Hashr8 Podcast

PortlandHODL explains Bitcoin's most dangerous vulnerability: poison blocks. These malicious blocks can freeze nodes for 11+ hours on Raspberry Pi devices and 25 minutes on enterprise hardware, creating profitable attack opportunities for miners while exposing how relay policy acts as an accidental guardian of the network. Follow our guests: @PortlandHODL Notes: • Poison Blocks (denial of service) • Raspberry Pi validation: 11 hours for poison blocks • Enterprise hardware: 25 minutes validation time   • Attack gives 20% effective hash rate boost • Fix exists in Great Consensus Cleanup • Bitcoin fees currently under $1 Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:53 Real threats to Bitcoin 04:55 How is block made? 11:46 Nodes & DOS blocks 20:03 Making DOS blocks 29:33 Arch Network 30:05 Miners & DOS blocks 36:46 Attack response time 40:47 Fixing the problem 43:25 Why not fixed yet? 54:12 Client diversity 1:01:11 Other good soft forks 1:05:12 Are you worried? 1:10:03 "Deep Thoughts" by Portland HODL -

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Colin and Will are recording from the Las Vegas Bitcoin Conference. They drop in on topics like Bitmain's new Antminer S23 series achieving sub-10 joules per terahash efficiency, Swan's paused lawsuit against former mining employees and contractors, Pakistan's ambitious 2GW allocation announcement, the Trump administration tariff legal battles, and the legendary Skull of Satoshi donation drama. Plus, an update on Cango! Subscribe to our newsletter! **Notes:** • Bitcoin price: $105K, Network Hashrate: 917 EH/s per @luxor • Antminer S23: First sub-10 J/TH efficiency @bitmain • Pakistan allocates 2GW for mining • @Swanbitcoin lawsuit paused by federal judge • Conference grew from 2K to 35K attendees @thebitcoinconference Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:23 Difficulty Report by @hashrateindex 04:15 Bitmain new models 07:44 Swan court case 12:04 Pakistan mining 13:59 @FractalBitcoin 14:34 Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs 18:38 Cry Corner: The Skull & Ripple 22:07 Cango

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Nazar Khan, co-founder of TeraWulf, joins us to talk about the company's move into AI data centers. We talk about the Core42 partnership, breakout costs to build a facility, and their 750MW Lake Mariner site development plans. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:18 Introduction 04:04 Talen & Amazon 09:44 Core 42 12:28 Lake Mariner site 17:04 Memphis XAI site build 18:49 Ordering hardware 24:27 Fractal Bitcoin 25:02 Anchor tenant search 31:59 Build cost 36:46 Water use 38:32 Core 42 details 46:03 BTC mining skepticism 47:29 Managing mining & HPC 53:34 Hiring 55:38 2 technology stacks 57:54 Supply chains 1:01:11 Buildout complications 1:08:26 Core team longevity 1:13:35 Orangpilling Beowulf 1:18:42 UAE

Charlie and Colin reveal the shocking truth about Bitcoin Pizza Day that mainstream media got wrong. Laszlo didn't just spend 10,000 Bitcoin on pizza - he spent nearly 80,000 Bitcoin throughout 2010! We dive deep into how his GPU mining discovery revolutionized Bitcoin, why Satoshi sent him a concerned email, and how this "penance" may have actually saved Bitcoin's decentralization in its early days. **Notes:** • Laszlo spent ~80,000 Bitcoin total on pizza in 2010 • GPU mining was 10x more powerful than CPU mining • Bitcoin hash rate increased 130,000% by end of 2010 • Laszlo had 1-1.5% of entire Bitcoin supply 2009-2010 • His wallet peaked at 43,854 Bitcoin • Total wallet flows were 81,432 Bitcoin Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:28 Lies, damn lies.. and pizza 02:21 What actually happened 05:46 It's actually WAY MORE than you think 11:15 Arch Network 11:47 Laslo "saved" Bitcoin 19:12 Pizza or penance? -

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 16,000 Bitcoiners Check out our free report on forecasting Bitcoin's hashrate! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Bitcoin is ripping and just set an all-time high of $112,000. Bitcoin mining stocks are rallying hard in return, and we cover the winners (and laggards) at the top of the show. Plus, company updates on Cango's 18 EH/s expansion and Cipher's $150M convertible note, how Texas is on the cusp of establishing a bitcoin strategic reserve, and Parasite Pool's novel "plebs eat first" payout model. # Notes: • Bitcoin reaches all-time high above $111,000 • Hash price sits at $58/PH/day • Cango exercises 18 EH/s purchase option • Cipher Mining raises $150M convertible note • Network hashrate at 880 EH/s currently Timestamps: 00:00:00:00 Start 00:01:55:11 Hashprice forecast with Luxor 00:04:38:24 Mining Stocks Rip upwards 00:10:39:09 Fractal Bitcoin 00:11:14:07 Cango & Antalpha sale 00:16:55:06 Cipher growing fleet 00:22:56:27 Texas passes first part of SBR 00:26:31:17 New Pleb mining pool

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 16,000 Bitcoiners Check out our free report on forecasting Bitcoin's hashrate! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Scot Johnson from Digital Shovel joins us from Toronto during Consensus 2025. Digital Shovel manufactures Bitcoin mining containers and electrical infrastructure in Canada. He discusses the impact of Trump's 10% tariffs on bitcoin mining infrastructure, Digital Shovel's plans to open US assembly operations, the company's upcoming gen 3 container design, and their new Blue Ax home miner. # Notes: - Digital Shovel makes vertically integrated mining containers - 10% tariff from US to Canada affecting business - Electrical infrastructure was majority of 2023 sales - Blue Ax home miner launching at $99 - 7.2 TH/s pro version coming July 1st - Newfoundland has 1.9¢/kWh Canadian power Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:14 What is Digital Shovel? 02:42 General compute infrastructure 03:52 Competing with bigger manufacturers 05:23 AI hardware 06:12 Made in North America 07:51 Adapting to tariffs 08:46 Modular vs permanent buildings 09:50 Example of AI & minings build 12:42 Who's buying? 14:36 Texas market 16:10 New Canadian government 17:28 Tariffs are taxes on business 19:38 Container design changes 21:12 Air vs liquid cooling 21:31 New chip cooling designs 23:33 BluAX 27:27 Canadian facts

Seth for Privacy, VP at Cake Wallet, joins us to discuss the ongoing Samurai Wallet legal case and its implications for Bitcoin privacy. Seth explains how the DOJ's prosecution of Samurai developers threatens the entire crypto privacy landscape, despite FinCEN's admission that self-custodial wallets shouldn't be regulated as money services. He breaks down Bitcoin's current privacy limitations, highlighting promising technologies like Silent Payments and Payjoin V2, while candidly addressing why Monero offers superior privacy by design. Are we re-living through the same cryptography battle we fought in the 90s? Follow our guests: @Sethforprivacy Notes: - Samurai indicted April 24, 2024, despite self-custody - 98% conviction rate in Southern District of NY - DOJ hid key FinCEN evidence from defense - Silent Payments gives one reusable static address - Payjoin V2 coming to Cake Wallet this week - Bitcoin privacy tools fighting transparent design Timestamps 00:00 Start 01:04 Samurai wallet legal case 06:30 Jurisdiction & charges 11:59 How significant is this case? 16:28 Arch Network 17:00 Current privacy on BTC 19:47 Silent payments 21:54 Payjoin V2 24:43 Privacy tech limits of BTC 27:42 Privacy soft forks 32:51 Future of oh-chain privacy 37:31 OP_RETURN debate -

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 16,000 Bitcoiners. Check out our free report on forecasting Bitcoin's hashrate. Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Recording live from Consensus in Toronto, Colin and Will break down American Bitcoin's aspirations to go public via merger with Gryphon Digital. Plus, IREN's $100M tariff spat with U.S. officials, Bitdeer's deployment of SEALMINERs in April., and CleanSpark's bitcoin-option strategy for its latest Bitmain purchase. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com # Notes: - Hash rate down to 867 exahashes/second - 2.6% difficulty adjustment expected - Hash price rebounded to $55/PH/day - American Bitcoin merger to go public - IREN facing $100M potential tariff cost - CleanSpark ASIC miner bitcoin option

Check out ⁠our free report on forecasting Bitcoin's hashrate! FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 16,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome to The Mining Pod! Today, Will and Colin dissect Galaxy's report on the crypto lending market. The crypto lending sector crashed 80% after peaking at $64.4 billion in Q4 2021 following failures at Genesis, BlockFi, and Celsius which fissured the lending landscape during bitcoin's 2022 bear market. Since then, DeFi lending has surged 959% to $19.1 billion and has now overtaken centralized lending. Plus, Tether emerged from the bear market as the dominant player in centralized lending, why ASIC-backed loans haven't recovered from 2021's go-go days, and why bitcoin miners will increasingly leverage their HODL to access financing. # Notes: - Crypto lending market: $36.5B in Q4 2024 - DeFi lending grew 959% since Q4 2022 - Tether controls ~70% of centralized lending - ASIC-backed loans collapsed in 2022 - Large miners beginning Bitcoin lending operations - Interest rates lower in DeFi vs. OTC markets 00:00 Start 03:34 Why does lending matter? 05:56 Lender types 07:02 DeFi loan market 08:30 Lending market growth 24:47 Future of the lending market 25:41 Lava 27:02 AAVE 28:22 Interest rates 31:54 Predictions: Miners using BTC as collateral 33:22 Predictions: Rates converging with tradfi 35:10 Predictions: Retail lending products

What started as a technical proposal has exploded into community division, with accusations of "destroying Bitcoin" flying around. The hosts break down what OP_RETURN is, why some devs want to increase its size limit, and why others view it as enabling "spam" on the blockchain. At its core, this fight reveals deeper tensions about who controls Bitcoin's future and what the network should be used for. Notes: - OP_RETURN limit currently set at 83 bytes - Proposal would increase limit to ~1 megabyte - 30-45% of Bitcoin transactions are "non-financial" - Bitcoin Knots node usage has grown to 7-8% - Out-of-band transactions bypass node relay - Core devs facing diminished community trust Timestamps: 00:00:00:00 Start 00:00:36:16 Why's everyone so mad? 00:02:04:14 Claim your bias 00:04:00:03 The backstory 00:08:27:09 Changing the OP_RETRUN limit 00:11:24:06 Post to relax the limit 00:15:39:23 Out of Band payment 00:17:39:06 Standard vs valid consensus 00:19:52:29 What is spam? 00:28:41:05 Arch Network 00:29:13:14 Cons of increasing the limit 00:32:34:25 That's too "woke" bro! 00:35:56:27 Knots -

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 16,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Bitcoin's back above $100k and hashrate is rebounding above 900 EH/s with it. In this week's news roundup, Kelly Greer from Crucible Capital joins to explain trends in the GPU financing and hosting markets – and what ASIC market cycles can tell us about where they might be going. We also cover Alpha's IPO valuation, the Digital Energy Council's push against tariffs on ASIC miners, and how Bitfarms is joining other miners in halting hash expansion to focus on HPC and AI infrastructure builds. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com # Notes: - Network hash rate rebounding to ~900 exahashes - GPU rental prices down to $1.45-2.10 per hour - Alpha IPO valued at $250-300 million - Tariffs on ASICs could reach 24-36% - BitFarms halting hash expansion for HPC/AI focus - Trump admin signals support but tariffs persist Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:33 Difficulty Report Presented By Luxor 04:42 GPU rental, financing landscape is shifting 18:00 Antalpha valuation 23:55 ASIC tariff exclusion 29:00 Bitfarms pauses mining to focus on AI

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 15,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Masih Alavi, CEO of ViraMiner, joins us to discuss an overlooked mecca for bitcoin mining: Iran. He estimates that miners in the country operate with just 5 MW of legal, while 2 GW of mining activity hums away in the shadows of basements, offices, and even jewelry stores. Plus, Alavi discusses how Iranian citizens use outdated mining equipment to evade sanctions, convert crypto to USD, and survive capital controls from within and sanctions from without. Alavi explains why the government's hardline stance and tax code pushes miners underground and the ingenious methods Iranians use to hide their operations from authorities. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com # Notes: - Only 5MW legal mining vs. 2GW illegal in Iran - Outdated S9 miners still profitable in Iran - Illegal miners caught by authorities - High tariffs push miners to operate illegally - 18 million Iranians own crypto assets - Iran Bitcoin hashrate dropped 10-15% during protests Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:47 Mashi background 07:03 Mining ETH 07:37 ViraMiners 08:11 BTC mining in Iran 10:09 Illegal mining operations 13:33 Mining with older hardware 14:14 Electrical tariffs 17:49 Industrial scale mining 21:16 Exchanges or under the table 30:21 Obtaining hardware 32:41 Legal routes for hardware? 38:52 IP logging with pools 42:41 Hashrate waiting to come online

Arizona has taken the lead in the race to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, with two bills passing through the legislature and now awaiting the governor's signature. These bills would allow the state to hold and buy Bitcoin and other digital assets with up to 10% allocation. The hosts dissect the different approaches states are taking, from Texas's expert advisory committee structure to New Hampshire and North Carolina's advancing legislation. With 40 strategic Bitcoin reserve bills filed across the US, and states navigating custody options, yield strategies, and political roadblocks, the Bitcoin state race is heating up! Notes: - Arizona passed two SBR bills awaiting governor's signature - 40 SBR bills filed across US states, 6 are dead - Texas bill allows up to 1% of general fund for Bitcoin - Arizona bills allow up to 10% allocation to Bitcoin - $500B minimum market cap requirement in Texas bill - Oklahoma bill failed in committee by one vote (6-5) Follow our guests: @cbspears @asilayhodling @btcszn2 Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:32 Arizona SBR vote 08:42 State custody 11:50 Arch Network 12:22 Not your keys, not your strategic reserve 15:28 Other states drafting Bitcoin laws 16:51 Texas bill 20:31 Market cap provisions 25:31 Alabama 27:19 Fails: Oklahoma 32:08 Fails: Pennsylvania -

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 15,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome to The Mining Pod News Roundup! The gang breaks down Tether's latest foray into the bitcoin mining sector as it seeks a $25M stake in AntAlpha, Galaxy's CoreWeave deal expanding to a total of 393MW, and the dramatic impact of the 2024 halving one year later. Plus, they dive into Cambridge's latest report showing Bitcoin uses 0.5% of total global electricity, and for this week's cry corner: the contentious proposal to abolish the OP_RETURN data limit. # Notes: - Bitcoin price approaching $97,000 - 100 EH/s hash rate disappeared recently - 40% difficulty increase post-halving - Tether eyeing $25M stake in Ant Alpha IPO - Galaxy secured additional 260MW from Helios - Bitcoin uses 0.5% of total global electricity Timestamps: 00:00 Start 07:51 Tether Antalpha stake 12:21 Galaxy + CoreWeave + AI 20:01 1-year after the halving 29:35 Cambridge Report: Miners Turn to Renewables 35:47 Cry corner: OP_RETURN wars

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 15,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome to The Mining Pod! Today, Christian Lopez, Head of Digital Assets at Cohen and Company Capital Markets, joins us to break down Bitcoin mining's ever-shifting capital market landscape. Lopez explains why there's currently a glut of mining sites on the market, why private miners struggle to secure funding, and why the HPC/AI retrofit narrative is more complex than it seems. We also discuss how potential tariffs might affect mining operations, why Bitcoin mining stocks are correlating differently with Bitcoin than in previous cycles, and the evolving relationship between Bitcoin miners and institutional investors. - 1.5GW of mining sites currently for sale - Private miners face nearly impossible fundraising - Site retrofits for HPC require total rebuilds - Hash rate correlation with BTC price declining - Tariffs may increase CapEx by 10-30% - Hyperscalers want 150MW+ sites near major cities Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:47 Current market for miners 04:22 M&A landscape 11:42 Fractal 12:04 AI & HPC hype 14:27 Raising capital right now 17:59 Is retrofitting real? 21:36 Tariffs 26:16 Is capital chasing AI instead of mining?

We jump on the podcast to discuss Spain's and Portugal's historic blackout event, with over 10 GW of missing energy on the Iberia Peninsula. FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE: https://forms.gle/DFpR9MyhWo1NQ8T39 Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! Apple https://apple.co/3fNfrdi Spotify https://tinyurl.com/3cmz3jkc Anchor https://tinyurl.com/yckv8t7p RSS https://bit.ly/3chpULV Newsletter https://miningpod.blockspace.media/

We jump on the podcast to discuss Spain's and Portugal's historic blackout event, with over 10 GW of missing energy on the Iberia Peninsula. FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE: https://forms.gle/DFpR9MyhWo1NQ8T39 Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! Apple https://apple.co/3fNfrdi Spotify https://tinyurl.com/3cmz3jkc Anchor https://tinyurl.com/yckv8t7p RSS https://bit.ly/3chpULV Newsletter https://miningpod.blockspace.media/

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome to The Mining Pod! In this episode, the team discusses recent Bitcoin mining trends including a projected 8% difficulty decrease, fee revenue rebounding to 3.3% of block rewards, and major loans from Coinbase and Matrixport to miners amid ATM market hesitancy. They analyze the curious case of $2.7M in stolen Bitcoin miners (many outdated S9s) intercepted at LAX, customs control gaming allegations, and tariff implications for ASIC importation. The highlight is a lively debate on the top 5 moments in Bitcoin mining history, with strong disagreements about whether mining pools deserve a spot! Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com # Notes: • Bitcoin hash rate down ~100 EH/s from April peak • Transaction fees rebounding to 3.3% of block rewards • $2.7M in stolen ASIC miners intercepted at LAX • AnAlpha IPO filing with 1.63B in outstanding loans • ASIC miners classified under tariff code 8543 • AnAlpha's US customer base dropped from 25% to 6.9% Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:13 Luxor Difficulty Report 06:21 LAPD Finds Millions in Stolen S9s 08:37 Sneaking ASICs into the US? 12:19 Tariffs again.... 15:35 Fractal Bitcoin 16:11 Top 5 Bitcoin Mining Moments in History 31:26 Antalpha's IPO Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FILL OUT THE MINING POD SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Valentin Rousseau (a.k.a as Muad Dib on X), a bitcoin mining researcher who's worked with Hash Labs and the University of Cambridge, joins us to discuss his Blockspace report on hashrate forecasting for 2025, 2026, and 2027. Valentin breaks down his methodology for predicting Bitcoin's hashrate trajectory, analyzes hashrate deployment schedules for public miners, unpacks how tariffs could slow U.S. hashrate growth – and thus the Bitcoin network's growth as well, and answers the question: will we still see 1 zetahash in 2025?  You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 12,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com # Notes: - Projected ~1000 EH/s by end of 2025 - Forecast: 1700 EH/s by end of 2027 - Public miners = 37% of global hashrate - US tariffs reduced 2025 forecast by 60 EH/s - Private miners leading international expansion - ASIC prices flattened since 2022 crash Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:27 2025 Mining Outlook 06:28 Public miner success rate 08:30 2026 & 2027 Outlook 11:27 Hashrate prediction 2027 13:59 Accounting for tariffs 16:14 US domestic vs International 17:10 Private vs public hashrate 20:06 Machine purchases 24:34 Greenfield vs Brownfield sites 29:34 Map of US hashrate 31:54 Hashrate averages 35:57 Wrap up 49:29 Vibe shift

FILL OUT OUR SURVEY BY CLICKING HERE Who's the top Bitcoin miner? We rank them in this week's news roundup. Plus Auradine raises a ton of money to bring Bitcoin mining manufacturing stateside.  Welcome to The Mining Pod! In this episode, the gang breaks down the latest in Bitcoin mining with their weekly hash price update, showing prices hovering around $45 per petahash day with an expected 2.5% difficulty increase. We then flex to"Bitcoin Mining Mountain" - a spicy tier ranking of top mining companies based purely on vibes. The crew also discusses Auradine raising $153 million in Series C funding to expand ASIC manufacturing, dives into Luxor's derivatives market for hash rate futures, and concludes with Coinbase's alleged front-running controversy with their "Base is for Everyone" token launch. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com # Notes: - Hash price currently at $45 per petahash per day - Expected 2.5% difficulty adjustment on April 19 - Ordean raises $153M in Series C funding - Bit Deer ranked S-tier due to Tether investment - Luxor did $65M in notional volume in Q1 - Hash rate growth projected to slow in 2025 Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:08 Difficulty Report by Luxor 04:24 Ranking Miners 26:27 Auradine raises $153 million 32:42 Luxor Market Update 44:12 Cry corner - Coinbase rugs ‘Base' users Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday!

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 12,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Didar Bekbau, CEO of Xive, joins us to analyze Kazakhstan's Bitcoin mining industry. Following China's 2021 mining ban, Kazakhstan briefly captured 15-18% of global hashrate, making it the second largest mining hub in the world, before government restrictions devastated the sector. Didar explains how aging Soviet-era infrastructure couldn't handle the surge, triggering a power price tax hike that drove miners to Russia and the US. He also explores whether Kazakhstan's energy-rich landscape might someday welcome miners back with proper planning and infrastructure investment. # Notes: - Kazakhstan peaked at 18% of global hash rate (2021) - Mining capacity dropped from 1600MW to ~200-400MW - Electricity tax reached $0.05-0.06 per kWh - Russia became primary destination for fleeing miners - Many miners relocated equipment to US and Russia - Grid infrastructure dated from 1960s-1980s Soviet era Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:02 Current Kazakhstan mining overview 04:19 Scope of hashrate 06:14 Why declining hashrate? 08:49 Tax structure 11:58 Reverting the tax structure 13:42 Effects of China mining ban 14:51 Where power generators mining? 17:14 Supply & demand imbalance 21:05 Future for mining in Kazakhstan? 23:59 GDM owning generation 25:07 Russia mining 27:34 Off grid mining in Kazakhstan 29:55 Ukraine war and natural gas 31:52 GDA, grid demand & government 33:12 Kazakhstan mining outlook

This is a cross-post of our latest Writer's Room for Bitcoin Season 2, a weekly back-and-forth between Blockspace's Charlie Spears and Colin Harper on hot news items and Bitcoin esoterica. You can find prior episodes on the Bitcoin Season 2 YouTube. You're listening to Bitcoin Season 2. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 12,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com How do previous Bitcoin crashes compare to this week's Tariff Troubles? Colin and Charlie analyze Bitcoin's recent 30% drop from $109K to $76K in context of previous market crashes. We compare the COVID crash of 2020, the Terra/Luna collapse of 2022, and the FTX insolvency in November that same year. We cover how market sentiment in each crash despite similar percentage drops, explore how exogenous and endogenous factors affected declines and recoveries – plus, why the current drawdown, mired in macro turmoil, most resembles the March 2020 COVID crash. Follow our guests: @cbspears @asilayhodling @btcszn2 Notes: - Bitcoin down 30% from $109K to $76K - Markets recovered 9.5% in one day - Terra/Luna crash: 35% drop in one week - FTX collapse: only 30% drop but worst sentiment - US fiscal deficit at $36.7 trillion debt - BitMEX "outage" may have saved 2020 crash Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:46 Bitcoin crashes, “don't buy it” 06:25 Macro lookback 14:00 Covid crash (march 2020) 23:18 Terra Luna crash (may 2022) 32:16 FTX Crash 38:43 Stay humble, stack sats Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 10,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome to The Mining Pod! Will and Colin break down the harsh reality of bitcoin's hashprice hovering around $40, putting many miners at or underwater. The hashprice woes couldn't come at a worse time, as the Trump administration's tariffs are poised to increase CAPEX costs for miners in the U.S. The Trump tariff chaos sent miners scrambling to charter multi-million dollar flights for ASIC imports in the eves before the administration effected a 90-day pause on its proposed policy. We also discuss Pakistan's plans to use Bitcoin mining for surplus electricity. And for this week's cry corner, if you wanted to vastly outperform the market year to date, you should have invested in this ETF that is short ETH.  # Notes: - Hash price down to around $40 - Most public miners at break-even or underwater on direct costs - Trump paused tariffs for 90 days, China still at 125% - $2.33B of mining hardware imported to US in 2024 - Pakistan turning to Bitcoin mining for surplus power - 2x inverse ETH ETFs up 247%, best ETFs of 2025 Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:20 Difficulty Report 06:40 Tariff deadline scramble 15:35 Mining stocks 21:27 Pakistan BTC mining 28:39 Cry Corner: Is ETH ded?

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 10,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Matt Prusak, CEO of American Bitcoin, joins us to discuss the strategic partnership between HUT 8 and the Trump family for its latest subsidiary, American Bitcoin. Hut 8 is reallocating nearly all of its self-mining assets (10 EH/s) to American Bitcoin and taking an 80% stake in the company. Prusak explains why Hut 8 has taken this approach to focus self-mining efforts with American Bitcoin while the parent company focuses on energy, infrastructure, and AI. Plus, he touches on American Bitcoin's ambitious plans to reach 50 EH/s and the company's plans to go public. # Notes: - HUT 8 allocated mining assets for 80% stake - Starting with 10 EH/s, targeting 50 EH/s - American Bitcoin will build own Bitcoin treasury - Emphasizes "America First" Bitcoin ethos - Plans to go public in the future - Targeting sub-15 joules per terahash efficiency Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:45 Starting American Bitcoin 02:49 Business structure 03:43 What does Hut 8 gain? 04:52 AI & HPC pivot 06:19 New pools of capital? 07:32 New facilities? 08:21 Hut 8 & Bitmain deal 09:27 Roadmap 10:19 Power generation 12:00 Favoring domestic hardware? 13:28 Dividing responsibilities 14:41 Separate treasuries? 14:52 Financials & IPO 16:29 Two public companies 18:58 Fundraising 21:41 Balancesheets 22:58 Hut 8 expenses 26:36 Vibe shift

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 10,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! In this emergency market update, we analyze the brutal day for Bitcoin and mining stocks amid wider tariff-induced market terror. Bitcoin is below $80,000 and bitcoin mining stocks are bleeding. We examine the YTD declines for mining equities, how tariffs could impact miner CAPEX costs by 10-30%, and how the tariffs invite potential mining M&A consolidation. # Notes: - Bitcoin dipped below $80K, rebounded to high $70Ks - Mining stocks down 50%+ YTD across the board - 34% tariffs announced on Chinese goods - Hash price compressed to around $40 - Marathon has ~50,000 Bitcoin on balance sheet - Asics/infrastructure costs rising 10-30% with tariffs Timestamps: 00:00  Start 01:59 China responds to tariffs 04:00 Crypto outflows 11:14 Miners stocks bleeding out

BITCOIN SEASON 2: Inside Bitcoin's Darknet Markets Sub-title (150 characters or so) We're exploring darknet markets, from their history with the Silk Road to how they function today. Bitcoin vs. Monero usage, exit scams, and why these markets look like they're stuck in 2004 despite handling billions in transactions. Body (300 characters or so) You're listening to Bitcoin Season 2. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 7,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Colin and Charlie dive into the seedy underbelly of cryptocurrency—darknet markets. From the early days of the Farmers Market to the infamous Silk Road and beyond, they explore how these marketplaces function, why they initially struggled without Bitcoin, and the recent shift from Monero back to Bitcoin following exchange delistings. With $2 billion in annual volume yet surprisingly flat growth, they examine the robust review systems, exit scams, and why these sites stubbornly maintain their 2004-era aesthetics. Disclaimer: This episode discusses drugs and illegal activities for informational purposes only. Follow our guests: @cbspears @asilayhodling @btcszn2 Notes: - Darknet markets processed ~$2-3.5B annually - Farmers Market (2006) had only 3,000 users - Silk Road processed $182M from 100,000 users - Market volume remained flat despite crypto growth - Monero losing popularity after exchange delistings - Kraken darknet market: ~$800M volume in 2024 Check out our Bitcoin scaling conference! Visit opnext.dev to learn more. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:50 Chainalysis Darknet Market Report 05:15 Farmer's Market 14:27 After Silk Road 16:11 Arch 16:42 Rise of Monero 23:38 Quality control 29:24 Exit scams -

Welcome to The Mining Pod's news roundup! Colin Harper and Matt Kimmel are joined by special guest Ethan Vera, the COO of Luxor, to discuss one of the most electric weeks for bitcoin mining news this year. They break down Hut8's new Trump-affiliated subsidiary American Bitcoin, Galaxy Digital's 15-year, $4.5 billion hosting agreement with CoreWeave, and how the Trump administration's blanket tariffs are bad news for miners and could lead to a 20-30% rise in ASIC miner prices. Plus, they cover Cango's proposal to sell its auto-finance business to a Bitmain-linked entity for $352 million, and for this week's cry corner, why Jack Dorsey thinks Lightning just isn't cutting it. # Notes: - Hash price at pre-election lows of $40/PH/s/day - Hut 8'sTrump-backed American Bitcoin - Galaxy-CoreWeave deal worth $4.5B over 15 years - New tariffs that will impact miners: 36% Thailand, 32% Indonesia, 24% Malaysia -Cango proposes to sell its autofi business for $352 million - Jack Dorsey: "We can do better than Lightning" Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:50 Difficulty Report 04:58 Trumps enter BTC mining 11:14 Galaxy CoreWeave deal 16:14 Tariffs are taxes 25:14 Cango Exits Auto Business 30:40 Cry Corner-LN a failure?

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 10,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Sam Callahan joins us to discuss his viral research on institutional Bitcoin ETF holders. Sam manually analyzed 1,573 public filings to uncover who's buying Bitcoin ETFs – and how much they are buying. Callahan explains how each fund's approach differs, how sovereign wealth funds are quietly accumulating, and why these inflows prove that bitcoin has crossed the rubicon into new financial territory. Plus, why pension funds, endowments, and financial advisors are the critical gateway for mainstream bitcoin adoption. # Notes: - Median Bitcoin ETF allocation is just 0.13% - 1,573 institutions with Bitcoin ETF exposure - Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund has $473M Bitcoin position - BlackRock recommends 1-2% Bitcoin allocation - Only 19% of 13F filings had Bitcoin exposure - Top fund positions range from 5-16% allocation Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:25 Data collection 06:14 Surprises 09:17 Other commodity holdings 11:30 Riding the ETF wave? 24:24 Interesting BTC holders 29:20 Other potential holders 43:15 Tracking going forward 46:22 Mining stock still considered leveraged BTC?

We dive into GameStop's surprising announcement to raise $1.3 billion in convertible notes, potentially to buy Bitcoin. The hosts explore how this connects to the 2021 meme stock saga that gave GameStop its massive cash position, Ryan Cohen's relationship with Michael Saylor, and whether this Bitcoin strategy is a life raft for a retail gaming business in decline. With GameStop's revenue dropping from $8.5B to $3.8B over eight years, is this a smart pivot or just vibe investing? Notes: - GameStop announces $1.3B convertible note offering - Revenue declined from $8.5B to $3.8B in 8 years - Company has $4.76B cash on balance sheet - Cash position largely from 2021 meme stock frenzy - Zero debt after paying off all loans - Saylor posted photo with Ryan Cohen: "Team Bitcoin" Check out our Bitcoin scaling conference! Visit opnext.dev to learn more. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:28 GameStop enters the chat 02:05 GME be buying 07:58 Roaring Kitty Redux 10:43 Financials 13:25   Arch 13:56 Business evolution 20:14 Volatility trade 25:28 Not a crazy pivot 30:22 BTC makes an honest market or not... -

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! This week, we dive into Bitcoin's difficulty adjustments with hash rate approaching 850 EH/s while miners face compressed hash prices at $48.63. We analyze CoreWeave's IPO reduction from $4B to $1.5B amid market skepticism. Plus, breaking news on Crusoe's mining operations exit to NYDIG, Riot's $185M offer for Rhodium's Rockdale assets, and the hilarious irony of anti-ordinals Ocean Mining processing Taproot Wizards transactions. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: - Difficulty adjustment estimated at 5.6% - Hash prices at $48.63 per hash per day - Network hash rate approaching 850 EH/s - Core Weave IPO reduced to $1.5B from $4B - Riot offering $185M for Rhodium assets - Crusoe selling all mining operations to NYDIG Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:16 Hashrate Forecast 04:56 What's up with CoreWeave? 06:31 Kramer video 17:38 Crusoe Sells Assets to NYDIG 21:52 Riot and Rockdale 25:37 Cry Corner: CATS, Wizards vs Ocean Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Sanjay Gupta, CSO of Auradine, joins us to discuss the Teraflux A3880, a hydro-cooled, U2 server rack form factor Bitcoin miner. Clocking in at 600 TH/s and 14.5-16.5 J/TH efficiency, the A3880 applies a tried-and-tested server design from traditional datacenters to the world of bitcoin mining. Gupta explains why Auradine decided to design the model after input from its clients and the advantages of a server rack form factor over traditional shoebox miners, and how this design overlaps with AI and HPC computing infrastructure. Plus, he discusses some of the challenges and triumphs of ramping up Auradine's ASIC manufacturing capacity to 1,000 units per week. Notes: - Terra Flux A3880: 600 TH/s at 14.5-16.5 J/TH - U2 server rack form factor for density & cooling - Current production capacity: thousands of units/week - $250M in bookings, $500M+ in pipeline - US-designed, diverse manufacturing locations - Auto-tuning tech for load balancing with AI/HPC 00:00 Start 03:35 New ASIC miner model 05:37 Why hydro not immersion? 08:40 U2 vs shoebox form factor 12:32 Production capacity 15:43 Production of hydro vs other 18:20 Tariffs & on-shoring 23:16 De-risking tariff & sanctions 26:25 Pre-order numbers 28:16 Public vs private buyers 30:53 HPC influencing from factor? 35:45 Tandem workloads 36:42 Hydro cooling design 40:21 Testing process 43:12 Future plans

President Trump makes a pivot from Bitcoin to stablecoins in his latest policy statements. Reality check: stablecoins now account for over 50% of all crypto settlement volume, with Tether becoming the 7th largest holder of US Treasuries globally. We break down how stablecoins are being used in emerging markets, why Tron dominates the stablecoin landscape despite centralization concerns, and what this means for Bitcoin's relationship with the traditional financial system. Notes: - Tether is 7th largest buyer of US treasuries globally - Stablecoins now 50% of all crypto settlement volume - Tether holds $113 billion in treasuries - Tron handles ~40% of stablecoin transactions - Tether earns ~$4 billion yearly on Treasury yields - Trump now promoting stablecoins for dollar dominance Check out our Bitcoin scaling conference! Visit opnext.dev to learn more. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 00:34 Trump video 03:09 Reaction 06:53 Tether buying treasuries 11:08 Other stablecoins 17:35 Arch Network 18:05 The Tether Eye of Sauron 20:10 Who's using stablecoins 22:18 Where are stablecoins traded? 26:31 Volume of all crypto transactions compared 32:33 A realistic view -

Dek/excerpt: Slightly over 30 minutes, but we hit all the mining stories you care about this week! Body: You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome to another packed episode of The Mining Pod! Hosts discuss the current hash price bear market, with difficulty adjustments continuing to increase despite declining profitability. They explore CBP's ongoing seizure of Bitcoin miners at the border, possibly costing companies millions in holding penalties. Plus, discussions on the TVA and DOE's push for nuclear energy, Bit Farms finalizing its acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining, the SEC's clarification on proof-of-work mining activities, and OBM and Toya Energy's patent victory against Lancium. Finally, the team examines the sharp decline in mining community engagement. Notes: - Hash price at $47.50/PH/s/day - 8 of 10 recent difficulty adjustments increased - BitFarms now has 60% of megawatts in US - Mining stocks down ~50% year to date - Mining community engagement down ~80% 00:00 Start 02:27 Difficulty Report by Luxor 06:55 Update on US border troubles 11:02 SEC: No news is good news 11:04 Baseload energy & flexible loads 19:26 SEC: No news is good news 21:35 Stronghold, Bitfarms confirm merger 25:55 Foreman, Cholla Energy vs Lancium 31:29 Cry corner: Mining Mafia drama

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 10,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome to The Mining Pod! Charlie Brady, VP of Investor Relations at BitFuFu joins us to dive into their Bitcoin mining operations. We explore their strategic expansion in Ethiopia with electricity costs under $0.04/kWh, their new 51MW Oklahoma facility targeting $0.03/kWh, and their cloud mining business that's grown to over 600,000 users. Charlie shares insights on their asset acquisition strategy, relationship with Bitmain, and plans to reach 1GW of secured power capacity by 2026. Notes: BitFuFu currently has 20.6 EH/s and 480MW hosting capacity Ethiopia electricity costs below $0.04/kWh Oklahoma site targets $0.03/kWh power costs Cloud mining business grew to 602K+ users Cloud mining = ~60% of company revenue 00:00 Start 02:09 Charlie's bio 02:31 Why work for BitFuFu? 04:00 Ethiopia 05:35 Ethiopia expansion 07:12 Ethiopia political stability 09:26 Oklahoma 11:58 Pathway to gigawatt? 12:59 AI & HPC 15:39 Bitmain influencing any AI decisions? 18:39 Cloud contract numbers 20:28 Who are the cloud customers? 26:18 Bear market for mining stocks 29:44 Hosting

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome to The Mining Pod! Matt Kimmell and Will cover the week's biggest stories in Bitcoin mining. We analyze the challenging hashprice environment for miners (hitting all-time lows at $42/hash), discuss the EPA's major deregulation announcement and its potential impact on energy markets, break down Canaan's $200M funding for US expansion, examine CoreWeave's massive $11.9B OpenAI deal ahead of its IPO, and dive into the drama between NYDIG and Mawson over allegedly stolen Bitcoin miners worth $30M. Notes: Hash price at all-time low of $42 per hash per @luxor EPA launching 31 deregulatory actions for energy Canaan secured $200M for US mining expansion CoreWeave signed $11.9B OpenAI contract Nydig claims Mawson stole $30M worth of miners Timestamps: 00:00 Start 07:21 EPA to slash regulation 14:03 Canaan $200M in financing 20:41 CoreWeave & OpenAI sign deal 28:50 Cry corner: Stone Ridge & Mawson $30M Theft

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Daniel Leslie, CTO of Coin Safe Limited, joins us to discuss Bitcoin mining in Australia. Despite Australia's massive size, its mining footprint remains tiny at around 100MW total capacity. Daniel explains how Australia's renewable-heavy grid (35-39%) creates price volatility and operational challenges similar to Texas. He shares insights on how miners could become crucial grid-balancing assets by consuming excess renewable energy and acting as "buyers of last resort." With abundant resources and a secure business environment, Australia could follow Texas's path to becoming a mining powerhouse. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:30 Australian Bitcoin mining market 04:47 Homegrown mining or foreign investment? 06:30 Energy mix 13:41 have renewables hindered mining growth? 19:45 Using coal as flex generation 24:41 Gov incentives for grid connection 27:29 New interest in BTC mining 34:16 Grid connection approval times 41:10 Huddles to adoption Notes: • Australia has ~100MW of Bitcoin mining capacity • 79% of installed renewable capacity gets curtailed • Miners operate at grid edge due to price volatility • Nuclear plants proposed for each Australian state • Energy operators now open to Bitcoin mining JVs • Grid regulates coal down when renewables produce You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today!

Charlie and Matt fill in for Colin and Will on this week's Mining Pod. They discuss Core We've's public listing plans and its 12-year, $10.2B contract with Core Scientific, making it the AI darling of American markets. They debunk rumors about Microsoft canceling CoreWeave contracts, cover US customs releasing seized Bitcoin miners after months of delays, and analyze Cathedra's $21M sale of a 60MW North Dakota mining site. The episode wraps with insights on market volatility driven by Trump's tariff policies and how Scott Bessent's Bitcoin knowledge influences economic decisions. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: • Difficulty adjustment expected at +1.16% • Hash price bottomed at $45/PH/s/day in February • CoreWeave 2024 revenue: $1.92B (77% from 2 clients) • Cathedra sold 60MW site for $350K per megawatt • Mining equipment being released by US customs • Market volatility from Trump's tariff policies Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:55 Difficulty update 05:12 Coreweave IPO? 09:39 Coreweave MSFT FUD 14:54 Customs mining rig seizures 24:09 Cry Corner: Tariff Tug of War Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Haley Thomson, director of energy trading at Luxor Technologies, joins us to dive deep into ERCOT's unique energy market and how Texas plans to manage the incoming wave of AI and HPC data center demand. We explore battery storage solutions, creative power generation approaches, and why Texas has become the epicenter of both crypto mining and AI computing infrastructure. Notes: • ERCOT expects 150GW peak demand by 2030 • ERCOT current peak load is 84GW (2024) • 6GW of data center demand expected next year • 24GW solar deployment planned 2024-2025 • 13GW storage deployment planned 2024-2025 • $40B worth of nat gas plants proposed Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:02 ERCOT's surging power demand 05:37 2023 power price spikes 10:42 ERCOT energy storage plans 17:58 Does storage help AI data center demand? 24:02 Baseload buildout trailing demand 30:01 PGM vs energy only 36:33 Creative energy work arounds 39:16 Does off grid power scale? 40:19 Types of AI power demand 45:35 Hyperscalers buying mining sites 48:40 Wrap up

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For today's Bitcoin Stock Show, MARA's Chief Strategy Officer Adam Swick joins to discuss the forward-looking plans CEO Fred Thiel mentioned in MARA's 2024 earnings call. Specifically, Swick unpacks claims that MARA wants to offshore 50% of its operations by 2028 by entering into similar joint-ventures as its Zero Two partnership in the UAE. Swick also speaks to the company's goal to own more energy-generating assets in the United States and how it would finance such purchases. Finally, why MARA is so hot on the new ASIC manufacturer, Auradine, and whether or not we should expect MARA to enter the inference field for AI compute. You can listen to MARA's 2024 earnings call here. • Mara went from 0% to 70% owned mining assets • Q4 revenue: $214.4M with lower operating costs • Target: 50% of operations outside US by 2028 • Wind farm acquisition extends life of older miners • Auradine partnership delivering quality ASIC miners • Focus on AI inference rather than training models Timestamps: 00:00 Start 03:53 MARA lowering OpEx 06:24 Trend toward owned assets 09:01 Zero cost mining 14:17 Debt financing BTC purchases 19:27 Considering power production 22:01 Foreign mining sites 27:08 Has Africa been sufficiently de-risked? 30:25 Free-er energy markets vs controlled 33:57 Auradine 40:40 AI & HPC

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, hosts Colin and Will dive into the ongoing saga of US Customs and Border Protection seizing Bitcoin mining hardware at various ports of entry. Initially targeting Antminer units in late 2024, the seizures expanded to include equipment from Whatsminer and Canaan, costing some companies millions in detained assets. The hosts explore how industry lobbying - particularly through Senator Lummis and connections to the Trump administration - has begun to resolve the situation, along with theories about why these unprecedented seizures occurred in the first place. Could this push more manufacturing onshore? Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:17 History of seizure trend 09:08 Lobbying the government for release 17:42 Follow on effects 20:13 Bitmain plans 24:20 Conspiracy corner: Evil or Entropy Notes: - $5 million worth of hardware seized from one company - Seizures expanded beyond Antminer to Whatsminer/Canaan - Detentions began Sep 2024, escalated to seizures Feb 2025 - Shipments being released after industry lobbying - Sen. Lummis and White House helped resolve situation - CBP cited unauthorized communications equipment laws

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For this week's news round, the boys are back, and they came with receipts on the billions of dollars institutions have invested in public bitcoin miners. Plus, BitFuFu is expanding its presence in the United States with a $20.4 million deal for an Oklahoma bitcoin mine, and Core Scientific could be altering its AI/HPC strategy with an acquisition of its own. The Texas Blockchain Council also has a report for us on just how many jobs bitcoin mining has created in the U.S.A. And for this week's cry corner, why Argentina's President Javier Milei is staring down the barrel of impeachment after his involvement with a memecoin rugpull.   Notes: Hash price at $55/TH/day Expected -2.47% difficulty adjustment BlackRock, Vanguard own ~$4B worth of bitcoin miners BitFuFu is buying a 51 MW OK mine for $20.4M Texas mining: $4.23B economic impact Core Scientific: $400M Alabama investment Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:30 Difficulty report 05:18 Institutions own 40% of mining stocks 11:34 BitFuFu 19:55 Bitcoin Mining Adds 31k Jobs to US 26:10 Core buying an AI data center? 32:46 Cry Corner: Got them LIBRA blues

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Harry Sudock, SVP of CleanSpark, joins us to dive deep into the company's pure-play Bitcoin mining strategy. Harry breaks down their four-pillar approach: energy efficiency, Bitcoin focus, operational excellence, and capital stewardship. We explore Clean Spark's portfolio strategy versus mega-sites, market valuations, and the evolving landscape of Bitcoin mining stocks. Plus, Harry shares insights on institutional investment trends and the future of mining operations. Notes: Mining cost $36,250 vs $80-90k market price per BTC Operating 31 facilities with 39 EH/s total capacity  Holds 10,000+ self-mined BTC on balance sheet Growth target from 39 to 50 EH/s underway Timestamps: 00:00 Start 03:15 Reflecting on the industry 10:29 Company valuation 17:41 Portfolio vs hyperscale model 21:09 Press release pumping 24:44 Industry analysts 32:59 Mining in the USA 36:54 Miner ETFs 41:43 Courting Wall Street 44:29 Premium in stack value 46:51 2025 & beyond 49:38 Transition to dividend model

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Want to mine Bitcoin? Check out the Blockspace Media store today! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Erik and Phillip from Gridless join us to discuss Bitcoin mining in East Africa. From dealing with wildlife to building custom mining software, they share how they're monetizing stranded energy assets and electrifying rural regions for the first time ever. Learn about their revenue-sharing model, remote management systems, and how Bitcoin mining is transforming energy development across Africa. Notes: • East African Mining Expansion • Stranded Energy Monetization • Remote Site Management • Bitcoin Treasury Strategy • Rural Electrification • Africa Risk Management Timeline 00:00 Start 03:15 Bio 05:59 New Biomass Site 07:44 Remote management 11:00 we don't pay for power 14:40 Challenges in the field 17:46 Ethiopia 25:39 History of the TVA 31:41 Risks (theft, climate change) 36:27 Raising money

It's now openly acknowledged that the crypto industry has been targeted for years by the previous administration's Operation Chokepoint 2.0 scheme. Charlie & Colin discuss how last week's hearing saw Senators Warren & Scott addressed the matter before the House Financial Services Committee. We explain how we got here and where we might go as an industry. Notes: • History of regulatory scrutiny • FTX Fallout • Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Hearing • Elizabeth Warren changes tune Check out our Bitcoin scaling conference! Visit opnext.dev to learn more. Chapters: 03:23 – Operation Choke Point 2.0: Background & FTX Fallout 07:20 – Nick Carter's Revelations & Chokepoint Analysis 09:23 – Silvergate's Story & the 15% Deposit Cap 18:09 – House Financial Services Committee Hearing Recap 25:05 – Elizabeth Warren's Pivot & Broader Political Implications 42:41 – Future Outlook: Could There Be a Choke Point 3.0? -

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For this week's news roundup, Colin and Matt talk about the big story Blockspace broke this week: the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is seizing Antminer ASICs at ports of entry, and it's also started to detain MicroBT and Canaan units. Plus, the $500 billion Chinese tech giant Tencent ups its stake in newly-christened public bitcoin miner Cango to 15.6%. They also touch on Bit Digital's WhiteFiber AI rebrand, and why Riot's newest board member signals that it's getting increasingly serious about an AI pivot. The duo also welcomes Luxor Director of Energy Trading Haley Thomson to discuss what the AI boom means for Texas power prices. And for this week's cry corner: bitcoin obituaries are dead – all hail number go up. Timestamps 00:00 Start 01:20 Difficulty report 04:33 CBP crackdown on ASICs 12:08 Tencent owns 15% of Cango 18:05 Haley Thomson, Dir of Energy Trading @ Luxor 30:52 Bit Digital rebrands AI/HPC as WhiteFiber 32:24 Riot appoints Jamie Leverton to board among AI/HPC probe 34:27 Cry Corner: Bitcoin obituaries are dead

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 8,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For today/s Bitcoin Stock Show, Bit Digital CEO Sam Tabar joins to talk about WhiteFiber, the company's AI/ HPC business line.  This week, Bit Digital rebranded its AI/HPC business to WhiteFiber in a bid to distinguish it from its bitcoin mining business. Sam discusses the motivation for the rebrand, teases plans to spin out WhiteFiber as a standalone entity, and Bit Digital's timeline to grow its AI/HPC capacity from 4 MW to 32 MW by the end of 2025. Plus, the burning question: what does all of this mean for Bit Digital's bitcoin mining business? Timeline 00:00 Start 02:24 What is WhiteFiber? 05:37 HPC expertise 12:14 Colocation vs GPU as service 14:50 Development timeline 16:51 Debt financing? 20:09 ETH bags getting heavy 24:58 Clients 26:15 When to spin out White Fiber 29:01 Exiting BTC mining? 32:16 Benefits of the Bit Digital model? 34:04 Canada & US sites 34:25 Stargate & Deep Seek

You're listening to The Mining Pod. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 7,000 Bitcoiners.: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Skot from the Bitaxe project and Econoalchemist from Pod256 join the show to talk about open-source Bitcoin mining hardware. From hitting a Bitcoin block during a mining charity event to developing standardized hash Boards, we talk about Bitcoin mining hardware. Learn about their Skot and Econoalchemsts take on the Bitmain monopoly and attempt to make Bitcoin mining accessible to everyone. Notes: • BitaxeOpen Source Project • 256 Foundation Mission • Breaking Mining Monopolies • Standardized Hash Boards • DIY Mining Innovation • Hardware Democratization Timestamps 00:00 Start 01:59 Telehash & hitting block 05:26 Intros 12:51 256 Foundation mandate? 16:02 BitAxe users 18:53 AmberOne project 22:08 Designer BitAxe culture 27:24 Mining centralization

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Colin, Will, and Matt are back at it this week with a packed docket of news. Bitdeer has acquired the rights for a $90 million, 101 MW natural gas power plant in Alberta in a bid to become even more vertically integrated, and Cipher cashes in on Project Stargate with a $50 million investment from Softbank. Plus, two cheers for taxation (but not actually): Russia has codified a tax code for bitcoin miners, and a Nebraska Senator introduces a bill for a $0.025 per kw excise tax on bitcoin miners. For our last news item, Trump wants to launch bitcoin ETFs, because memecoins just weren't sophisticated enough. And for this week's cry corner, why Ethereum is no longer deflationary and what a croissant can tell us about the future of ETH issuance (seriously).  Subscribe to our newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/ Timestamps 00:00 Start 02:21 Difficulty report 05:03 Bitdeer Power Plant 11:32 Softbank invests $50m in Cipher 16:18 Russian miners reporting & taxes 22:20 Nebraska rate hike 28:17 Bitcoin Plus ETF 32:20 Cry corner: uLTrA SOunD MooONeeY

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For today's Bitcoin Stock Show, Kevin Dede, a managing director of equity research at investment bank H.C. Wainwright, joins to discuss AI/HPC hybrid bitcoin miners vs. pure-play ones – specifically, which strategy Dede is bullish on for 2025 and beyond. We touch on what the $500 billion project Stargate means for bitcoin miner AI aspirations, what he thinks of Riot and Bitfarms evaluating their sites for an AI retrofit, which miners he favors in the AI race, and more.  Timestamps 00:00 Start 02:40 AI vs pure play miners 06:30 Constraints of Mining & network effects 08:55 Hashrate growthrate per year 09:50 Predicted hashrate growth 11:09 Project Stargate 15:54 Infrastructure vs computes plays 22:11 Investor perception 23:07 Riot pause 28:15 Is it too late to HPC convert? 31:18 Core Scientific 39:28 Favorite miner pivoting to AI 43:57 Does AI push miners out of USA? 49:47 Bitdeer's HPC pipeline 54:28 Tiny Texas town 56:51 Hive in Paraguay Subscribe to our newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Andrew Burchwell from the Ohio Blockchain Council joins us to discuss Bitcoin mining in Ohio. From groundbreaking state legislation and strategic reserve bills to the challenges with utility tariffs, Andrew shares insights on building Bitcoin-friendly policy at the state level. He also dives into Ohio's energy future, the role of natural gas and nuclear power, and how Bitcoin mining fits into the state's industrial development plans. Subscribe to the newsletter! Notes: • Ohio Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Bill • Energy Policy Transformation • Utility Tariff Challenges • State-Level Bitcoin Advocacy • Trump Administration Impact • Education & University Programs Timestamps: 00:00 Start 03:37 Andrew bio 05:29 Ohio Blockchain Counsel 08:58 Mining & legislators 12:15 Miners in Ohio 14:00 North American Blockchain Assoc 16:42 Trump & Regulations 21:22 Ohio Strategic Bitcoin reserve 23:32 Current state of BTC lobbying 27:35 What topics to focus on? 29:51 BTC & anti-state sentiment 35:56 How to get involved 38:15 Electricity tariff 40:17 Pushback from utility providers 41:16 Unlikely allies 44:04 Degrowth policy 45:06 Energy policy in Ohio

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Colin and Matt are back for this week's news roundup. They touch on Hive's $85 million, 200 MW acquisition of a Yguazu, Paraguay bitcoin mine from Bitfarms. Plus, Grayscale launches a bitcoin miner ETF, a home-mining device wins a $330,000 bitcoin block for charity, and why the market freaked out over DeepSeek this week. And for this week's cry corner, why you shouldn't trust Brad Garlinghouse's call for crypto unity.  Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:57 Difficulty report 18:28 Grayscale miner ETF 33:26 Hashrate Fundraiser Mines Block 37:28 DeepSeek 43:36 Cry corner: Ripple CEO Very Sad Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday!