Hi from New York,

In this newsletter, we summarize some of the big events from this week. Subscribe to get it straight in your inbox.

Here's what happened in the world of mining this week:

• White House suggests taxing miners for environmental damages 🚨 

• Bhutan partners with Bitdeer to raise 500 MUSD for mining 🇧🇹 

• TeraWulf hashrate outgrew the network 🐺 

• CleanSpark increased production by 60% in April 🌟 

• Marathon grew slower than expected 🏃 

State of Mining — New York 🗽 

Block Green’s research team released a new report covering the New York energy market, the mining landscape, and much more.

Some insights from the report:

• New York has a lot of untapped potential in terms of hydro resources and future buildout of intermittent energy. Regulatory adversity has held Bitcoin mining back in the state.

• The two-year moratorium on new permits for miners was seen by many as evidence of excessive regulatory risk BUT the total public hashrate has been growing over the past year with the entrance of TeraWulf.

Cui bono? 🧩 

Interesting opinion piece from @Level39, speculating about who benefitted from the New York Times editorial attack on Bitcoin mining. Stakeholders in Texas peaker plants and pipelines are mentioned.

White House Proposes Punitive Tax on Miners 🏦 

• The White House's Council of Economic Advisers is advocating for a 30% tax on the energy costs of crypto mining operations, which it says imposes harm on society due to pollution and increased energy costs.

• This is despite the US hosting some of the cleanest miners in the world many of whom rely primarily on stranded renewables.

• The proposal was first made in a March 9 document published by the U.S. Treasury Department and could raise up to 3.5 BUSD in revenue over the next decade.

• The tax would be an unusual industry-specific penalty that could threaten the profits of mining businesses and force them abroad.

• Congressional Republicans may not embrace taxes that punish the industry, as they have resisted efforts from regulators and the administration to penalize the crypto sector.

• Fred Thiel also commented on the White House's proposed 30% tax on Bitcoin miners:

Bhutan Teams up With Bitdeer to Mining Operations 🇧🇹 

• Bitdeer will work with the Bhutan government to establish mining operations in the Southeast Asian country.

• Bhutan sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding & Investments, will establish a 500 MUSD fund to raise money for the venture from international investors.

• The funds raised will be used to construct data centers in the country, which will be powered by hydropower that provides virtually all of Bhutan's electricity.

• Bitdeer views the partnership as a crucial expansion into Asia, as it currently operates six mining sites in the US and Norway.

• Bitdeer suffered losses of 62.4 MUSD in 2022, compared with a profit of 82.6 MUSD the year before.

• The fundraising efforts for the venture are expected to start this month.

TeraWulf Growth Triumphs Over Difficulty Increase in April 🐺 

• TeraWulf's hashrate increase in May offsets the April network difficulty increases, resulting in an MoM increase in Bitcoin produced.

• Fully energized its 50 MW stake at the Nautilus facility, the first Bitcoin mining facility powered by 100% nuclear in the U.S.

• Self-mined 239 bitcoin in April with an average production rate of 8 bitcoin per day.

• Power cost averaged 7.6 KUSD per bitcoin produced, or approximately 0.030 USD/kWh in April.

• Deployed fleet of 34,500 miners, comprised of 18,500 miners at its wholly owned Lake Mariner facility in New York and 16,000 self-miners at the nuclear-powered Nautilus facility in Pennsylvania.

• TeraWulf is preparing for the energization of Building 2 in Lake Mariner in the coming weeks, which will almost double its operational capacity.

CleanSpark Increased Their BTC Holdings by 60% In April 🧡 

• CleanSpark mined 524 bitcoins in April and increased their bitcoin holdings by 60% to 313.

• CleanSpark expects their hashrate to increase in the coming months as Washington becomes fully energized.

• They currently have a deployed fleet of about 67,700 latest-generation Bitcoin miners with a hashrate of 6.7 EH/s.

• CleanSpark funded its growth and operations through the sale of 407 bitcoins in April 2023, at an average of approximately 29,000 USD per BTC.

• The daily BTC mined in April averaged 17.47 and reached a high of 18.17.

Marathon Increased Hashrate to 14 EH/s in April 👀 

• Increased operational hashrate by 22% to 14 EH/s, achieving 61% of its 23 EH/s goal, and installed hashrate grew 16% to 17.9 EH/s in April 2023.

• Produced 702 BTC in April 2023, a 134% increase YoY, and 2,896 BTC YTD.

• Marathon initiated its first-ever domestic deployment of immersion mining in Jamestown, ND.

• The company's operating fleet increased to approximately 122,900 Bitcoin miners, theoretically capable of producing approximately 14.0 EH/s.

Stronghold Digital to Add 400 PH/s 🏰 

• Stronghold Digital has entered a two-year hosting agreement with Canaan. Stronghold Digital will activate 2,000 Avalon A1346 miners and 2,000 A1246 models under the new partnership.

• The A1246 miners will be installed by May 15 and the A1346 miners by mid-June.

• The partnership will result in a total hashrate capacity of 400 PH/s by the end of June.

• Stronghold will receive 50% of the bitcoin mined and retain any upside of selling power back to the grid as part of the two-year hosting agreement.