Bitcoin
A small Texas town is about to annex a massive Bitcoin mine
In Oak Valley, a sleepy village in rural Navarro County, Texas, there is very little of anything. A rutted road winds through its two square miles of sun-baked pastureland, past a modest prefab community center and a “poor excuse for a park,” as the local mayor describes it.
Just about 400 people lives in Oak Valley. But despite its tiny size and few resources, the Texas village is preparing to double its borders, using unusual means, as an industrial-scale bitcoin mine — a move that could increase its annual budget by as much as forty times.
Four miles away from Oak Valley, on a 265-acre plot of land, public cryptocurrency mining company Riot Platforms is busy building what is expected to become the world’s largest bitcoin mining facility, according to the company. Once completed, it will consume up to 1 gigawatt of energyenough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
Riot’s facility currently sits on a piece of unincorporated land under the jurisdiction of the Navarro County government. But the company is in the process of negotiating a deal, as evidenced by a series of email communications seen by WIRED, under which the parcel will be annexed by Oak Valley.
The annexation plan, which has not yet been finalized, will make it possible much needed improvements to Oak Valley roads and other public infrastructure. It won’t even cost Riot anything, because the power company that serves the area will foot the bill. For Riot, it’s a public relations ploy, designed to curry favor with local residents and county officials who stand to gain a lucrative rebate on their property taxes. Potentially millions of dollars are riding on its ability to garner local support in Navarro County before a final decision on its abatement request is made.
Riot declined to comment on the prospect of an annexation by Oak Valley. Brian Morgenstern, Riot’s head of public policy, would say only that “annexation has to be good for all parties.” “We want to make sure we’re being good neighbors and having positive impacts on the community,” he said.
To fund public works, a municipality like Oak Valley has to rely largely on money collected from the electricity provider in exchange for the use of local rights-of-way. These so-called franchise fees are calculated as a percentage of residents’ energy bills. Under normal circumstances, Oak Valley collects about $9,000 in franchise fees per year, which makes up 75 percent of a meager total budget that is insufficient to cover simple infrastructure improvements.
“Oak Valley doesn’t have the money,” says David Brewer, a commissioner on the Navarro County Commissioners Court, the county’s governing body. “Our county budget is extremely tight, so we can’t help some of the areas we want to help.”
However, if Oak Valley is successful in annexing the energy-hungry Riot facility, Brewer says, it will collect franchise fees “in the range of a quarter to half a million dollars a year” when the 1-gigawatt plant is completed.
Leading the movement for annexation is Max Taylor, the mayor of Oak Valley, who declined to be interviewed for this story. After a change of legislation As of 2019, Texas municipalities can no longer forcibly annex a parcel of land, so they must seek permission from the landowner. But Taylor appears to have had little trouble convincing Riot: “This project has my full support,” David Schatz, Riot’s senior vice president of operations, wrote in an email to Taylor on June 25.
Bitcoin has lost out on an asset rally fueled by positive comments from the Federal Reserve, while a tight US election race casts doubt on whether Donald Trump will get the chance to implement his pro-crypto agenda.
The digital asset fell 2.4% on Wednesday, following a Fed-fueled surge in an index of megacap tech stocks Magnificent Seven by one of the largest margins in 2024. The token retreated further on Thursday, changing hands at $63,750 as of 6:10 a.m. in London.
Bitcoin
‘This is huge’ — Billionaire Mark Cuban issues ‘incredible’ Bitcoin and crypto prediction amid price slump
Bitcoin
Bitcoin
came back with a vengeance this year when former President Donald Trump Cryptocurrency boosts US presidential election in November with ‘revolutionary’ plan.
The price of bitcoin has surged to more than its all-time high in recent months, surpassing $70,000 per bitcoin and triggering a wave of mega-optimistic predictions about the price of bitcointhough it fell again this week, falling below $65,000 after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady.
Now, as Elon Musk suddenly breaks his silence on bitcoin and cryptocurrenciesBillionaire investor Mark Cuban called a California plan to digitize 42 million car titles using blockchain an “incredible step forward” and “huge” for cryptocurrencies.
Sign up for free CryptoCodex now—A daily five-minute newsletter for traders, investors, and crypto curious people that will keep you up to date and ahead of the bitcoin and crypto bull market
Mark Cuban, famous Shark Tank investor and billionaire owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, has… [+] called a cryptocurrency update “amazing” amid bitcoin’s price slump.
Getty Images
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has digitized 42 million car titles using blockchain, it was reported by Reuters, through technology company Oxhead Alpha on the Avalanche blockchain and designed to detect fraud and facilitate the securities transfer process.
“This is an incredible development for crypto,” Cuban, best known as an investor on TV’s Shark Tank and owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, posted on X, joking that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler could sue the state as part of his hostility toward cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
“The reason this is huge for crypto is because people who hold the tokens will have an app with an Avalanche wallet,” Cuban said. “Tens of millions of Californians having and using a crypto wallet in the next five years, or however long it takes, normalizes the use of wallets and crypto.”
John Wu, president of Avalanche developer Ava Labs, told Reuters that California’s DMV is “creating a wallet that you can download on your phone.”
Sign up for CryptoCodex now—A free daily newsletter for the crypto-curious
Bitcoin’s price has rallied this year, triggering a wave of bullish bitcoin price predictions from… [+] people like billionaire Mark Cuban.
Forbes Digital Assets
Last month, Cuban predicted that if the US dollar falls as the global reserve currency, bitcoin could become “a global ‘safe haven’” and a “global currency.” potentially sending the price of bitcoin to a much higher level.
According to Cuban, bitcoin could become what its most ardent supporters “envision” — a means “of protecting our economies… This is already happening in countries facing hyperinflation.”
The price of bitcoin has skyrocketed over the past year, largely due to the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, leading a bitcoin attack on Wall Street.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) miner Riot Platforms (RIOT)’s second-quarter loss widens to $84.4 million as costs rise
Please note that our Privacy Policy, terms of use, cookiesIt is do not sell my personal information Has been updated.
CoinDesk is a awarded media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists follow a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk has been acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Optimistica regulated digital asset exchange. The Bullish Group is majority owned by Block.one; both companies have interests CoinDesk has a portfolio of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial board to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.
At a national bitcoin conference in Nashville, Donald Trump finally laid out some of his crypto policy proposals, including a long-awaited part of his plan — building a strategic bitcoin reserve. CNN’s Jon Sarlin explains what it is and why the crypto industry wants it.
“A Pullback is coming! But the neighbor is absolutely amazing ” – Jack Mallers
“Deepseek is only the beginning of the enormous opportunities in 2025” – Catie Wood and Tom Lee
“Their plans for 2025 shock the world” – Whitney Webb’s terrible warning for 2025
“The evaluation of $ 18 trillion of Bitcoin is just around the corner” – Larry Lepard
Lyn Alden – “Many are not aware of what is really happening with Bitcoin and Crypto”
Bitcoin soars above $63,000 as money flows into new US investment products
Ethena downplays danger of letting traders use USDe to back risky bets – DL News
Zodialtd.com to revolutionize derivatives trading with WEB3 technology
FRA Strengthens Cryptocurrency Practice with New Director Thomas Hyun
Bitcoin Fails to Recover from Dovish FOMC Meeting: Why?
“A Pullback is coming! But the neighbor is absolutely amazing ” – Jack Mallers
“Deepseek is only the beginning of the enormous opportunities in 2025” – Catie Wood and Tom Lee
“Their plans for 2025 shock the world” – Whitney Webb’s terrible warning for 2025
“The evaluation of $ 18 trillion of Bitcoin is just around the corner” – Larry Lepard
Lyn Alden – “Many are not aware of what is really happening with Bitcoin and Crypto”
-
News6 months agoBitcoin soars above $63,000 as money flows into new US investment products
-
DeFi6 months agoEthena downplays danger of letting traders use USDe to back risky bets – DL News
-
DeFi6 months agoZodialtd.com to revolutionize derivatives trading with WEB3 technology
-
News6 months agoFRA Strengthens Cryptocurrency Practice with New Director Thomas Hyun
-
Markets6 months agoBitcoin Fails to Recover from Dovish FOMC Meeting: Why?
-
DeFi9 months ago👀 Lido prepares its response to the recovery boom
-
DeFi8 months agoPancakeSwap integrates Zyfi for transparent, gas-free DeFi
-
Videos8 months agoBlackRock and Wall Street ready to take Bitcoin directly to $200,000 – Anthony Scaramucci
-
DeFi9 months ago
🏴☠️ Pump.Fun operated by Insider Exploit
-
Videos9 months agoThis is the exact and unique time to sell your crypto asset – Raoul Pal
-
Videos9 months ago“BlackRock HAS UNLEASHED a massive multi-trillion monster” – Lyn Alden and Eric Balchunas
-
DeFi9 months ago
🚀 S&P says tokenization is the future