaan, joins us to talk about how Canaan is approaching the changing tides in bitcoin mining as peers pivot to AI. We dive into their recent acquisition of Texas mining sites from Cipher Mining, their 60.9% year-over-year sales growth for their Avalon ASIC miner series, and the economics of mining in the current market. Liang also shares insights into China's regulatory landscape, the potential of stranded energy in North America, and how AI is impacting ASIC miner market dynamics.
The name Hormuz (also spelled Ormuz) is derived from a historic city and island that was once one of the most important trading ports in the world, located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The city's own nominal origin is debated, but the most widely cited explanation is that it derives from "Hur Mogh" or a variation thereof in Old Persian, with some scholars connecting it to the Persian word for dates or to a local deity. Another theory links it to the name of a local ruler.
-CMH