🏦 WSJ Criticizes Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Proposal

President Trump proposed creating a U.S. government stockpile of Bitcoin during his appearance at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. This idea, supported by Senator Cynthia Lummis, suggests using existing government holdings and expanding them into a significant reserve.

Despite some backing from influential figures in the Bitcoin community, details are scarce, and the proposal faces hurdles in Congress. The concept has stirred global discussions about Bitcoin's role in public policy, even if it does not come to fruition.

The Wall Street Journal criticized former President Donald Trump's proposal to make Bitcoin a strategic reserve asset, arguing that it contradicts Bitcoin's core principles of freedom and independence from government control.

Trump’s plan, which includes making Bitcoin mining exclusively American, is seen as limiting freedom and increasing energy demands, thus clashing with Bitcoin’s foundational values.

The editorial board also took issue with the proposal's alignment with cryptocurrency's libertarian ethos, noting its similarity to a plan put forth by Senator Cynthia Lummis. Lummis’s plan suggests that Bitcoin could serve as a hedge against inflation and bolster the U.S. dollar, but the WSJ contends that Bitcoin should function independently of government influence.

The critique underscores perceived contradictions between Trump’s MAGA platform and the essential values of cryptocurrency.

⛏️ In the News

CleanSpark secured 75 MW of power contracts and acquired a Bitcoin mining site in Wyoming, adding a planned 5 EH/s to its hashrate with new immersion-cooled facilities and advanced mining equipment.

Network hashrate hit a record peak of 667 EH/s during the Bitcoin 2024 conference, driven by major industry investments and former President Trump's commitment to support and boost the mining sector.

Russia has legalized cryptocurrency mining from November 1st, and introduced an experimental regime starting September 1, allowing selected companies to conduct cross-border settlements and exchange trading in digital currency under the authorization of the central bank.

🏃 Marathon Missed Estimates

• Marathon Digital's shares fell 8% (1st of August) after Q2 revenue missed Wall Street expectations, reporting $145.1m vs. $157.9m estimate. Revenues increased 78% in Q2 2024 from $81.8m in Q2 2023.

• Revenue shortfall due to operational challenges, equipment failures, transmission line maintenance, and increased global hash rate.

• Adjusted EBITDA swung to a loss of $85.1m from a gain of $35.8m YoY.

• Marathon reached an all-time high mining power of 31.5 EH/s in Q2, up 78% YoY, they aim to achieve a hashrate of 50 EH/s by year-end.

• Sold 51% of mined bitcoin in Q2 to fund operations but recently bought $100m worth of bitcoin and plans to hold all mined BTC. They currently have over 20,000 BTC on its balance sheet.

🚨 Riot Mines 844 BTC in Q2

• Riot Platforms' second-quarter net loss increased to $84.4m, or $0.32 per share, up from the previous year.

• The loss was driven by a rise in selling, general, and administrative expenses to $61.2m from $41.4m, with $32.1m due to stock compensation expenses and a $76.4m drop in the fair value of held BTC.

• The halving reduced the number of bitcoin produced by Riot by 52% to 844 BTC.

• The cost to mine increased to $25,327 from $5,734 due to a 68% increase in the network's hashrate.

🐝 HIVE Mines 116 in July

• HIVE produced 116 bitcoin in July 2024 and increased its HODL position by 2% to 2,533 BTC.

• The company's mining capacity averaged 4.7 EH/s throughout July and ended the month with a capacity of 4.9 EH/s.

• HIVE acquired 9,500 new-generation ASIC miners, increasing its total mining capacity to 5.5 EH/s.

• The company averaged 3.7 BTC mined per day and achieved an average efficiency of 24.6 bitcoin per EH.

• HIVE’s strategic purchases included 7,000 Bitmain S21 Antminers and 2,500 S21 Pro Antminers.

• The company’s response to a heat wave and maintenance efforts minimally impacted production.

• HIVE is considering firmware optimizations to improve efficiency of older mining hardware.

• The company emphasizes its commitment to green energy and expansion into AI with Nvidia GPU.

🐄 Bitfarms Mines 253 BTC in July

• Bitfarms increased its HODL position by 111 BTC to 1,016 BTC.

• The company's operational hashrate rose to 11.1 EH/s, a 109% increase year-over-year and 7% month-over-month.

• Bitfarms' average operational hashrate was 10.3 EH/s in July, up 36% from June.

• The company faced challenges with 3,000 T21 miners who experienced overheating issues, but Bitmain is replacing them.

• Total bitcoin earned in July was 253 BTC, a 34% increase from June but 33% lower compared to July 2023.

• Bitfarms sold 142 BTC in July for $8.6m, adding 111 BTC to its treasury and maintaining a Synthetic HODL™ of 233 long-dated BTC call options.

• Expansion work in Québec and Paraguay is progressing on schedule, with new facilities set to enhance capacity.

• The company is on track to meet its year-end guidance of 21 EH/s and 21 watts per terahash (w/TH).

⏲️ Bitcoin Nears Critical Point 100 Days Following Halving

• July 29 marks 100 days since Bitcoin's fourth halving. Historical data indicates that the bullish impact of Bitcoin halvings typically takes effect after 100 days.

• The halving event reduces the reward miners receive for validating transactions by 50%, aiming to control Bitcoin's supply and ensure its scarcity.

• Previous halvings (2012, 2016, 2020) have led to significant price rallies, primarily starting 100 days post-halving.

• ETC Group's research shows a statistically significant increase in Bitcoin's performance 100 days after each halving.

• The performance difference becomes increasingly significant until around 400 days post-halving.

• The study found that mean excess performance rises above 100% from the 100th day and peaks into four figures.

• It remains to be seen if the current halving will follow the same pattern as previous ones.

🕰️ Some Perspective