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In our Friday articles, we take a deep dive into the current state of Bitcoin. Every Friday we will continue to publish brief State of Bitcoin newsletters to keep subscribers up to date on news from the Bitcoin industry. For full disclosure, Brandon is a strong believer in Bitcoin and has allocated portions of his portfolios to BTC (HODL baby).
Top stories from the week:
Central African Republic makes Bitcoin Legal Tender: On Wednesday April 27, the Central African Republic (CAR) announced that Bitcoin will become legal tender for the entire country. The CAR was under French control for some time and is currently one of the poorest countries in the world with an unstable currency. CAR is slightly smaller in population than El Salvador (4.7 million to 6.48 million) but moving to the Bitcoin standard can be an extremely positive movement for many African countries. Another country looking to improve their monetary policy and help the financial stability of their people will be huge going forward. CAR also has a significant amount of Uranium, crude oil, and other energy resources so I for one am excited to see the potentially innovative ways to mine Bitcoin.
The City of Ft. Worth is Mining Bitcoin: The Dallas-Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan area is the fourth largest by population in the United States, and the second largest city in that metropolitan area, Fort Worth, announced that it will become the first city to mine Bitcoin. Three Bitmain Antminer S9 mining rigs were donated to the city and are currently running in a climate-controlled IT wing at City Hall. There will be a 6 month trial period and then the city will determine if they should invest more into mining. This is HUGE. Texas is already extremely Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining friendly and now a city is officially mining BTC. I could see Texas potentially finding ways to use water plants, gas flare, or other ways to utilize the state’s abundant energy sources.
New York bill to ban Bitcoin Mining: The state of New York has proposed a bill to ban all proof-of-work “crypto” mining. If passed this would put a moratorium on PoW mining for the next two years. This is specifically a target at Bitcoin as it is the only PoW “crypto” out there and it is a symptom of politicians falling for the ESG narrative surrounding Bitcoin. As one state embraces Bitcoin mining, another pushes it away. The mass exodus from New York to states like Texas will seem even more appealing to Bitcoiners as New York continues to shoot itself in the foot and not be friendly to a rapidly growing industry.
Fidelity Allows Bitcoin in 401k: Currently in the United States there are companies (like Choice by Kingdom Trust, check the referral link below) that offer you the ability to hold Bitcoin in your IRA accounts. Now Fidelity, which currently has $2.7 trillion in 401k assets, is allowing people to hold Bitcoin in their 401k. Although when you pull money out of your 401k it is taxed, many companies offer employer match and other vehicles that can allow people to invest money in their retirement (or seemingly “bonus” money with employer match) in a retirement account. This is another major step towards adoption as a retirement GIANT gets into the Bitcoin game.
Bitcoin Mining Council Confirms Improvements in Sustainability: The Bitcoin Mining Council is a group of Bitcoin miners that has the mission of sharing best mining practices and educating the public on Bitcoin mining. Currently, it appears the BMC is almost playing into the ESG narrative by reporting sustainability, but Bitcoin encourages sustainable energy as Jack Dorsey famously tweeted. The data presented shows that 58.4% of Bitcoin mining energy is sustainable electricity and BMC members are using 64.6% sustainable energy. Whether its flare gas, captured energy that is usually wasted, or some other form of renewable energy that can be sustained and easy to obtain, Bitcoin mining seems to be headed in the right place although I may not fully agree with having a Bitcoin Mining Council.
BIP 119 purposed update to Bitcoin protocol: BIP 119 is a proposed change to the Bitcoin protocol by Jeremy Rubin which introduces the use of new covenants. Covenants in Bitcoin transactions refer to restrictions on where coins can be transferred. I’ll admit I do not have a deep understanding of BIP 119 but I do believe that it is better to be more conservative and not be quick to change the protocol when it comes to Bitcoin. I believe that BIP 119 should be battle tested and go through some time without going through a “speedy trial” to be implemented right away like Taproot initially was.
Quick word about stacking tax-advantaged sats!
Do you want to HODL BTC in a tax-advantaged retirement account? Check out Choice by Kingdom Trust! Click this LINK to find out more!
A quick look on chain:
Current price: $39,486
Market Cap: $751B
Spent Output Profit Ratio: 0.99906915
Current block height: 733219
Mean block interval: 8min. 45sec.
Meme of the Week
What would the BTC community do without memes? Every week on State of Bitcoin, we feature our favorite meme of the previous week. If you create or see a meme that you like and want us to consider featuring it, tag us on Twitter or instagram (both @Greencandleit)! This week we’re featuring a meme we came across on the @thecryptoc0up1e page:
Video Version!
For our complete rip, check us out on the pod:
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Happy Friday everyone - get after it this weekend!
Brandon
Disclosure: The authors of this writing hold positions in cryptocurrency mentioned in this article. That cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. The article was written by Brandon Keys and occasionally a guest writer; it expresses the author's own opinions. They are not receiving compensation for it. The information presented in this article is for informational purposes only and in no way should be construed as financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any stock or cryptocurrency. None of the authors of this article are financial advisors. I encourage all readers to do further research and do your own due diligence before making any investments.