PubCos Scoop Up Power ⚡️ + Land 🏞️ As AI🤖 Tailwinds Attract 📊 Wall Street 💰
W35 '24 | 8.26-9.1.24 | Issue XCV | Block Height 859413
Welcome to the latest issue of the Vibe Check, your weekly source at the intersection of Bitcoin, Energy, and Bitcoin Mining.
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W35 ‘24 Vibe Check
The Overview Vibe
Weekly Industry Metrics
Headlines & News
The Media Vibe
Energy Corner
The Meme Vibe
The Overview Vibe
COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK!!! Bitcoin chilled back to 58K as mainstream hype softened this week. The ~3% upward difficulty adjustment to 89.47 T provided additional downward pressure to miners as hashprice slid to ~$41/PH/Day. That decrease put any marginally profitable ASICs into the red, potentially contributing to the oscillating reduction in hashrate. With North American miners turning the corner on summer, we can expect less oscillation and a generally upward trajectory in hashrate this fall.
As institutional interest in AI continues to heat up, BTC miners continue to position themselves to benefit from that hype. As the chart denotes below, investment by Wall Street in “Mullet miners” has substantially increased since Q1 while “Pure Play” miners have received marginal increases in ownership. As BTC miners start to get re-rated based on re-allocating portions of the power portfolio to HPC, peers continue to stack power and land with no hesitation. In response to the market’s thirst for land and power, many public peers announced site acquisitions this week.
In response to the market’s thirst for land and power, Cipher Mining added another large greenfield site to its 2.5 GW development pipeline. The $67.5M cash payment ($225,000/MW) and power lift of $3/MWh for 5 years include 250 acres, a new HV-MV substation, and 300 MW ready to energize and participate in ERCOT. When comparing it to Cipher’s Black Pearl site acquisition, which consisted of a 300 MW interconnection access with staged load access and the need for an HV infrastructure build-out, you estimate the premium for ready-to-go power and HV bones at ~$180,000/MW if you squint a bit.
Genesis Digital Assets announced a 340 MW expansion of their existing 60 MW operational footprint adjacent to the Oklaunion substation in Veron, Texas. In the nation’s largest ISO, Bitfarms announced formal site control of their Sharon, PA development while Mawson Infrastructure revived one of their previously dubbed “zombie” sites from their acquisition spree last cycle in Ohio to develop 25 MW of HPC.
With utilities like Dominion Energy projecting 7 years for Center energy access, BTC miners with defined energy access are like ranching families with mineral rights before the shale boom. Their ability to receive power faster than traditional data centers, underwrite infrastructure with BTC mining cashflows, and hold expanded capacity put a gust of wind into the sails of any public peer that owns their bones. For hot takes on how why smarter people are looking at this, check out Second Gates’s research led by @bitcoinbeezy and @penny_ether’s analysis tweets.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend! It was great to see the Buckeyes and Longhorns off to a great start! Stay hydrated and don’t forget to call your mom! If you have any comments, suggestions, or requests on how to make the Vibe Check a better read, please let me know! Peace y’all!
Bitcoin/Mining Metrics
BTC price2: ~$58,168.38 @ EOW. -9.21% WOW.
Hash price1: $41.38 PH/Day @ EOW. -12.29% WOW.
Network Hashrate (SMA 7 Day)1: ~628 EH/s @ EOW. -3.53% WOW.
Difficulty1: 89.47 T @ EOW. +2.99% WOW.
ASIC Retail Price (s19/m30 family)1: $6.27/TH/s @ EOW. -1.72% WOW.
Sources: Hashrate Index1, Bitbo2
Headlines & News
Featured
Texas sees a 31% rise in Bitcoin mining energy use paired with an 80% drop in electricity prices - CryptoSlate.
How Trump was ‘orange-pilled’ by three bitcoiners in Puerto Rico and the promise of $100 million - CNBC.
In Q2, bitcoin miners diverge on long term AI, HPC strategies - BlockSpace Media.
Solo Bitcoin Miner Hits the Jackpot With $200,000 Block Reward - Decrypt.
Bitcoin Mining Is So Rough a Miner Adopted Michael Saylor's Successful BTC Strategy - CoinDesk.
General PubCo Updates
Q2 Earnings Results
Argo Blockchain - Press Release, Presentation, Transcript
IREN - Press Release, Presentation, Transcript
Iris Energy Expands 10.5 EH/s Bitcoin Hashrate with S21XP - TheMinerMag.
TeraWulf launches new Bitcoin mining facility, eyes major tech partnership - CT.
Operations & Site Updates
Cipher Mining Announces Acquisition of New 300 MW Data Center Site in West Texas - Press Release.
Mawson Infrastructure Group Expands to Ohio for AI/HPC Expansion - Press Release.
Leading Bitcoin Miner GDA Plans Mining Expansion to 400 MV Leveraging Renewables - BTCMAG.
Bitfarms Announces Assumption of Control of Sharon, PA Site - Press Release.
Capital Markets & M&A
Bitcoin Miner CleanSpark Seeks to Double Authorized Shares - TheMinerMag.
Regulatory/Legal Updates
Core Scientific gets approval to bring high-powered computing for AI to Denton - KERANews.
Celsius Creditors Explore Liquidation of New Bitcoin Mining Firm - Bloomberg.
Research/Reports/Newsletters
S&P 500 All-Time High Monthly Close, All Eyes on August Labor Report: TBL Weekly #108
The Miner Weekly - Miner Debt Sparks Consolidation – And Bankruptcy!
Hashrate Index - Weekly Hashrate Market Update (August 26, 2024)
The Media Vibe
Energy Corner
The Meme Vibe
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