BT Daily News: Bitcoin miners look to software to help balance the Texas grid, and more
1. Bitcoin miners look to software to help balance the Texas grid
Although Bitcoin (BTC) mining remains a controversial topic, it’s becoming more common to hear how Bitcoin mining can help balance grid demand. This is being demonstrated in the state of Texas, as Bitcoin miners are able to participate in demand response programs, which incentivize miners to turn off their operations during peak demand.A spokesperson from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — the organization that operates Texas’s electrical grid — told Cointelegraph that crypto loads can have impacts on the grid just like any large load.
On March 25, ERCOT established an interim process to ensure that new large loads, such as Bitcoin miners, can be connected to the ERCOT grid. While evaluations for large load interconnections is not a new process, ERCOT explained that the timeline that most crypto miners operate under requires a new process to make sure existing standards for interconnecting new large loads are being met. ERCOT’s Technical Advisory Committee approved the creation of a “Large Flexible Load Task Force” on March 30 to aid in the development of a long-term process that will replace the current interim process.
2. Litecoin soars to the moon but will it stay there or plummet down, generating more losses?
We are all quite aware that Litecoin’s design is inspired by Bitcoin and it also shares numerous features with the leading cryptocurrency, such as its proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, halving events, and the hard cap. Litecoin was launched in 2011 as the ‘lite version’ of Bitcoin. It was created to become a testing ground and aid in improving Bitcoin’s shortcomings to create a cryptocurrency that is more practical to use in everyday transactions. The LTC network provides faster transactions at lower fees than the Bitcoin blockchain. However, Litecoin continued to remain the lite version of Bitcoin. Its value stayed stagnant for quite a long period of time, however, with its recent price rally, Litecoin meets the moon! Reports claim that the current LTC price rally has outperformed several cryptocurrencies. Despite the FTX contagion spreading like a wildfire in the crypto market, the Litecoin price has gained bullish momentum. But will it be possible for Litecoin to remain on the moon? Because if it does, then it is very likely that before 2023 ends, Litecoin might cross the US$100 mark and move towards US$150.The LTC price has rallied to new heights, gaining almost 50% in November to establish a new yearly high. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and Ethereum have dropped 20% and 27% respectively. Experts believe that the outperformance might stem from an impending positive change in its supply dynamics. The LTC’s bull run comes eight months after, and just ahead of Litecoin’s third mining reward halving. It is mostly due to this which is why Litecoin bottomed out and broke out of its prolonged stagnant nature. However, before investing in Litecoin or any other cryptocurrencies at this point in time, investors should obviously look for other macroeconomic factors that are driving the broader crypto market at the moment, including both the bearish and bullish market trends.
3. El Salvador is seeking congressional approval to issue investment bonds in the cryptocurrency
El Salvador is doubling down on its bet on cryptocurrencies even in the midst of a bear market. The first country to declare Bitcoin as legal tender is now working on a Digital Asset Issuance Law, which would facilitate operations with any crypto asset.According to a document available on the official website of the National Assembly of El Salvador, the law would regulate the transfer operations of any digital asset, seeking to “promote the efficient development of the digital asset market and protect the interests of acquirers.”
El Salvador’s government-controlled legislature announced late on Tuesday it had received a bill dubbed the “Digital Assets Issuance Law,” aimed at regulating the offering of such bonds to local and foreign investors.
The proposal comes a year after President Nayib Bukele announced he would launch so-called “volcano bonds” to raise $1 billion to finance his “Bitcoin City” project, which included building a town on the Salvadoran coast funded by bitcoin-backed bonds.
4. A new web3 start-up fund is revealed amidst the bearish crypto market
Foresight Ventures (FV), a crypto fund with $400 million in assets under management (AUM), is launching an incubator program called Foresight X. The program will allocate $10 million to three different types of Web3 funding and collaborations.Two programs have unlimited pools of ecosystems and research grants. The third is an eight-week incubator program for 30 early-stage projects or startups, which includes up to $300,000 in funding. Gitcoin, a crowdfunding platform, will share incentives and partner with FV to build collaborations and mentorships.
“We are particularly interested in projects that offer solutions to help scale [the crypto] industry for mainstream adoption,” Tony Cheng, general partner at Foresight Ventures, said in a press release. The grant application process is scheduled to open at the end of this year.
Prior to the recent downfall of FTX, which is still sending shockwaves throughout the crypto industry, Web3 funding in general had been dropping. There was around $3.3 billion in startup funding in the third quarter of this year, a nearly 50% drop compared with the second quarter, according to Crunchbase data. In 2021, almost $9.3 billion was invested in the final quarter of the year.
Despite the latest tsunami of sobering crypto news and trends, Foresight Ventures considers the period an opportunity to build. “We understand very well that bear markets are periods of massive innovation and growth,” co-founder Forest Bai said in the press release. The program will prioritize projects at every stage of development, “to accelerate” the crypto industry’s evolution.
5. Five tips for riding out a downbeat market this holiday season
While these macroeconomic fundamentals are outside your control, there is still a lot within your control. We need to remember that we have substantial agency over our lives and do not need to get dragged into an economic tailspin just because that’s what might be happening to the aggregate economy — we can still individually thrive during a famine.Here are five tips for doing just that.
Optimize the wait. Make the best use of your time every day, which might mean picking up a new skill or taking up a freelance job that deploys your broader skill set. Especially with the emergence of artificial intelligence and automation, certain tasks are becoming obsolete and other new creative opportunities are emerging — and you can leverage that trend by acquiring the skills to perform these tasks. There are substantial mismatches in the demand and supply in certain parts of the labor market, such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity jobs, so consider picking up a new skill that you can put to work.
Reflect and take inventory. It is far too easy to look at the circumstances we personally or as a society are in and get worried, but take stock of what is going right and what you’re thankful for. The holidays are an especially good opportunity to do so. By putting your circumstances in perspective, you avoid a lot of mental rabbit holes that could cause you to become more anxious and disappointed, which unfortunately only further amplifies challenging circumstances. Even when circumstances look bleak, remember what you have and what you have been through — it will inspire you to go on.
Grow your network. Building relationships is part of the adventure we are on. Focus on people as actual human beings, rather than potential doors of opportunity. People are indeed doors, but treating people in transactional ways warps your perspective of life and ends up closing those doors, because people do not like being treated as vending machines. (Would you like it if people only talked to you based on what you could give to them?)
Cherish small wins. We often focus on the big and flashy goals or aspirations but overlook what is immediately in front of us. We have a lot more agency than we give ourselves credit for! Whether you are taking care of your property or writing an excellent report at work, demonstrating excellence in everything that you do creates a lot more optionality in the long run that yields truly fulfilling and fruitful employment opportunities.
Always carve out some proportion of your earnings for savings. Consider investing it in structurally sound digital assets. There is no substitute for setting aside resources every month, whether crypto or fiat, that you can draw on when you’re most in need. There will always be an element of unpredictability in the world, so view these savings as your insurance policy on market downturns. Even though crypto has been in a winter, all assets have been struggling because the entire market is in a downturn. But the future of the major tokens, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), remains hopeful, and it’s just a matter of time before they rebound. Moreover, as governments become more volatile and inflation continues to grow, crypto can be a useful hedge and diversification strategy.