El Salvador often makes headlines when it comes to talking bitcoin, but Texas is no slouch. The ninth largest economy in the world is even ahead.
Texas, bitcoin nation
The Texan task force in charge of scaffolding “a statewide strategic approach” to facilitate the installation of the bitcoin industry published its report. He recommends:
- That the State of Texas holds bitcoin (which could pave the way for the possibility of paying taxes in BTC…)
- To put in place a state strategy for the safe custody of bitcoins
- Tax breaks for bitcoin miners
- Teaching bitcoin in schools
In other words, Texas could soon follow in the footsteps of El Salvador, which already holds more than 2380 BTC. Here is an explicit passage from the report:
“Texas has a history of allocating a portion of state reserves to safe assets. A reserve of gold bullion was established in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Bitcoin could naturally be added to this. Some cities in Texas already have them on their balance sheet, such as Fort Worth. »
In the meantime, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is full of praise: “We see what bitcoin means to the world and Texas wants to be at the heart of it. We want remove all regulatory barriers and make sure that those who invest in Bitcoin have a place to settle. »
The governor understands that bitcoin miners can be an asset to the power grid by participating by shutting off power to mining machines during peak demand.
“Increasing baseload electricity demand [la demande d’électricité minimale à tout moment] encourages energy companies to invest more in energy infrastructure”, he said.
A spokesperson for ERCOT (the company that runs the Texas power grid) told Cointelegraph that BTC miners can help stabilize the network by suspending their electricity demand in real time:
“BTC mining is extraordinarily responsive. Activities can stop in a fraction of a second and remain on hold for as long as necessary. »
Close cooperation with the power grid
Lancium CEO Michael McNamara was also at the Texas Blockchain Summit (last 17 and 18 November). For him, miners must be able to adjust their electricity demand in less than 15 seconds.
Hence the usefulness of his company and its software (Lancium Smart Response) which makes it possible to respond as quickly as accurately to requests from the electrical network:
” Such software is essential to meet the deadlines required by ERCOT. It allows for finer variations in network stabilization. This is an advantage, because the more surgical the response to ERCOT requests, the higher the monetary compensation. for minors. »
Michael McNamara claims that “all companies in the energy sector have a common vision of the role bitcoin mining should play in the network.”
This is not the case in France where EDF pathetically runs Ethereum nodes which do not require any energy…
Anyway, let’s finish with the icing on the Texan report about bitcoin-backed digital identity:
“Our freedom and democracy are under serious threat from governments and corporations that increase the digital surveillance of individuals. The most effective way to combat this surveillance is to prevent it through the development of new technologies. The State of Texas should respect its tradition of individual freedom by adopting a sovereign digital identity. […] The immutability of Bitcoin allows the creation of decentralized identifiers (“DIDs”). These ensure that identity data can be issued, stored, shared and verified privately. »
2009: Bitcoin is not a currency
2010: No one uses it
2014: Only a few criminals
2019: Only a few companies
2021: Only a few small countries
2022: Enter Texas…
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