We've covered some of what Texas has done so far to draw in the crypto industry.

As they continue with that goal, The Texas Work Group on Blockchain Matters, which includes members from government, academia, and business, has proposed that Bitcoin would "fit naturally into the balance sheet of the state of Texas."

There is a movement in Texas to have some of the state's reserves held in bitcoin, and this group is proposing a legal framework to the state legislature to make this possible (BTC).

There are already cities in Texas that have implemented this...

Fort Worth, a city in Texas where many Bitcoin mining companies have set up shop, is one of the few that has begun to include bitcoin in its official financial statements.

Further, the report recommends a set of public policies that encourage the use and adoption of crypto assets, arguing that doing so "would be a powerful indicator that the interests of Texas are aligned with (crypto) business operators."

To Promote Real-World / Retail Use of Crypto, they propose 2 years with NO TAXES on crypto transactions...

They also believe a "sales tax exemption" would be helpful in spreading the use of bitcoin for everyday purchases. This would be for the purchase of goods and services for a period of two years.

The group says that this would increase demand from Texans by encouraging businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments.

The cryptocurrency industry, and mining firms in particular, have provided employment and economic stimulus to previously underserved rural areas, according to the Texas Task Force.

But Now Texas' is facing growing competition coming from other states...

There is consensus among Florida's state leadership that crypto has promise, and more recently, California has signaled that it is preparing its own incentives to lure them in.

But I'm starting to wonder if being more crypto-friendly than Texas is even possible - if they follow through by actually turning these proposals into policies, they're going to be hard to beat. 

Starting to honestly wonder if it's time to move the Global Crypto Press from Silicon Valley to the loan star state. 

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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

It's summer time and nobody is feeling it more than Bitcoin miners, specifically those in the US. Already known for the heat output caused by masses of GPU's, each mining rig has a dedicated fan there to draw heat away from expensive components. On top of that, every big mining operation has some additional method to cool it down. 

In areas with cheap power, air conditioning is often the second line of defense. Others add huge industrial fans to work with the hundreds of smaller ones. But the cheapest solution for the heat comes from miners in Siberia, where temperatures are often below zero and opening the windows is all it takes to cool down a warehouse full of mining rigs.

But for those who aren't willing to relocate to freezing remote corners of the earth to mine Bitcoin, there's the state of Texas in the US.  Many mining operations from other US states have relocated there, and it has become the top destination for miners leaving China following their ban on it last year.

When Texas Gets Hit With a Heat-Wave, Miners Go Offline - By Choice...

In a deal with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the companies setting up in the state have agreed to power down when energy usage spikes on hot days due to residents and businesses turning up their air conditioning. 

There isn't a hard choice to make here - if the miners didn't pause their activity for a few hours, the state would begin to experience blackouts as the grid becomes overwhelmed - so the miners end up offline either way. But working with the electricity providers to do this voluntary means the mining staff can at least wait it out in a nice air conditioned building.

We knew this much a couple months ago, when we covered the agreement for miners to power down - but that was just half the story.

Just Because They Aren't Mining, Doesn't mean they aren't earning...

Yes you read that correctly. 

That agreement with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas includes a special arrangement: every time a mining company is asked to shut down to save power, it will be structured the same as if these mining companies were producing and selling energy back to the grid.

Miners buy power contracts in advance at standard rates, but any time they are shutting down and 'selling' power back, they're selling it at higher peak-usage prices. Some estimate that earnings from powering down could come to 10% a miner’s yearly income.

Surprised and impressed at the deal miners were able to get from the state, I spoke with someone I met at an industry conference in 2019 who moved his mining business to Texas in 2021. Is there something we're missing here? Or is the deal really that good?

He explained, "LOL yeah, the deal really is that good. I'm not blowing smoke when I say TX is where it's at if you're on the mining end of the industry. If I had to come up with something negative, it would be how I can't help but wonder how long we can count on the state for this extra support. Everyone in crypto faces the risk of people electing tech-illiterate boomers who don't understand crypto thinking they need to re-write the rules for it. They'll say, 'These guys should be paying more, not making a profit' and we'll say 'goodbye' and relocate to Florida, which is currently the second best place to mine bitcoin."

So WHY would Texas give Miners such a good deal? 

The miners, as well as politicians who support incentivizing them to come to their state, point out that this is speeding up the expansion of wind, solar, and other renewable power capabilities - moving the state away from coal faster than they originally thought was possible.

Those who invest in and build renewable energy resources can just go ahead and build, knowing the energy they produce will be immediately sold, thanks to the miners.

An industry having a steady demand for energy is only beneficial if they can stop that demand when needed to share with the state - and crypto uniquely has this ability. Unlike a factory or oil refinery, crypto miners can cut their electricity usage in seconds, bringing instant relief to an overloaded grid.

A former operations manager for the state grid, Carrie Bivens says "a very special kind of demand; it can curtail very quickly."

In large part because of Texas's energy policies, the US holds the #1 position of all countries when it comes to Bitcoin mining, with approximately 38% of it occurring there. All other nations come in at 20% or under.

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Author: Justin Derbek
New York News Desk
Breaking Crypto News