Chris Alfano shows how Bitcoin mining monetizes stranded gas, reduces flaring, and enables more oil production.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![Center of Hash - Bitcoin Offtake Unlocks Oil Production | Chris Alfano](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Chris-Alfano.jpg)

Chris Alfano, CEO of 360 Energy, explains how Bitcoin mining has become a powerful tool for oil producers to monetize stranded natural gas, reduce flaring, and unlock additional oil production. What began as a vertically integrated mining venture evolved into a services business that deploys gas-to-Bitcoin infrastructure for upstream producers. In regions like the Permian Basin, where oversupply and poor pipeline contracts push gas prices to near zero or negative, Bitcoin mining offers a far more lucrative outlet, up to $13.50 per MCF compared to $1–3 on the pipeline. For large companies, the main value lies in keeping oil flowing without violating flaring restrictions, while smaller independents may chase Bitcoin economics directly. By offering flexibility, optionality, and higher margins, mining is reframing how natural gas assets are valued in the U.S. and beyond.

Best Quotes
-----------

“We realized that Bitcoin mining isn’t just a means to an end for oil and gas, it’s the other way around.”

“Henry Hub might pay $3.50 an MCF, but mining Bitcoin at the wellhead is $13.50 an MCF.”

“If a pipeline shuts down, producers can be stranded overnight. Our systems give them optionality.”

“For a big producer, it’s not really about the Bitcoin economics. They’ll pay us rent to capture gas, because without us, they’d have to shut in a million dollars a day of oil production.”

“Bitcoin mining is solving real-world problems. You can’t put an AI data center in the middle of an oil field and power it with stranded gas.”

“Only about half a percent of U.S. gas is flared, but that alone is two gigawatts of mining capacity.”

Conclusion
----------

This episode illustrates how Bitcoin mining is becoming integral to energy markets, not as a replacement but as a solution to inefficiencies in oil and gas. By transforming waste gas into productive energy, it reduces emissions, sustains oil production, and generates higher returns than conventional sales. Alfano’s approach positions 360 Energy less as a mining company and more as an oilfield services provider using Bitcoin as a tool, showing that mining’s future lies in solving industrial problems while making Bitcoin’s network more resilient and distributed.

Timestamps
----------

00:00 - Chris Alfano's Background and 360 Energy Strategy
02:18 - From SaaS to Bitcoin Mining: The 2020 Rabbit Hole Journey
05:56 - Evolution from Self-Mining to Oil Field Services Business
08:40 - US Natural Gas Markets and Regional Opportunities
14:52 - Gas Pricing Differentials: Henry Hub vs Waha Dynamics
23:48 - Stranded Gas vs Pipeline-Connected Mining Opportunities
29:32 - Three Value Props: Environmental, Oil, and Economic
33:13 - Case Study: Unlocking Stranded Oil Wells in Texas Gulf
37:20 - Bitcoin Economics vs Liability Reduction Models
43:13 - Mining Infrastructure: Generators, Data Centers, Servers
52:26 - Managing Bitcoin and Natural Gas Price Volatility
01:00:55 - Site Evaluation: Decline Curves and Operational Complexity
01:07:17 - Explaining Bitcoin Sustainability to Energy Customers
01:17:36 - Bitcoin Mining Philosophy and Ecosystem Role
01:24:39 - Strategic Focus and Future Growth Plans

Transcript
----------

(00:05) Chris Alana, welcome to the center of hash. Parker Lewis, it's great to be here. Yeah. Um, before we get into the the topic of the day, we we co-work here out of uh Bitcoin Park. It's mid July in the Texas summer. How's the summer been? It's been hot, good, rainy.
(00:30) you know, we've uh done some family trips and stuff like that. So, tried to get out of it. We're heading to California end of this week. So, upstream mining isn't impacted by the 4CP here in Texas. No natural gas mining. No grid, no 4CP, no curtailment. SMU footballs on the horizon. Uh on the horizon and Ryzen, they say you uh you were at Happy Valley for that. I was disastrous.
(00:56) That was a uh not our best not our best effort. Cool experience though. Our expectations is high this expectations are high. Coach is uh saying big things. He's uh good to target for other schools. So got to keep him happy at SMU. But you know, good transfer giving giving Texas a run for the money as best team in Texas.
(01:19) I'll be uh very pleased if we make it to another playoff. That might not happen again in quite some time, but that's what I said last year with Will Cole when we were sitting here in the summer looking at the team. But, you know, we should be better this year than we were last year. So, very pumped. Well, uh hopefully hash price is higher and come football season in a month.
(01:38) That would be nice. Got to get the uh ordinal people back selling uh their JPEGs. That's controversial. We'll talk about that towards the end, but um we we'll use that as a segue into um the topic of the day. So, in the in in the first couple episodes, we've discussed mining at a very broad high level, and today we're going to go deep on a specific energy strategy and mining strategy.
(02:06) Um Chris is the co-founder and CEO of 360 Energy. Um, Chris, just give a little bit about your background and what 360 does and kind of what defines your strategy. Yeah. Yeah. So 360 energy right before 360 uh I went to SMU if it wasn't obvious before um studied finance and economics there and started a company 2016 with a hedge fund manager in Dallas uh called Keyman Intelligence and uh built that company for four years.
(02:45) Sold that company in 2020 and started 360 and uh what did that company do that we did uh SAS solutions for private credit hedge funds. So we would uh standardize a bunch of the reporting data from you know these these CLOs's have 300 positions in private credit. Um so a bunch of companies that aren't publicly traded don't adhere to GAP and so uh what we would do is aggregate all the data that all of those portfolio positions would report.
(03:15) So like their financials um sims credit agreements everything like that. We'd aggregate that all into uh uh our platform and we'd standardize it. Um, so customers of ours, like other hedge funds, CLOS's would have access to the platform. They'd log in, they'd be able to see all their borrowers uh be able to see kind of standard financial data uh across um their whole portfolio, right? If uh different borrowers report in different ways and even same borrowers quarter to quarter.
(03:44) So yeah, it was just a tool to make analysts more efficient at actually analyzing, kind of get them out of the monkey labor of having to spread financials and figure out where pieces of information were. So it's just kind of like a a database with standardization for uh everything to do with their portfolio positions.
(04:04) And how'd you get from there to 360? Well, sold the company. um moved down to Austin, was out of a job at that point, kind of figuring out what I wanted to do next. Co happened. So, I'm a Bitcoin class of 2020 going down the rabbit hole at that point, kind of right after the company. Um, and obviously fell in love with Bitcoin for many of the same reasons everyone else does.
(04:28) And being a finance guy, being a tech guy, uh, really made a lot of sense in my mind. So, wanted to start another company. was kind of sick of doing software stuff. Um,orked around Austin. Uh, met a great guy named Mike Hamilton. Kind of told me all about this Bitcoin mining thing. Um, sounded really cool.
(04:46) And so kind of started going down the Bitcoin mining rabbit hole. Uh, as anyone does, you try to figure out, okay, you know, I can basically plug in a Bitcoin miner anywhere, but how do I do it, you know, cheaply for a long term, uh, to kind of protect the downside, protect the margin, all that stuff.
(05:05) So, um, for us that was looking at grid, looking at solar, looking at many different, you know, potential options to power our miners. Kind of settled on natural gas as something that's very abundant in Texas and something that's relatively cheap. Uh, we wanted to take it a step further and and actually vertically integrate the natural gas into the Bitcoin mining as a way of kind of controlling that future, having, you know, decade at a single location, having complete operational control.
(05:31) And so, uh, built a team with Sean Milmo, my co-founder, and a few other guys, um, that had a lot more oil and gas background than I did to, uh, stand up 360 Energy. And at that time, uh, the the company's objective was self mining through the ownership and operation of the natural gas assets. So, we went out and bought some uh, old producing uh, gas wells in the Barnett Shale, right outside of Fort Worth, just 20 minutes north of of downtown Fort Worth. And that's really how we got our start.
(06:02) Um, so took over those wells, put our first Bitcoin mine out there in late 21. Um, and started, you know, mining, uh, at probably the worst possible time to be mining and buying infrastructure and stuff like that. And, um, but yeah, that was that was really what it was all about was, you know, how do we bind these old relatively unattractive natural gas assets to traditional oil and gas people? um and turn that into something much more profitable, much more valuable through Bitcoin mining.
(06:33) Uh two questions. What what initially So you mentioned in 2020, what made you go down the Bitcoin rabbit hole just quickly? And then second, um you started out vertically integrated owning the assets, but that's evolved a bit. Yes. Okay. Yeah. I mean, the rabbit hole was a function of time um and a function of just kind of the macroeconomic conditions in the US, right? Uh knowing enough to know uh a ton of money printing is probably not good. Um and seeing all the free money that was going out there, uh was concerning. And so,
(07:14) and also, you know, I'


Rob Warren shows how Bitcoin’s proof-of-work, anchored in energy and decentralization, makes it unkillable and turns stranded energy into value.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![Center of Hash - Bitcoin EXPERT Reveals Why It’s Impossible to Hack Bitcoin | Rob Warren](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Rob-Warren.jpg)

Rob Warren, Head of Research and Education at Bitcoin Park, explains that Bitcoin’s security rests on proof-of-work mining, which issues new coins and validates transactions by converting energy into hashes. This anchors Bitcoin’s rules in physical reality, ensuring the 21 million cap and preventing manipulation. Mining thrives on “liability energy,” stranded, wasted, or underutilized power, making Bitcoin a unique buyer of last resort that strengthens grids and monetizes inefficiencies. While hardware manufacturing and mining pools remain centralized, with Bitmain, Whatsminer, Foundry, and Antpool dominating, ongoing efforts like open-source tools and alternative models point toward greater resilience. Ultimately, Bitcoin was not built to rival Visa but to be unkillable, its strength lies in decentralization, energy use, and the permissionless incentives that make it impossible to hack.

Best Quotes
-----------

“All Bitcoin that exists has come into existence through mining.”

“Bitcoin wasn’t designed to compete with Visa. It was designed to be unkillable.”

“It needs to be hard to make money… there has to be a cost associated with producing the money.”

“Bitcoin demands that you use real energy in the real world if you want to participate.”

“Energy is often a liability. For producers, Bitcoin is a buyer of last resort.”

“You don’t have to understand Bitcoin to mine it, but if you don’t, you risk killing the golden goose.”

“The economies of scale in Bitcoin mining don’t come from hashing, they come from energy strategy and efficiency.”

“Two pools controlling over 60% of the network is essentially two nodes running 60% of the network.”

“Maybe the golden age of mining pools is behind us.”

“Bitcoin’s design works because it enforces discipline through energy, creating a permissionless, censorship-resistant system no one can hack.”

Conclusion
----------

The episode makes clear that Bitcoin’s resilience comes from its grounding in physics: miners must expend electricity to secure the network, tying digital scarcity to real-world cost. This design ensures integrity, censorship resistance, and long-term survival, even as challenges of centralization persist. Far from wasteful, Bitcoin transforms excess and stranded energy into economic value while enabling new innovations like heat reuse. By aligning incentives through proof-of-work, Bitcoin remains fundamentally unkillable, a system where energy and decentralization make hacking impossible.

Timestamps
----------

0:00 - Rob's Background at Bitcoin Park
03:01 - Core Functions of Bitcoin Mining
05:19 - Why Energy Consumption Secures Bitcoin
10:16 - How Bitcoin Mining Machines Work
18:03 - Proof-of-Work vs Proof-of-Stake
25:35 - Permissionless Mining & Economic Incentives
31:16 - Energy as Liability, Miners as Solution
38:51 - Optimal Energy Sources for Mining
49:15 - Machine Efficiency & Depreciation Economics
53:38 - Economies of Scale in Bitcoin Mining
58:07 - Energy Efficiency Hardware Improvements
1:04:57 - Hardware Manufacturing Centralization Risks
1:11:07 - Pool Mining Centralization Risks
1:34:40 - Miners' Role in Promoting Decentralization
1:40:49 - Expert Recommendations for Further Learning

Transcript
----------

(00:05) Rob, welcome back to Bitcoin Park. It's good to be here again. Last time was the uh Texas Energy and Mining Summit. Well, feels like yesterday, but it does now now a couple months in the past. Yeah. And uh so we're joined today by Rob Warren, who is the head of research and education at Bitcoin Park. Talk a little bit about that role. Yeah.
(00:29) So, I I've worked predominantly in the mining industry and have have been really deep in really kind of generally the research and education side of things just cuz we've all been figuring stuff out in public as things do in Bitcoin and jumped on with Bitcoin Park essentially is the the the broadhead of research and education which gives me the opportunity to do exactly um exactly what I'm doing but in the context of now the whole Bitcoin space, which is fantastic because it's not just exposure to mining, but it's also introductions to folks that are, you know, working on the human rights side of Bitcoin, who are working on the
(01:05) technical side of Bitcoin, the payments, the custodies. So, it's it's really kind of a a whole new aspect of uh of work that's opened up, which I love. And in addition to work at Bitcoin Park, which were now members of the organization. That's right. Here in Austin, uh, happy members.
(01:30) You also wrote a book, The Bitcoin Miners Almanac. That's right. Yeah. And in my view, you know, we're friends, but also just in the discussions that we've had, you um have a well-rounded perspective of granularly, you know, how a Bitcoin mine works, what the inputs are, Bitcoin at its broadest sense as a money network, and um the combination of those for these early episodes of this podcast.
(01:59) you know, you were one of the one, two, and three people on my list to to record the first episodes to kind of lay some groundwork of not just going into Bitcoin mining 101, but painting a broad structure of the critical aspects of um how Bitcoin mining works, the energy components of it, why it's important to the system.
(02:24) And today I want to kind of dive deeper into the the energy side of what is actually happening, you know, in terms of why the energy is important to Bitcoin. Also some points around centralization. But before we get into those kind of deeper points, I want to hear you articulate because we've had conversations in the past about how there's there's bad analogies of what Bitcoin mining is or isn't. Mhm.
(02:53) One of which is that Bitcoin mining is a is a battery or Bitcoin's a battery. Um whether it's proof of power, but but just talk a little bit about, you know, from your perspective, the function of mining to the Bitcoin network and why it's important and what it is. Sure. Sure. Well, I mean, as as most things are, it's always good to go back to the source document and kind of understand how things were understood at the earliest days of Bitcoin. So functionally, Bitcoin mining does two things.
(03:23) It allows for the issuance of new Bitcoin. That that to us is called the block reward. So approximately every 10 minutes a block is found. You find a block, you are rewarded with something. You're rewarded with Bitcoin. That is a way to get Bitcoin into the world. You need a way to essentially distribute Bitcoin so that people can then have some utility.
(03:46) they can whether that's holding or spending or whatever they do with it. All Bitcoin that exists has come into existence through mining. The next thing that you need to do is you need to be able to transact with the asset. So you need to be able to actually send it to people and that's the second part of Bitcoin mining which is settlement.
(04:05) So, it's the ability to actually submit a signed transaction to the memp pool, have it included in a block, which then the miners are given a small reward for, which is the the fee that you pay to transact on the Bitcoin network. And fundamentally, that's the two things that Bitcoin mining does from a from an operational from a functional perspective in uh in Bitcoin.
(04:24) And it's where we stand today is really worlds apart from where we were in the days of the white paper. And it's almost unrecognizable to look at Bitcoin as of 2025 and try to compare it to what it was in in the earliest days, the 20 odds, right? For one, the biggest difference is that when we talk about what a node is, Satoshi refers to a node as a node that is actually doing mining. And where we stand today, functionally, that's extremely rare.
(04:59) Now, it's it's coming back and I'm sure we'll we'll hit on this when we talk about the decentralization point. But it's interesting how you you can learn a lot about the present by actually going to the original source documents, the white paper, and then understanding, okay, well, what's different and what's the same and how do we hold true to what was actually, you know, given to us in the white paper to make sure that we're really we're really um appropriately stewarding this thing, this Bitcoin thing as we build on it in the future.
(05:24) And so what is it about the mining function and specifically energy that you view or why is it critical to the system? Like why is this function critical to? So if they're if they're doing if if Bitcoin miners are functionally doing two things, validating currency transactions and validating the fixed supply of the currency, why and how is the mining function critical to that? But at a lower level, what is the function of energy and energy consumption within there? That's such a big question.
(06:06) It's such a big question and it's really interesting because when you when you look at the earliest conversations on something like the the Bitcoin talk forums where a lot of folks who are household names in Bitcoin are trying to figure out what is the extension or what is the natural growth path of Bitcoin.
(06:33) There are only very small glimpses into what the future of the mining sector would look like. There are some references to when I run my computer, it heats up my room. Um, there's references to the noise, you know, how how noisy your computer gets if you happen to be running your Bitcoin client and and it's mining and your computer is now wrapped up operating at 100% all the time.
(06:52) Um, but it was I'd argue that it's not really something that we have a fully fleshed out theory of. It's something that we're actually living through the history of right now. And fundamentally it all reduces to this this truth which is that to win a b


Marty's Bent
------------

![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-17-at-11.48.05---AM.png)

![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/image.png)

![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/martybent_a_group_of_wall_street_fund_managers_out_to_a_fancy_l_d398d7c0-f870-4a61-83c8-a82967e1f9b0.png)

Global fund managers are still woefully underweight bitcoin exposure. A recent Bank of America survey, shared and dissected by Zerohedge over the weekend, found that only 9% of managers that responded have any exposure to bitcoin, with 75% reporting that they have zero exposure to the best performing asset of the last 16 years. The weighted average of exposure across the funds that were surveyed is 0.3% of their total assets. In comparison, 48% of the same cohort has an allocation to gold with a 2.2% weighted average allocation.

Read another way: you are still very early.

For some reason, large asset managers are completely missing the monetary revolution unfolding right before their eyes. I want to point out two things with this fact in mind; despite this, the bitcoin ETFs have had the most successful launch in ETF history by breaking speed to _x_ AUM records with ease, and comping the exposure to bitcoin these managers should have to gold is a mistake.

The first point highlights the fact that much of the price movement over the past year has actually been more retail driven than many expect. This time around it's just retail investors with brokerage accounts that were waiting for the proper vehicles to get exposure. Many ETF analysts have estimated that bitcoin ETF flows have been dominated by this type of investor, with up to 75% of the flows since these ETFs launched coming from this cohort. This makes sense when you consider the fact that many wealth managers still have non-solicitation rules in place, which means they can't actively market bitcoin ETFs to their clients, they can only allocate when a client demands it.

That is changing as we speak and you can bet your ass that a flood of managers will be hitting the pavement hard to sell products that get their clients exposure to the best performing asset of all time. It basically sells itself. The flows from this marketing campaign will likely be material.

On the second point, I think it is important to not anchor to the allocations of their total portfolios that the managers surveyed by Bank of America have to gold, or the fact that it was only 48% of managers surveyed. Since bitcoin is still in its monetization phase, more risk-averse managers will likely have a lower overall allocation because it's easier to make up for a lack of exposure with outsized performance, which bitcoin can provide against gold at this point of its lifecycle. Conversely, there will be managers who like risk and want to clobber their peers with out performance, so they could allocate more than their peers would deem appropriate. Lastly, gold has been around for thousands of years and is analog bitcoin. I think it is important to recognize that bitcoin is a digital beast that comes with different and superior properties to gold that can create a lot more value on top of the network.

Smart contracts, liquid collateral, payments infrastructure, and a tight connection with the energy sector, among many other things.

It will be interesting to see when these managers actually wake up and recognize that they need to begin taking bitcoin seriously. As we said last year, for the first 15-years of bitcoin's existence the associated career risk was with being allocated to it at all. We are now firmly living in a period where that career risk has flipped. If you're not allocated you will be called an idiot. Those who move sooner will be deemed less stupid than the laggards.

### Bitcoin's Path to Gold Parity: The Next Major Milestone

Tuur Demeester presents a compelling case for Bitcoin reaching gold parity at 11 kilograms per coin. He highlights how Bitcoin has been consolidating at the 1 kilogram level for nearly five years, following a historical pattern of breaking through psychological gold ratios - first at 1 ounce, then 100 grams, and now approaching the next major milestone. This isn't just about round numbers; it represents a fundamental shift in how markets value digital scarcity versus physical assets.

> "Gold parity could be the next magnet. It doesn't mean it's gonna stick there, but at least it'll be the psychological pull for this cycle." - [Tuur Demeester](https://x.com/TuurDemeester?ref=tftc.io)

The convergence of the $1 million price target with gold parity creates a powerful narrative. As Tuur emphasizes, Bitcoin's superior properties - instant global transferability, perfect divisibility, and programmable features - position it to eventually surpass gold's $13 trillion market cap. This psychological barrier represents the market's final admission that digital monetary technology has superseded precious metals.

Check out the [full podcast here](https://youtu.be/bi9iMEetMK4?ref=tftc.io) for more on treasury companies as collateral, stagflation's impact on real estate, and Bitcoin's extended cycle dynamics.

* * *

### Headlines of the Day

Vancouver Proposes Bitcoin Miners to Heat Pool - via [X](https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1957540402598469953?ref=tftc.io)

China Merchants Bank Launches 24/7 Bitcoin Trading - via [X](https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1957517462666375526?ref=tftc.io)

WiseLink Adopts Bitcoin Treasury Strategy - via [X](https://x.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/1957509300034670839?ref=tftc.io)

Reborn Coffee Explores Bitcoin Treasury Integration - via [X](https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1957507462980116854?ref=tftc.io)

Volkswagen Singapore Accepts Bitcoin Payments - via [X](https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1957496146504679501?ref=tftc.io)

US Treasury Secretary Praises Stablecoins - via [X](https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1957492114960367891?ref=tftc.io)

* * *

How to Position for the Bitcoin Boom: 2025 Edition
--------------------------------------------------

Over 10,000 investors downloaded the original report calling for $120k when bitcoin was just $27k. With that price level now achieved, Tuur is back with the 2025 edition—refreshed for the bull run with new data and insights—**including Adamant Research’s latest price outlook**.

The bull run is heating up—now is the time to take it seriously.

You’ll also get exclusive access to an HD recording of Tuur Demeester’s new 30-minute video presentation, **_Charting Our Way Through Chaos_**, breaking down why this boom might be only just beginning—and what forces could push it to the next level.

[Read the first-ever mid-cycle report from Adamant Research](https://unchnd.co/45ssBVy?ref=tftc.io)

[![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/D1--9-.png)](https://unchnd.co/45ssBVy?ref=tftc.io)

[Download Here](https://unchnd.co/45ssBVy?ref=tftc.io)

* * *

_Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $200M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at_ [ten31.vc/invest](https://ten31.vc/invest?ref=tftc.io)_._

* * *

**Final thought...**

The "screw em" mentality is a good one to have.

* * *

_Download our free browser extension, **Opportunity Cost**:_ [https://www.opportunitycost.app/](https://www.opportunitycost.app/?ref=tftc.io) start thinking in SATS today.

_Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily:_ [_https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/_](https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/)

_Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:_

 @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /\* Helps with rendering in various email clients \*/ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /\* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads \*/ .im { color: inherit !important; }

[![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/yt.png)](https://youtube.com/@TFTC?feature=shared&ref=tftc.io)

[![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/insta.png)](https://www.instagram.com/tftc.io/?ref=tftc.io)

[![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/TFTC21?ref=tftc.io)

[![Fund Managers Are Still Missing Bitcoin From The Sidelines](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/primall.png)](https://primal.net/tftc?ref=tftc.io)


Tuur Demeester reveals why Bitcoin is evolving into the world’s default collateral and explains how much BTC investors may need to retire securely in an inflationary era.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![TFTC - Bitcoin Expert REVEALS The Exact Amount of BTC You Need to Retire | Tuur Demeester](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Tuur-Demeester.webp)

Tuur Demeester argues that Bitcoin is entering a new phase as pristine collateral, driving longer and less volatile cycles while drawing capital away from bonds, real estate, and gold. Inflation running 10–15%, deficits above Great Depression levels, and rising institutional adoption make Bitcoin both a hedge and a generational wealth vehicle. He recommends allocations ranging from 5% as “insurance” to 20–50% for those seeking early retirement, stressing discipline in holding through volatility and secure custody via multi-sig. With millennials priced out of housing and sovereign adoption rising, Bitcoin is steadily evolving into the cornerstone of a fairer, more resilient monetary order.

Best Quotes
-----------

“Bitcoin as pristine collateral really sees its day.”

“As an asset class matures, it should get less volatile over time and we should have longer cycles.”

“Real inflation rates are somewhere between 10 and 15% for the dollar.”

“Adding just a little bit of Bitcoin all of a sudden changes the behavior of your entire portfolio.”

“Think about an amount that no matter what, you can hold for five years, even if it crashes 80 or 90%.”

“It’s very easy to imagine another 4x from here, or even a 10x.”

“If you’re a millennial priced out of housing, why not rent and own Bitcoin instead?”

“One kilogram of gold has been Bitcoin’s resistance for years. Eleven kilograms is the next magnet.”

“With AI, social hacks are increasing by an order of magnitude. Multi-sig isn’t optional anymore.”

“Bitcoin retools monetary energy into a force for peace, scarce, incorruptible money that protects families across time.”

Conclusion
----------

Demeester’s analysis frames Bitcoin as more than a speculative asset, it is becoming the system’s default collateral and a practical hedge against fiat debasement. Whether used to preserve wealth, accelerate retirement, or provide financial freedom in nations under monetary stress, Bitcoin’s trajectory reflects growing institutional trust and individual adoption. With longer cycles, stronger fundamentals, and increasing global relevance, it is steadily transforming into the backbone of a new monetary era.

Timestamps
----------

0:00 - Intro
1:09 - Proto Rig and bull markets
5:33 - Tuur's new report
7:59 - On chain data
11:01 - Change in cycles and Mark Hart principles
17:05 - Bitkey & Opportunity Cost
18:44 - Pristine collateral
22:16 - Global macro
25:08 - Bitcoin/gold
31:25 - Unchained
32:11 - BTC treasury companies
41:25 - Bitcoin/commodities
49:57 - Real estate/commodities
54:12 - Banking consolidation & bitcoin backing
1:17:34 - Allocation strategies

Transcript
----------

(00:00) If you're thinking about reducing the age of retirement, you could consider 20 to 50% of your assets invested in Bitcoin. If you have more risk appetite, you can still stay in Bitcoin. You go to the treasury companies. It turns into a mania. And we had new treasury companies launching, buying stock in other treasury companies.
(00:18) And it's very easy to imagine another 4x from here or even a 10x. People are like, "No, Bitcoin couldn't be worth more than all the gold in the world." And of course, you and I think, well, of course it can. The money printing is not going away. It's probably likely to increase from here. Those are numbers higher than the Great Depression. You can see that we're in a bull market.
(00:33) If you look at what the whales are doing, they are moving some coins. As an asset class matures, it should get less volatile over time and we should have longer cycles. This is the cycle where Bitcoin has pristine collateral really sees its day. With the Bitcoin strategy companies, we're seeing that kind of on steroids.
(00:53) You used to be able to borrow $40 for every $100 worth of Micro Strategy stock. Now all of a sudden, you have to put up 20x overcolateralization. Now, if we have another crash, everybody is assuming bailouts, stagflation, that that's the decade that we're in. It's like a dead horse. Like, you can pump adrenaline into it all you want, but it's dead.
(01:14) How do you compete with Bitcoin, you know? It's just tur turo. Oh, how the tables have turned. You're sitting in a a seat that I dearly miss. Oh, yes. You're the one who's being grilled today. I don't I don't know if I could take a grilling today. It's been a long travel day. It's a good one. Yeah. And and I got Logan here in my corner, so he he's going to like slip me those uh those questions, the uncomfortable questions to ask.
(01:38) You you'll find that he's not very helpful in that regard. He's uh he he he just puts that I'm kidding, Logan. I'm kidding. Very helpful. If you have if you have hard-hitting questions for me that you want to pass to Tur, make sure you do it. He's he's already doing it in like sign language. We we got this thing going.
(01:56) H it's a great way to end a week. I'm happy that uh I know my flight was a little delayed. Uh as I was telling you, might as well tell the audience audience too. I'm getting back from Georgia where Blocks uh proto team, their proto mining team unveiled their Bitcoin mining rig called the rig and their fleet software.
(02:17) It was a really good event. really good day for Bitcoin I think as somebody's been in the mining industry and I think it's been a bullish week overall uh not only the proto mining event but we had Baltic Honeybadger conference where the ARC second layer protocol is being tested out um with the BTC pay server merchants went swimmingly. Wow, that's awesome. I've heard great things about ARC.
(02:42) So yeah, I'm I'm curious to learn more. Yeah. So, this is like on the tech side. Obviously, a lot of people are focused on Bitcoin treasury companies, what's happening on Capitol Hill, which I'm sure we'll touch on in this discussion, but just like set up this discussion, like I'm incredibly bullish, uh, particularly having seen what I saw this week in person and observing what was going on in other parts of the world.
(03:12) and not my bullish for the those reasons, but you've done something that you haven't done and you're how long you've been writing reports for Adamant. Did you start in 2012 or 2013? I I chose the adamant name back in early 2015. So, the first report was Yeah. like April 2015 or something. Okay. So, it's 10 years. Yep. Yep. and and historically whenever you've written a report, it's been in the depths of the bare market and you have a a very uh phenomenal way of releasing your reports right when the price seems to hit a hit a local bottom. Yeah, I start writing when I feel sick and I usually publish right around the
(03:49) time when I'm starting to feel better and uh that that's worked out well. um sick in the sense that I feel like I'm so bullish and that the the market is just so despondent and just doesn't care anymore and that that's usually the motivation. But yeah, so this time around it felt like I it is a little bit similar only in the sense that I think I still I disagree with the market.
(04:23) I'm just seeing a lot of people that are like, well, they're just not very bullish, you know, and I I'm like, what what's happening? Like you guys, retail is like nowhere to be seen. I think like I'm starting to feel like some friends and family like for the first time now that we're really at new all-time highs, but but that's not a exuberance uh indicator to me. That's just the beginning of public participation to me.
(04:49) So, felt like a good time to, you know, uh, revise the report cuz it's been 2 years since, uh, my last report, uh, which I think was like, what was it? April, April or May 2023. Mhm. I think it was like $27,000 Bitcoin. And the one of the one of the price targets was like, hey, we think this is going to go to 120,000 and beyond.
(05:12) So, now we hit 120. So, that also felt like a good time to to um yeah, just look at the report again and and reissue it. Uh it's not a complete rewrite, but the significant parts I I just, you know, I I like pulled out entire things and I I plugged in new parts that were just completely updated. Yeah.
(05:37) So, let's jump into it cuz I feel like I have the same feeling where even though we're what $7,000 give or take away from all-time highs which were hit earlier this week, people are somewhat bearish in my mind. I don't think I think uh despite the fact that Bitcoin is up massively over the last two years since you uh wrote the original version of this report, we're up 100% 103% in the last year.
(06:04) And if you go back to May 2023 when you wrote the first version, we were hovering around 26,000. So up almost 5x from there, a 6 6x uh 6 1/2x from there. So a 6 and a half return and yet people are still bearish which is fascinating um considering all the tailwinds that we have at our backs right now.
(06:34) But you wrote a 23page report um released it with adamant and unchained. And so what did you feel was most necessary to revise and remind people of at this point in the cycle? Yeah, the the revising I felt like the global macro picture has changed, you know, not fundamentally, but the numbers are different. Uh I think it's more clear where we're going. I think inflation is really ahead.
(07:01) It's already happening. I think we're real inflation rates are somewhere between 10 and 15% for the dollar. So it means like you know we have a every year it's losing 10 to 15% in value. Um and uh and and at the same time we have a lot more regulatory clarity. So we have a very kind of pro- Bitcoin administration which uh was not the case back when I wrote the report.
(07:27) Uh I don't think the ETFs had even dropped yet when No, they hadn't when uh the report was published. And then I think the nation state ado


Private equity is targeting retirement accounts, Bitcoin mining could unlock 2+ gigawatts of stranded gas value, and AI will create a premium market for human-only film productions.

### Private Equity Will Flow Into 401(k)s Within Days, Creating Exit Liquidity for Billionaires - Rudy Havenstein

![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/terribletrader_massive_industrial_warehouse_interior_filled_w_b04de416-996a-43d3-a5d7-a2b9e598ecec_2.png)

The executive order allowing private equity into retirement accounts represents "the bell being rung" according to Dave Collum and Rudy Havenstein. This move will enable private equity firms to offload their "dog shit that's not worth anything" into 401(k)s, creating what Rudy calls "exit liquidity for the billionaires." The timing is critical - private equity firms are already creating continuation funds to move assets from older funds into new ones, essentially running a Ponzi scheme to maintain the illusion of returns.

This development signals desperation in the private equity space, where firms need fresh capital from retail investors to sustain their model. As Dave notes, "funds of funds" create a situation where investors get hit with "two and twenties squared," crushing returns through layered fees. The prediction is that Ma and Pa Kettle's retirement savings will soon be funding these opaque, illiquid investments that have historically underperformed public markets while enriching fund managers.

### Bitcoin Mining Will Unlock 2+ Gigawatts of Stranded Natural Gas Value in the U.S. - Chris Alfano

Currently, only 0.5% to 1% of U.S. natural gas production is being flared, representing over two gigawatts of potential electrical generation capacity for Bitcoin mining. Chris Alfano predicts this entire market will be captured as oil and gas companies realize they can earn $13.50 per MCF mining Bitcoin versus the $1 or less they receive selling to pipelines in oversupplied markets like West Texas. The addressable market is even larger when including wells that are shut in due to uneconomic gas prices and pipeline-connected gas earning negative returns. 360 Energy is already proving this model works, with top 20 oil producers using Bitcoin mining to unlock millions in additional oil revenue by solving their gas disposal problems.

The prediction extends beyond the U.S. - the Middle East market is "four or five times larger," and South America presents similar opportunities. As more oil and gas companies recognize Bitcoin mining as a solution to their stranded gas problems rather than just a speculative investment, this gigawatt-scale deployment will accelerate over the next 24 months.

### AI-Backed Films Will Create a New "Shooting on Film" Premium for Human-Only Productions - Ali Webb

Within the next few years, entirely human-produced films will command a premium similar to how shooting on actual film is valued today versus digital, predicts Ali Webb of Forager. As AI tools become standard in production workflows, audiences will increasingly seek out and pay more for content created without any AI assistance. This shift is already beginning - major studios are using AI for everything from customer research to visual effects, creating a homogenized product that lacks authentic human creativity.

The prediction is that a new market will emerge for "certified human" productions, funded through innovative models like Forager's Bitcoin-backed bonds that separate artistic creation from investor pressure. Just as some directors today insist on shooting on film for its authentic look despite the extra cost and complexity, future filmmakers will market their work as "AI-free" to differentiate from the flood of AI-generated content. This premium tier will preserve traditional filmmaking crafts while the mainstream industry races toward cheaper, faster AI production methods.

* * *

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/04/X-1.png)](https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/?ref=tftc.io)

Blockspace conducts cutting-edge proprietary research for investors.

Bitcoin Mining Gets Its iPhone Moment: Block's Proto Rig Delivers 15-20% Fleet Upgrade Savings
==============================================================================================

Block's Proto division just shook up the $4-5 billion ASIC manufacturing duopoly with Rig, a 14.1 J/TH miner featuring the industry's first swappable hashboard design. The 800 TH/s unit addresses bitcoin miners' biggest pain point: being forced to buy entirely new machines for each upgrade cycle.

"Legacy hardware is not optimized for a lot of existing infrastructure," explains Proto Hardware Lead Thomas Templeton. The modular 9-hashboard design promises 15-20% savings on fleet refreshes while extending unit lifespans to 10 years—a game-changer for an industry where equipment typically becomes obsolete in 2-3 years.

Industry veterans are taking notice. "Nice to see a supplier actually listen to feedback from industry!" praised Upstream Data Founder Steve Barbour, highlighting the unit's power density and maintainability. JPMorgan analysts called it "compelling" with "near best-in-class efficiency."

Core Scientific is already hashing with their 15 EH/s order at their Dalton, Georgia facility, with bulk shipments expected in H2 2025. Proto also launched Fleet, an open-source management tool, signaling their commitment to miner-friendly innovation. This could finally force Bitmain and MicroBT to abandon their planned obsolescence model.

[_Link to Full Article_](https://blockspace.media/insight/blocks-proto-unveils-rig-a-14-1-j-th-asic-miner-with-swappable-hashboards/?ref=tftc.io)

Subscribe to them here (seriously, you should): [https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/](https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/?ref=tftc.io)

* * *

_Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $150M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at_ [ten31.vc/invest](https://ten31.vc/invest?ref=tftc.io)_._

* * *

_Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily:_ [_https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/_](https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/)

_STACK SATS hat:_ [https://tftcmerch.io/](https://tftcmerch.io/?ref=tftc.io)

_Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:_

 @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /\* Helps with rendering in various email clients \*/ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /\* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads \*/ .im { color: inherit !important; }

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/yt.png)](https://youtube.com/@TFTC?feature=shared&ref=tftc.io)

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/insta.png)](https://www.instagram.com/tftc.io/?ref=tftc.io)

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/TFTC21?ref=tftc.io)

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/primall.png)](https://primal.net/tftc?ref=tftc.io)


Bitcoin Safe is a secure, user-friendly Bitcoin savings wallet for all users. It comes with step-by-step setup guides, support for all major hardware signers, transaction visualization, and built-in multisig collaboration tools. Compact Block Filters for enhanced privacy are in development.

[Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.](https://geyser.fund/project/nobsbitcoin)

*   Version 1.3 of [Bitcoin Safe](https://github.com/andreasgriffin/bitcoin-safe/releases/tag/1.3.0) introduces a redesigned interactive chart, quick receive feature, updated icons, a mempool preview window, support for Child Pays For Parent (CPFP) and testnet4, preconfigured testnet demo wallets, as well as various bug fixes and improvements.

*   Upcoming updates for Bitcoin Safe include [Compact Block Filters](https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/compact-block-filters/).

> "Compact Block Filters increase the network privacy dramatically, since you're not asking an electrum server to give you your transactions. They are a little slower than electrum servers. For a savings wallet like [Bitcoin Safe](https://archive.is/o/x8jSG/https://bitcoin-safe.org/) this should be OK," [writes](https://njump.me/naddr1qqgrwwf4xcmnjcf4xvunvd3sxqungqgwwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkctczyqrtex4hcpkt428mjzy75vn8xc6qgulu2jmh4c0qjdmxkuzz03y02qcyqqq823ccjtzhj) the project's developer _Andreas Griffin._

*   Learn more about the current and upcoming features of Bitcoin Safe wallet [here](https://njump.me/naddr1qqgrwwf4xcmnjcf4xvunvd3sxqungqgwwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkctczyqrtex4hcpkt428mjzy75vn8xc6qgulu2jmh4c0qjdmxkuzz03y02qcyqqq823ccjtzhj).

What's new in v1.3
------------------

*   **Redesign** of Chart, Quick Receive, Icons, and Mempool Preview (by [@design-rrr](https://github.com/design-rrr)).
*   **Interactive chart.** Clicking on it now jumps to transaction, and selected transactions are now highlighted.

![Bitcoin Safe v1.3.0: Interactive Chart, CPFP, Testnet4 Support](https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/content/images/2025/05/interactive-chart.gif)

*   Speed up transactions with Child Pays For Parent (CPFP).
*   BDK 1.2 (upgraded from 0.32).
*   Testnet4 support.
*   Preconfigured Testnet demo wallets.
*   Cluster unconfirmed transactions so that parents/children are next to each other.
*   Customizable columns for all tables (optional view: Txid, Address index, and more)
*   Bug fixes and other improvements.

![Bitcoin Safe v1.3.0: Interactive Chart, CPFP, Testnet4 Support](https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/content/images/2025/05/bitcoin-safe-v13.jpg)

[**Announcement**](https://njump.me/nevent1qqs2dn0z03as87764zy9fg5sdzkh45paajj6pagp5rjwd6well7xnjqppamhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5qs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dspzqstewfpmn5wewcuupn7wctnxxtk3tz882krc8p4623t9qxa48lalhl3872) / [Archive](http://archive.today/QjYVe)
[**Blog Post**](https://njump.me/naddr1qqgrwwf4xcmnjcf4xvunvd3sxqungqgwwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkctczyqrtex4hcpkt428mjzy75vn8xc6qgulu2jmh4c0qjdmxkuzz03y02qcyqqq823ccjtzhj) / [Archive](https://archive.is/x8jSG)
[**GitHub Repo**](https://github.com/andreasgriffin/bitcoin-safe)
[Website](https://bitcoin-safe.org/en/)


Chaos or Tyranny? Freedom tech fixes this.

![Chaos, Order, and Freedom](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/10/flowchart.png)

**Humanity's Natural State Is Chaos**
Without order there is chaos. Humans competing with each other for scarce resources naturally leads to conflict until one group achieves significant power and instates a "monopoly on violence."

**Power Brings Stability**
Power has always been the key means to achieve stability in societies. Centralized power can be incredibly effective in addressing issues such as crime, poverty, and social unrest efficiently. Unfortunately this power is often abused and corrupted.

**Centralized Power Breeds Tyranny**
Centralized power often leads to tyrannical rule. When a select few individuals hold control over a society, they tend to become corrupted. Centralized power structures often lack accountability and transparency, and rely too heavily on trust.

**Distributed Power Cultivates Freedom**
New technology that empowers individuals provide us the ability to rebuild societies from the bottom up. Strong individuals that can defend and provide for themselves will help build strong local communities on a similar foundation. The result is power being distributed throughout society rather than held by a select few.

**In the short term, relying on trust and centralized power is an easy answer to mitigating chaos, but freedom tech tools provide us the ability to build on top of much stronger distributed foundations that provide stability while also cultivating individual freedom.**

**The solution starts with us. Empower yourself. Empower others. A grassroots freedom tech movement scaling one person at a time.**

* * *

**_If you found this post helpful support my work with [**_bitcoin_**](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com)._**

![Chaos, Order, and Freedom](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


Chain data shows that binance bitcoin wallets are near all time highs with roughly 700k bitcoin currently valued at $18.2 Billion USD.

![Is there a bank run on Binance?](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/ev.webp)

Influencers would have you believe there is an ongoing binance bank run but bitcoin wallet data says otherwise.

\- binance wallets are near all time highs
\- bitfinex wallets are also trending up
\- gemini and coinbase are being hit with massive withdrawals though

**You should not trust custodians, they can rug you without warning.** It is incredibly important you learn how to hold bitcoin yourself, but also consider not blindly trusting influencers with a ref link to shill you.

![Is there a bank run on Binance?](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/telegram-cloud-photo-size-1-5130069278517734406-y-10.jpg)

![Is there a bank run on Binance?](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/telegram-cloud-photo-size-1-5130069278517734407-y.jpg)

![Is there a bank run on Binance?](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/telegram-cloud-photo-size-1-5130069278517734408-y.jpg)

![Is there a bank run on Binance?](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/telegram-cloud-photo-size-1-5127877758570048404-y.jpg)

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![Is there a bank run on Binance?](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


![Big Tech 🤝 Bitcoin Miners: Energy Freedom](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/09/mscloud.jpg)

For years American bitcoin miners have argued for more efficient and free energy markets. It benefits everyone if our energy infrastructure is as efficient and robust as possible. Unfortunately, broken incentives have led to increased regulation throughout the sector, incentivizing less efficient energy sources such as solar and wind at the detriment of more efficient alternatives.

The result has been less reliable energy infrastructure for all Americans and increased energy costs across the board. This naturally has a direct impact on bitcoin miners: increased energy costs make them less competitive globally.

Bitcoin mining represents a global energy market that does not require permission to participate. Anyone can plug a mining computer into power and internet to get paid the current dynamic market price for their work in bitcoin. Using cellphone or satellite internet, these mines can be located anywhere in the world, sourcing the cheapest power available.

Absent of regulation, bitcoin mining naturally incentivizes the build out of highly efficient and robust energy infrastructure. Unfortunately that world does not exist and burdensome regulations remain the biggest threat for US based mining businesses. Jurisdictional arbitrage gives miners the option of moving to a friendlier country but that naturally comes with its own costs.

Enter AI. With the rapid development and release of AI tools comes the requirement of running massive datacenters for their models. Major tech companies are scrambling to secure machines, rack space, and cheap energy to run full suites of AI enabled tools and services. **The most valuable and powerful tech companies in America have stumbled into an accidental alliance with bitcoin miners: THE NEED FOR CHEAP AND RELIABLE ENERGY.**

Our government is corrupt. Money talks. These companies will push for energy freedom and it will greatly benefit us all.

* * *

_Microsoft Cloud hiring to "implement global small modular reactor and microreactor" strategy to power data centers:_ [https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-cloud-hiring-to-implement-global-small-modular-reactor-and-microreactor-strategy-to-power-data-centers/](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-cloud-hiring-to-implement-global-small-modular-reactor-and-microreactor-strategy-to-power-data-centers/?ref=discreetlog.com)

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![Big Tech 🤝 Bitcoin Miners: Energy Freedom](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


Gradually then suddenly nostr will become the standard.

![Nostr Adoption Update](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/birdx.jpeg)

**Nostr is an open communication protocol that can be used to send messages across a distributed set of relays in a censorship resistant and robust way.**

* * *

_If you missed my nostr introduction post you can find it [here](https://www.discreetlog.com/nostr/). My nostr account can be found [here](https://primal.net/odell?ref=discreetlog.com)._

* * *

We are nearly at the point that if something interesting is posted on a centralized social platform it will usually be posted by someone to nostr.

We are nearly at the point that if something interesting is posted exclusively to nostr it is cross posted by someone to various centralized social platforms.

We are nearly at the point that you can recommend a cross platform app that users can install and easily onboard without additional guides or resources.

As companies continue to build walls around their centralized platforms nostr posts will be the easiest to cross reference and verify - as companies continue to censor their users nostr is the best censorship resistant alternative - gradually then suddenly nostr will become the standard. 🫡

[![Nostr Adoption Update](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/08/image.png)](https://primal.net/explore?ref=discreetlog.com)

Current Nostr Stats

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![Nostr Adoption Update](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


Bitcoin transaction fees limit network abuse by making usage expensive. There is a cost to every transaction, set by a dynamic free market based on demand.

![High Fees? Bitcoin is Working As Designed](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/05/mempoolspace.png)

There must be a limit to how much data is transferred across the bitcoin network in order to keep the ability to run and use your own node accessible. **A node is required to interact with the global bitcoin network - if you do not use your own node then you must trust someone else's node.** If nodes become inaccessible to run then the network will centralize around the remaining entities that operate them - threatening the censorship resistance at the core of bitcoin's value prop. **The bitcoin protocol uses three main mechanisms to keep node operation costs low - a fixed limit on the amount of data in each block, an automatic difficulty adjustment that regulates how many blocks are produced based on current mining hash rate, and a robust dynamic transaction fee market.**

Bitcoin transaction fees limit network abuse by making usage expensive. There is a cost to every transaction, set by a [dynamic free market](https://www.discreetlog.com/utxos/) based on demand for scarce block space. It is an incredibly robust way to prevent spam without relying on centralized entities that can be corrupted or pressured.

After the 2017 bitcoin fee spike we had six years of relative quiet to build tools that would be robust in a sustained high fee market. Fortunately our tools are significantly better now but many still need improvement. Most of the pain points we see today will be mitigated.

**The reality is we were never going to be fully prepared - pressure is needed to show the pain points and provide strong incentives to mitigate them.**

**It will be incredibly interesting to watch how projects adapt under pressure. Optimistic we see great innovation here.**

* * *

_If you are willing to wait for your transaction to confirm you can pay significantly lower fees. Learn best practices for reducing your fee burden [**here**](https://www.discreetlog.com/utxos/).

My guide for running and using your own bitcoin node can be found **[here](https://werunbtc.com/bitcoincore?ref=discreetlog.com)**._

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![High Fees? Bitcoin is Working As Designed](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


PacWest is the first of many small regional banks that will go under this year. Most will get bought by the big four in gov orchestrated sales. This has been the playbook since 2008.

> ![Bank Consolidation Then CBDC](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/05/banks-1.jpg)
>
> Bank run on every crypto bank then bank run on every "real" bank.
>
> — ODELL (@ODELL) [December 14, 2022](https://twitter.com/ODELL/status/1602838429447999491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=discreetlog.com)

Good morning.

It looks like PacWest will fail today. It will be both the fifth largest bank failure in US history and the sixth major bank to fail this year. It will likely get purchased by one of the big four banks in a government orchestrated sale.

**March 8th - Silvergate Bank
March 10th - Silicon Valley Bank
March 12th - Signature Bank
March 19th - Credit Suisse
May 1st - First Republic Bank
May 4th - PacWest Bank?**

PacWest is the first of many small regional banks that [will go under](https://www.discreetlog.com/banking-crisis/) this year. Most will get bought by the big four in gov orchestrated sales. This has been the playbook since 2008. Follow the incentives. Massive consolidation across the banking industry. PacWest gonna be a drop in the bucket compared to what comes next.

First, a hastened government led bank consolidation, then a public/private partnership with the remaining large banks to launch a surveilled and controlled digital currency network. We will be told it is more convenient. We will be told it is safer. We will be told it will prevent future bank runs. All of that is marketing bullshit. **The goal is greater control of money. The ability to choose how we spend it and how we save it. If you control the money - you control the people that use it.**

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![Bank Consolidation Then CBDC](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


> ![Nostr: A Revolutionary Communication Protocol](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/04/nostr.webp)
>
> [@matt\_odell](https://twitter.com/MATT_ODELL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=discreetlog.com) don't you even dare not ask about nostr!
>
> — Kukks (Andrew Camilleri) (@MrKukks) [May 18, 2021](https://twitter.com/MrKukks/status/1394638825675177986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=discreetlog.com)

Nostr first hit my radar spring 2021: created by fellow bitcoiner and friend, [fiatjaf](https://twitter.com/fiatjaf?ref=discreetlog.com), and [released](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr?ref=discreetlog.com) to the world as free open source software. I was fortunate to be able to host a [conversation with him on Citadel Dispatch](https://www.podpage.com/citadeldispatch/cd63-building-nostr-a-censorship-resistant-alternative-to-twitter-with-fiatjaf-jb55-and-mrkukks/?ref=discreetlog.com) in those early days, capturing that moment in history forever. Since then, the protocol has seen explosive viral organic growth as individuals around the world have contributed their time and energy to build out the protocol and the surrounding ecosystem due to the clear need for better communication tools.

_**nostr is to twitter as bitcoin is to paypal**_

As an intro to nostr, let us start with a metaphor:

_**twitter is paypal** - a centralized platform plagued by censorship but has the benefit of established network effects_

_**nostr is bitcoin** - an open protocol that is censorship resistant and robust but requires an organic adoption phase_

**Nostr is an open communication protocol that can be used to send messages across a distributed set of relays in a censorship resistant and robust way.
** - Anyone can run a relay.
 - Anyone can interact with the protocol.
 - Relays can choose which messages they want to relay.
 - Users are identified by a simple public private key pair that they can generate themselves.

Nostr is often compared to twitter since there are nostr clients that emulate twitter functionality and user interface but that is merely one application of the protocol. **Nostr is so much more than a mere twitter competitor.** Nostr clients and relays can transmit a wide variety of data and clients can choose how to display that information to users. The result is a revolution in communication with implications that are difficult for any of us to truly comprehend.

Similar to bitcoin, nostr is an open and permissionless protocol. **No person, company, or government controls it.** Anyone can iterate and build on top of nostr without permission. Together, bitcoin and nostr are incredibly complementary freedom tech tools: censorship resistant, permissionless, robust, and interoperable - money and speech protected by code and incentives, not laws.

As censorship throughout the world continues to escalate, freedom tech provides hope for individuals around the world who refuse to accept the status quo. This movement will succeed on the shoulders of those who choose to stand up and contribute. We will build our own path. A brighter path.

* * *

**My Nostr Public Key:** [npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx](https://primal.net/odell?ref=discreetlog.com)

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![Nostr: A Revolutionary Communication Protocol](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)


e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e


Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC The price of Bitcoin has plunged below $110,000 in the past 24 hours, marking one of its steepest corrections in weeks. According to data from Bitcoin Magazine Pro, the world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to $108,890 and remains below the $110,000 threshold at the time of writing. The decline represents a sharp sell-off from just last Friday, when Bitcoin traded as high as $117,000, before tumbling to $109,894 over the weekend. The downward momentum was accelerated by a massive whale sale. Over the weekend, a single Bitcoin holder offloaded 24,000 BTC worth more than $2.7 billion, sparking additional selling pressure and driving the price lower. The large transaction caused heightened volatility and weighed heavily on market sentiment. This entity liquidated their entire 24k balance, sending all of it to Hyperunite. They transferred 12k just today and are still actively selling, which is likely contributing to the ongoing price drop. https://t.co/HYPBiGzjRf pic.twitter.com/crML9AqvvV — Sani | TimechainIndex.com (@SaniExp) August 24, 2025 Despite the sharp move down, sentiment has not yet tipped fully into fear. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index, a widely watched market sentiment tool, currently sits at 48/100, which is categorized as “neutral” but hovers just above “fear.” The Fear and Greed Index is a tool that helps investors and traders analyze the Bitcoin and Crypto market from a sentiment perspective. It identifies the extent to which the market is becoming overly fearful or overly greedy. Hence why it is called the Fear and Greed Index. Bitcoin Magazine Pro explains that the Index helps investors separate their emotions from broader market reactions, offering insights into when assets may be overbought or oversold. Scores near zero reflect “extreme fear,” while scores close to 100 represent “extreme greed.” With Bitcoin currently at 48, sentiment is edging toward concern but has not yet fully entered bearish territory. Meanwhile, underlying network fundamentals remain strong despite price weakness. Bitcoin’s hash rate—a measure of the total computational power securing the network—is approaching a new record high. The current daily value stands at 909,080,589 Th/s, just shy of the all-time high of 1,084,828,947 Th/s set on August 4 when Bitcoin was trading at $115,149. Long-term holders may find reassurance in historical profitability data. Bitcoin Magazine Pro notes that holding Bitcoin has been profitable for 99.1% of its existence: Number of profitable days: 5,437 Total number of days tracked: 5,487 Percent of profitable days: 99.1% While the recent drop below $110,000 has rattled short-term traders, Bitcoin’s track record and network strength suggest resilience. Investors will be closely watching whether the Fear and Greed Index shifts further into fear territory, and if whales continue to unload large holdings, potentially adding more turbulence to the market in the coming days. JUST IN: Holding #Bitcoin has still been profitable for over 99% of its history. HODL pic.twitter.com/Fd6cTxFIMD — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) August 26, 2025 This post Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Nik.

[Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com)
![](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Bitmine-Accumulates-BTC-1.jpg)
[Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-price-crashes-below-110000-after-whale-sold-24000-btc)

The [price of Bitcoin](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bitcoin-price) has plunged below $110,000 in the past 24 hours, marking one of its steepest corrections in weeks. According to data from [Bitcoin Magazine Pro](https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/bitcoin-price-live/), the world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to $108,890 and remains below the $110,000 threshold at the time of writing. The decline represents a sharp sell-off from just last Friday, when Bitcoin traded as high as $117,000, before tumbling to $109,894 over the weekend.

![](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AD_4nXc6NxUE_R-JMRpPWpBeaaZ8uyi5RCE4AAfhVLXhAzh7hXdRlb3tGTDmyOzRMI5q7WIMllUs4c1iXdEGPB7jUfJja4pwdIe-XXPlLC4vge_fgY4prUnp3Jh8R1-a522u6wu_DqkhvwkeyR93d1n3fNktaeHVkiBCCfw.png "Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC 12")

The downward momentum was accelerated by a massive whale sale. Over the weekend, a single Bitcoin holder offloaded 24,000 BTC worth more than $2.7 billion, sparking additional selling pressure and driving the price lower. The large transaction caused heightened volatility and weighed heavily on market sentiment.

> This entity liquidated their entire 24k balance, sending all of it to Hyperunite. They transferred 12k just today and are still actively selling, which is likely contributing to the ongoing price drop. [https://t.co/HYPBiGzjRf](https://t.co/HYPBiGzjRf) [pic.twitter.com/crML9AqvvV](https://t.co/crML9AqvvV)
>
> — Sani | TimechainIndex.com (@SaniExp) [August 24, 2025](https://twitter.com/SaniExp/status/1959717227302941109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Despite the sharp move down, sentiment has not yet tipped fully into fear. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index, a widely watched market sentiment tool, currently sits at 48/100, which is categorized as “neutral” but hovers just above “fear.”

The Fear and Greed Index is a tool that helps investors and traders analyze the Bitcoin and Crypto market from a sentiment perspective. It identifies the extent to which the market is becoming overly fearful or overly greedy. Hence why it is called the Fear and Greed Index.

![](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AD_4nXfYFZ5HVnHN_zkG3nhUu8IwNNqUl9W0f0JVhRVWn1IBZQ8fdNk_zqwihja-Y7BDOO-xQBiRbsl3Nvt0scxIQAc5vYSviFsn9DwB7YHFKKiNiPNPza06RnpV-r5QpQ2m_TNanj8gdAkeyR93d1n3fNktaeHVkiBCCfw.png "Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC 13")

Bitcoin Magazine Pro explains that the Index helps investors separate their emotions from broader market reactions, offering insights into when assets may be overbought or oversold. Scores near zero reflect “extreme fear,” while scores close to 100 represent “extreme greed.” With Bitcoin currently at 48, sentiment is edging toward concern but has not yet fully entered bearish territory.

Meanwhile, underlying network fundamentals remain strong despite price weakness. Bitcoin’s [hash rate](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/tags/hashrate)—a measure of the total computational power securing the network—is approaching a new record high. The current daily value stands at 909,080,589 Th/s, just shy of the all-time high of 1,084,828,947 Th/s set on August 4 when Bitcoin was trading at $115,149.

![](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AD_4nXcPegYkdRyyJhcJMQtZsTRIsC8MDBKXcIeTRlagEn3K55-F6kioBlgMDxq7g-st6HpPQdF58glHulNdZncB8YLD0ugdz7SES48Jrf4iMaf-p6AkS8Q7YUtB5oceTBKqFRMw0HNlCAkeyR93d1n3fNktaeHVkiBCCfw.png "Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC 14")

Long-term holders may find reassurance in historical profitability data. Bitcoin Magazine Pro notes that holding Bitcoin has been profitable for 99.1% of its existence:

*   Number of profitable days: 5,437
*   Total number of days tracked: 5,487
*   Percent of profitable days: 99.1%

While the recent drop below $110,000 has rattled short-term traders, Bitcoin’s track record and network strength suggest resilience. Investors will be closely watching whether the Fear and Greed Index shifts further into fear territory, and if whales continue to unload large holdings, potentially adding more turbulence to the market in the coming days.

> JUST IN: Holding [#Bitcoin](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) has still been profitable for over 99% of its history.
>
> HODL ![✊](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/270a.png) [pic.twitter.com/Fd6cTxFIMD](https://t.co/Fd6cTxFIMD)
>
> — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) [August 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1960371138413961267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

This post [Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $110,000 After Whale Sold 24,000 BTC](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-price-crashes-below-110000-after-whale-sold-24000-btc) first appeared on [Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com) and is written by [Nik](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/authors/nik).


Bitcoin Magazine Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain’s Dominance Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. recently announced the Proto Rig, a modular reinvention of Bitcoin mining hardware not seen since Bitmain’s launch of the S1 ASIC rig in 2013, over 12 years ago. The announcement was made from the facilities of Core Scientific with whom Block has partnered to design, test and develop the Proto line of mining hardware. Dorsey personally attended the event, among a who’s who of the Bitcoin mining industry. Spotted: The boss @jack getting a closer look at Proto Rig. pic.twitter.com/196Sk9KOzn — Proto (@protomining) August 14, 2025 The Proto Rig has the potential to disrupt and challenge Bitmain’s effective monopoly over mining hardware manufacturing, with approximately over 80% of the market, a position it has enjoyed for most of Bitcoin’s history. But the main innovation does not come from more powerful or energy-efficient chips — not yet anyway — rather from making everything else around the chip drastically better, designed to lower repair frequency and maintenance costs. Its modular design supports seamless upgrades and part replacements that can be swapped in seconds. In an interview with The Mining Pod, Perry Hothi, blockchain solutions architect at Block, focused on the mining division since 2022 said the device was more than just competitive with the Bitmain line of mining rigs; “When people hear competitive, they automatically think efficient, right? I always say it’s profitable… If it’s not running, efficiency doesn’t matter.” It changes the focus of the conversation in mining from the specs of ASIC chips toward the amateur design of mining rigs as a whole, which have not yet caught up with best practices developed by the data center industry in its many decades of experience. “When you look at the data center world, they’ve been doing it for 10 times as long [as Bitcoin miners]. There’s a lot of innovations they made that work for us,” Hothi said, implying the Proto Rig was designed to learn from the scaled-up data center industry. Erik Cativo, a Bitcoin product developer and HRF grantee echoed this sentiment on X saying the “Proto Rig looks clean. Reminds me of beautifully designed Swedish telecom hardware.” Proto Rig looks clean. Reminds me of beautifully designed Swedish telecom hardware. pic.twitter.com/4F3fLSPw6Q — Erik (@uxerik_) August 14, 2025 In the interview, Hothi also discussed the vision and complexities of manufacturing the Proto Rig in the United States, expressing the benefits of manufacturing pieces at home, which can improve reliability of supply chains and is also now strongly incentivized by President Trump’s new tariff regime. On the topic Hothi said, “there are certain components that can be built faster in China and brought over, others are better built in America now… Like there’s a not too distant future where every component in [the Proto Rig] will be built right here [in the United States].” He added that today, “the [ASIC] chips are going to be in Taiwan, but even those eventually, we’re looking to make those here.” Regarding the ASIC chip of the Proto Rig, Max Guise Product & ASIC Lead at Proto told Bitcoin Magazine “Our system is vertically integrated end-to-end, including our own chip. At a system level, we can offer different configurations that bring different efficiency depending on the mining operator needs, and our configurations go as low as 14.1 joules per hash efficiency rating.” keeping details about the chip close to the chest and emphasizing the Proto Rig’s customizability and modularity. Modularity In order to provide more reliable hashrate to miners, the Proto Rig is designed in modular pieces starting with the chassis, which measures 39cm by 29cm by 50cm and can host nine boards’ worth of chips, six fans and three modular power units. The Proto Rig can be liquid cooled as well, while the modular fans suggest the hardware is meant to be modded or extended to serve different use cases and approaches, perhaps enterprise miners or the booming home mining industry. The Proto Rig is highly customizable allowing miners to choose exactly how many chips to run, while also having clear hardware and software error signals in case a fan breaks or a power supply is overheating. The Proto Rig manages to squeeze the equivalent of three mining units in the space of two traditional models while being competitive to top-of-the-line industrial miners like the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP or the MicroBT Whatsminer M66S, both running on about 14 joules per terahash. Yet the Proto Rig delivers up to 810 TH per unit in the same space as the competitors, taking into account the real estate costs of industrial mining, which for years have filled out warehouses of units side by side. 14.1 J/TH !! https://t.co/bZtUkwAkEj — jack (@jack) August 14, 2025 The Proto Rig might not just be built for the big miners. There were multiple hints in the event and following commentary that suggest home miners will get some love as well from the Proto hardware team. Jack Dorsey himself tweeted out “A commitment to ALL the players in the mining industry, not just the big guys.” He retweeted a bitcoiner who attended the event and shared his excitement with some photographs. The mysterious tweet has not been followed up with any details but there are rumours that there might be a Bitaxe-style collaboration with Proto which would look to serve the home mining market. When asked about home mining Max Guise told Bitcoin Magazine “Proto is designing products for mining operators of all sizes. Our first product, Rig, is a 12 kilowatt system, which is a higher power requirement than most home miners can handle, so it is best suited for operators who have more infrastructure involved in their operations. That doesn’t rule out the possibility of future products that could be more retail-friendly, but right now it’s not our focus.” StratumV2 On By Default: Huge For Miner Decentralization Brian Stegall, head of design at Proto, announced at the launch event that the “Proto Rigs will support Stratum V2 out of the box,” adding that, “It’s a more efficient protocol that offers native hashrate auditing, which helps detect and reduce issues like miner misconfiguration, unwanted divergence and other fleet-wide issues.” Stratumv2 is a mining pool update to the popular Stratum V1 protocol which dominates adoption among miners, in part because it was one of the first software tools developed to pull hashrate from miners throughout the world, allowing them to act as one miner and share rewards. The old protocol, while well understood by miners has a serious downside, it centralizes the construction of blocks to the mining pool operator, an issue that was recently revealed to be worse than expected, as most mining pools appear to be copying block templates produced by Antpool. The risk threatens a deep layer of the Bitcoin network, potentially exposing transactions to censorship, if this trend is not reversed. StratumV2 was designed to put block template production in the hands of hashrate providers, pushing the process to the edges and thus increasing the diversity of blocks and transactions included, ultimately safeguarding Bitcoin’s censorship-resistance properties. But mining pools have been slow to adopt the protocol, likely because of the software development lift. With the Proto Rig building it into the software stack of the machine, we should expect a much higher rate of adoption as the Block’s mining rigs get rolled out into production. This is a development that the greater Bitcoin community has been working toward for many years. Open Sourcing The Software Going beyond just reinventing mining hardware, Proto has also announced the open source release of its mining management software, Fleet. Brian Stegall broke the news by sharing their experience researching the state of software in the Bitcoin mining industry as, “We chatted with a ton of different people in varying sizes of operations, and we listened to all the complaints… We broke that down into three areas… One, that there’s too many tools. Two, making it simple is important. And automation and AI is the third one.” Fleet consolidates a patchwork of tools used by miners to boot and track their machines as well as identify hardware or software failures. Laughing in playful disbelief Stegall said that “We went to a lot of facilities and there’s a lot of places where they’ll scan the network with BTC.com tools, still. Yeah. Right. And then will flip it into a spreadsheet and upload it.” As an example of how badly a modern software suite is needed, he described some arcane process of big mining. Stegall also made the case that having a better-designed and robust software tool to manage the hardware would help train employees more effectively and let them focus on more important issues rather than struggle with bad user interfaces. On the topic of security Stegall said that the “Proto Fleet comes out of the box with secure boot technology to guarantee that the firmware you’re running comes from Proto. This is an extra measure that prevents supply chain attacks, malware attacks, and theft of Bitcoin rewards.” He added that, “It will also allow you to disable secure boot technology easily if you want to do something of your own.” Finally, the topic of AI was teased out as a modern approach to user experience, though the hints made were somewhat vague: “We wanted to make clean and clear dashboards… If fan3 is broken, we tell you fan3 is broken… We’re providing robust repair guides right in proto-fleet… We want to introduce a modern AI-powered interface… Automated alerts so that you don’t even have to ask the chat interface.” While details on the depth of AI integration into Fleet are still scarce, what Stegall shared does reveal a vision of high-tech modern software helping increase the efficiency of Bitcoin miners as a whole. The software is expected to be open sourced in the near future, though no software has been released to the public yet. Pricing and Delivery Overall, while we have learned much about Block and Proto’s plans to serve and upgrade the Bitcoin mining industry, no details have been shared about the price of the Proto Rigs, on the topic Max Guise told Bitcoin Magazine that “We want to hear from everyone interested in Proto Rig. There are many ways to configure the rig, and pricing and configuration options are handled directly by our Sales team.” The rigs are starting to hit the market, apparently not just to Core Scientific who has a close partnership with Proto, Max Guise told Bitcoin Magazine that the “Proto Rigs are shipping to customers now. As far as availability, we recommend customers to check with our Sales team on exact availability depending on configuration and volume”. All and all, the Proto Rig reveal left a strong impression in the mining industry and greater Bitcoin community: It demonstrated a mastery in industrial design and showed off what top Western talent can bring to a hardware industry that for most of Bitcoin’s history has been dominated by the East. This post Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain’s Dominance first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

[Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com)
![](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/proto-rig.webp)
[Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain’s Dominance](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bitcoin-mining/block-inc-launches-proto-rig-modular-bitcoin-miner-challenging-bitmains-dominance)

[Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/jack-dorseys-block-inc-is-reinventing-finance-bitcoin). recently [announced the Proto Rig](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/block-launches-modular-bitcoin-miner-and-free-open-source-mining-software), a modular reinvention of Bitcoin mining hardware not seen since Bitmain’s launch of the [S1 ASIC rig in 2013](https://blog.bitmain.com/en/the-story-behind-the-asic-evolution/), over 12 years ago. The announcement was made from the facilities of Core Scientific with whom Block has partnered to design, test and develop the Proto line of mining hardware. Dorsey personally attended the event, among a who’s who of the Bitcoin mining industry.

> ![🔧](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f527.png) Spotted: The boss [@jack](https://twitter.com/jack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) getting a closer look at Proto Rig. [pic.twitter.com/196Sk9KOzn](https://t.co/196Sk9KOzn)
>
> — Proto (@protomining) [August 14, 2025](https://twitter.com/protomining/status/1956063239399145910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The Proto Rig has the potential to disrupt and challenge Bitmain’s effective monopoly over mining hardware manufacturing, with approximately over 80% of the market, a position it has enjoyed for most of Bitcoin’s history. But the main innovation does not come from more powerful or energy-efficient chips — not yet anyway — rather from making everything else around the chip drastically better, designed to lower repair frequency and maintenance costs. Its modular design supports seamless upgrades and part replacements that can be swapped in seconds.

In an interview with The Mining Pod, Perry Hothi, blockchain solutions architect at Block, focused on the mining division since 2022 said the device was more than just competitive with the Bitmain line of mining rigs; “When people hear competitive, they automatically think efficient, right? I always say it’s profitable… If it’s not running, efficiency doesn’t matter.” It changes the focus of the conversation in mining from the specs of ASIC chips toward the amateur design of mining rigs as a whole, which have not yet caught up with best practices developed by the data center industry in its many decades of experience. “When you look at the data center world, they’ve been doing it for 10 times as long \[as Bitcoin miners\]. There’s a lot of innovations they made that work for us,” Hothi said, implying the Proto Rig was designed to learn from the scaled-up data center industry.

Erik Cativo, a Bitcoin product developer and HRF grantee [echoed this sentiment on X](https://x.com/uxerik_/status/1956003830744613372) saying the “Proto Rig looks clean. Reminds me of beautifully designed Swedish telecom hardware.”

> Proto Rig looks clean. Reminds me of beautifully designed Swedish telecom hardware. [pic.twitter.com/4F3fLSPw6Q](https://t.co/4F3fLSPw6Q)
>
> — Erik (@uxerik\_) [August 14, 2025](https://twitter.com/uxerik_/status/1956003830744613372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

In the interview, Hothi also discussed the vision and complexities of manufacturing the Proto Rig in the United States, expressing the benefits of manufacturing pieces at home, which can improve reliability of supply chains and is also now strongly incentivized by President Trump’s new tariff regime. On the topic Hothi said, “there are certain components that can be built faster in China and brought over, others are better built in America now… Like there’s a not too distant future where every component in \[the Proto Rig\] will be built right here \[in the United States\].” He added that today, “the \[ASIC\] chips are going to be in Taiwan, but even those eventually, we’re looking to make those here.”

Regarding the ASIC chip of the Proto Rig, Max Guise Product & ASIC Lead at Proto told Bitcoin Magazine “Our system is vertically integrated end-to-end, including our own chip. At a system level, we can offer different configurations that bring different efficiency depending on the mining operator needs, and our configurations go as low as 14.1 joules per hash efficiency rating.” keeping details about the chip close to the chest and emphasizing the Proto Rig’s customizability and modularity.

### Modularity

In order to provide more reliable hashrate to miners, the Proto Rig is designed in modular pieces starting with the chassis, which measures 39cm by 29cm by 50cm and can host nine boards’ worth of chips, six fans and three modular power units. The Proto Rig can be liquid cooled as well, while the modular fans suggest the hardware is meant to be modded or extended to serve different use cases and approaches, perhaps enterprise miners or the booming [home mining industry](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/make-bitcoin-mining-decentralized-again). The Proto Rig is highly customizable allowing miners to choose exactly how many chips to run, while also having clear hardware and software error signals in case a fan breaks or a power supply is overheating.

![Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain's Dominance](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/modular.png "Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain's Dominance 8")

![Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain's Dominance](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/specs1.png "Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain's Dominance 9")

![Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain's Dominance](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/specs2.png "Block Inc. Launches Proto Rig: Modular Bitcoin Miner Challenging Bitmain's Dominance 10")

The Proto Rig manages to squeeze the equivalent of three mining units in the space of two traditional models while being competitive to top-of-the-line industrial miners like the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP or the MicroBT Whatsminer M66S, both running on about 14 joules per terahash. Yet the Proto Rig delivers up to 810 TH per unit in the same space as the competitors, taking into account the real estate costs of industrial mining, which for years have filled out warehouses of units side by side.

> 14.1 J/TH !! [https://t.co/bZtUkwAkEj](https://t.co/bZtUkwAkEj)
>
> — jack (@jack) [August 14, 2025](https://twitter.com/jack/status/1956006538042093993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The Proto Rig might not just be built for the big miners. There were multiple hints in the event and following commentary that suggest home miners will get some love as well from the Proto hardware team. Jack Dorsey himself tweeted out “A commitment to ALL the players in the mining industry, not just the big guys.” He retweeted a bitcoiner who attended the event and shared his excitement with some photographs.

The mysterious tweet has not been followed up with any details but there are rumours that there might be a [Bitaxe](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/bitaxe-and-the-open-source-bitcoin-mining-movement)\-style collaboration with Proto which would look to serve the home mining market.

When asked about home mining Max Guise told Bitcoin Magazine “Proto is designing products for mining operators of all sizes. Our first product, Rig, is a 12 kilowatt system, which is a higher power requirement than most home miners can handle, so it is best suited for operators who have more infrastructure involved in their operations. That doesn’t rule out the possibility of future products that could be more retail-friendly, but right now it’s not our focus.”

### StratumV2 On By Default: Huge For Miner Decentralization

[Brian Stegall](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-stegall/), head of design at Proto, announced at the launch event that the “Proto Rigs will support Stratum V2 out of the box,” adding that, “It’s a more efficient protocol that offers native hashrate auditing, which helps detect and reduce issues like miner misconfiguration, unwanted divergence and other fleet-wide issues.”

[Stratumv2](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/stratum-v2-will-save-bitcoin-mining) is a mining pool update to the popular Stratum V1 protocol which dominates adoption among miners, in part because it was one of the first software tools developed to pull hashrate from miners throughout the world, allowing them to act as one miner and share rewards. The old protocol, while well understood by miners has a serious downside, it centralizes the construction of blocks to the mining pool operator, an issue that was recently revealed to be worse than expected, as most mining pools appear to be [copying block templates produced by Antpool](https://b10c.me/observations/12-template-similarity/). The risk threatens a deep layer of the Bitcoin network, potentially exposing transactions to censorship, if this trend is not reversed.

StratumV2 was designed to put block template production in the hands of hashrate providers, pushing the process to the edges and thus increasing the diversity of blocks and transactions included, ultimately safeguarding Bitcoin’s censorship-resistance properties.

But mining pools have been slow to adopt the protocol, likely because of the software development lift. With the Proto Rig building it into the software stack of the machine, we should expect a much higher rate of adoption as the Block’s mining rigs get rolled out into production. This is a development that the greater Bitcoin community has been working toward for many years.

### Open Sourcing The Software

Going beyond just reinventing mining hardware, Proto has also announced the open source release of its mining managemen


> ![Life is Complicated - Bitcoin is Simple](https://www.discreetlog.com/content/images/2023/05/mothers.jpg)
>
> I often hear "bitcoin doesn't interest me, I'm not a finance person."
>
> Ironically, the beauty of sound money is you don't have to be. In the current system you're expected to manage a diversified investment portfolio or pay someone to do it. Bitcoin will make that optional.
>
> — ODELL (@ODELL) [September 16, 2018](https://twitter.com/ODELL/status/1041358813482364928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=discreetlog.com)

At first glance bitcoin often appears overwhelming to newcomers. It is incredibly easy to get bogged down in the details of how it works or different ways to use it. Enthusiasts, such as myself, often enjoy going down the deep rabbit hole of the potential of bitcoin, possible pitfalls and theoretical scenarios, power user techniques, and the developer ecosystem. If your first touch point with bitcoin is that type of content then it is only natural to be overwhelmed. While it is important that we have a thriving community of bitcoiners dedicated to these complicated tasks - the true beauty of bitcoin lies in its simplicity. Bitcoin is simply better money. It is the best money we have ever had.

**Life is complicated. Life is hard. Life is full of responsibility and surprises.** Bitcoin allows us to focus on our lives while relying on a money that is simple. A money that is not controlled by any individual, company, or government. A money that cannot be easily seized or blocked. A money that cannot be devalued at will by a handful of corrupt bureaucrat who live hundreds of miles from us. A money that can be easily saved and should increase in purchasing power over time without having to learn how to "build a diversified stock portfolio" or hire someone to do it for us.

**Bitcoin enables all of us to focus on our lives - our friends and family - doing what we love with the short time we have on this earth. Time is scarce. Life is complicated. Bitcoin is the most simple aspect of our complicated lives.** If we spend our scarce time working then we should be able to easily save that accrued value for future generations without watching the news or understanding complicated financial markets. Bitcoin makes this possible for anyone.

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Raising a human is complicated. It is hard, it requires immense personal responsibility, it requires critical thinking, but mothers figure it out, because it is worth it. Using and saving bitcoin is simple -  [simply install an app on your phone](https://werunbtc.com/phoenix?ref=discreetlog.com). Every mother can do it. Every person can do it.

**Life is complicated. Life is beautiful. Bitcoin is simple.**

* * *

_**If you found this post helpful support my work with [bitcoin](https://geyser.fund/project/citadel?ref=discreetlog.com).**_

![Life is Complicated - Bitcoin is Simple](https://werunbtc.com/donate.png)