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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:
US Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearing on Digital Assets: The hearing was titled “Understanding the Role of Digital Assets in Illicit Finance” and covered everything from Russia’s potential use to avoid sanctions, benefits seen by Ukraine through donations, and prevention of criminal activity through the use of digital assets. Chairman Sherrod Brown seemed tentative and was talking about the negatives of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies while Senator Toomey testified about the risk of not encouraging innovation in a rapidly growing sector. Overall the discussion is a start. It encourages politicians to become more educated on the topic in order to create regulation surrounding the space. I am never for regulation, but regulation is inevitable especially in an industry of this magnitude.
Florida to Allow Crypto Tax Payments: Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state of Florida is working on a plan to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for business taxes. The state of Florida as whole and DeSantis have been very friendly to Bitcoin and related companies. Miami has become a hotspot for Bitcoin, blockchain, and crypto companies. There is speculation that DeSantis is using this as a ploy to entice Bitcoiners to vote for him for the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, but DeSantis has passed a lot of policies that have allowed Florida to thrive while other states have struggled.
Goldman Sachs completes first Bitcoin Options Trade: Goldman Sachs completes the first Bitcoin options trade with help of Galaxy Digital. The trade was non-deliverable meaning the purchaser will cash-settle for price volatility in bitcoin. Goldman and Galaxy have a history of working together so be on the lookout for more ahead. This is big for Bitcoin trading and not so much on the technology or adoption of Bitcoin. Many in the United States still view Bitcoin as an asset, although I see Bitcoin as more as a digital currency this will be big as far as exposure to Bitcoin goes. This in turn could cause more people to research the capabilities for further adoption.
ExxonMobil Announces use of flare gas to mine BTC: Earlier this year, ConocoPhillips announced that they are selling flare gas to an undisclosed Bitcoin mining company but do not hold BTC on the balance sheet. ExxonMobil announced Thursday that they are doing the same in the same state of South Dakota. The project was launched in January 2021 and uses up to 18 million cubic feet of gas per month. Another large company is seeing the utility of using excess energy to earn a profit. Huge for adoption and overall bullish on mining going forward. Soon every company that has excess energy will try to find a way to harness that energy and implement Bitcoin mining.
Russia Open to Sell Natural Gas for Bitcoin: Russia is currently the #1 exporter of oil and natural gas. Even with santactions placed on Russia by countries globally due to their invasion of Ukraine, Russia is still a powerhouse in the natural gas and oil space. The adoption will allow Russia to accept payment for its largest export in a currency other than the USD. Settling a deal in another currency outside of the USD hurts the USD for obvious reasons and is bullish for Bitcoin adoption going forward. It will be interesting to see how many deals are actually settled in Bitcoin and time will tell if this is the beginning of a trend or if this is a flash in the pan.
Bitcoin Volcano Bonds Delayed: El Salvador slightly delayed the release of their Bitcoin volcano bonds due prioritizing internal pension reform. Bukele also addressed FUD on Twitter as he famous does and well, check it out for yourself below. Bukele is doubling, tripling, quadrupling down on his stance for Bitcoin and it is outstanding. The whole world is watching how this plays out for El Salvador and it needs a leader like Bukele who is willing to stand his ground no matter what. The best part? It seems to be working.
Quick word about stacking tax-advantaged sats!
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A quick look on chain:
Current price: $44,109 (last week +5.2%; last month -9.2%; last year -31.3%)
Market Cap: $838B
Spent Output Profit Ratio: 1.003
Current block height: 728865
Mean block interval: 9min. 54sec.
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 @BTCGandalf 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.