HashrateUp - A Bitcoin Mining Podcast

🛠 Sponsored by:Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate toolshttps://luxor.tech/Altair Technology, ASIC hardware, replacement parts & mining infrastructureCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://altairtech.ioSoloMining, Home & solo mining made easyCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://solomining.de🔗 Links from this episode:Hashrate Index: https://hashrateindex.com/Kaan Farahani on X: https://x.com/brightsideBTCLearn more about Luxor's Bitcoin mining services: hello@luxor.tech or https://luxor.techIn this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits down with Kaan Farahani, Research Associate at Hashrate Index (Luxor), for a full data-driven pulse check on Bitcoin mining.Starting with a breakdown of Luxor's full-stack platform (pool, firmware, hardware trading, hashrate forward contracts, and ERCOT power services), Kaan and Jesse dig into the hard numbers: Bitcoin price fell from a $125K all-time high to the low $60Ks, USD hashprice hit a fresh all-time low of $27.74/PH/day in June 2026, and network difficulty has now declined for the first-ever recorded bear market in hashrate — down 12.3% year-to-date after peaking in October 2025.The conversation shifts to forward markets, where Kaan unpacks two years of hashrate forward contract data — nearly $300M in trading volume in 2025 alone. The headline finding: every rolling hedge strategy, regardless of duration or denomination, has outperformed spot Bitcoin mining since the 2024 halving. Over the trailing 12 months specifically, dollar-denominated hedges beat spot by up to 9%, while Bitcoin-denominated hedges lagged — a direct result of the ongoing AI/HPC compute competition for power and its effect on network difficulty.Jesse and Kaan also debate why the forward market is currently pricing in a return to 1+ zettahash of network hashrate by October 2026, despite AI/HPC infrastructure buildout showing no signs of slowing — and close out with a look at ERCOT's 4CP summer curtailment season and its seasonal drag on difficulty.⚠️ This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this content constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Luxor or any Luxor employee to buy or sell any derivatives or other financial instruments in this or any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the derivatives laws of such jurisdiction.There are risks associated with trading derivatives. Trading in derivatives involves risk of loss, loss of principal is possible.📲 HashrateUp Hardware Deals Telegram: https://t.me/hashrateup📩 Learn Bitcoin Mining (Free 5 Day Course): https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/#BitcoinMining #Hashprice #HashrateIndex #Luxor #MiningData #HashrateUp

🛠 Sponsored by:

Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools
https://luxor.tech/

Altair Technology, ASIC hardware, replacement parts & mining infrastructure
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io

SoloMining, Home & solo mining made easy
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://solomining.de

🔗 Links from this episode:

BTC Backed Loans: https://firefish.io?ref=satoshi2984

Wilson Mining: https://wilsonmining.io/
https://x.com/WilsonMining/status/2033302654110065092?s=20
https://x.com/WilsonMining/status/2047725129288110136?s=20
https://x.com/WilsonMining/status/2049635444652978514?s=20

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits back down with Steven Wilson (Wilson Mining) to break down BLOC — Bitcoin Line of Credit — and why it may be one of the most underused tools for miners trying to survive the current hashprice bear market.

Starting with an update on Wilson Mining's move from Iowa to Nebraska and where hashprice sits right now ($32/PH/day), Steven and Jesse get into the core idea: instead of selling mined Bitcoin every month to cover hosting bills, miners can borrow against their BTC holdings and pay operating expenses with the loan — keeping their Bitcoin in place while they wait for better prices.

Using a real model (S21 Pro, 245T, hosted at 8¢/kWh, 4-year period, LTV capped at 15%), Steven walks through the numbers: without BLOC, a miner nets 0.02 BTC. With BLOC, that number jumps to 0.32 BTC — a 60% difference in final Bitcoin holdings, driven entirely by not being forced to sell during weak price periods.

The conversation also covers why buying ASICs on credit is a bad idea (unlike BTC, they depreciate fast), how LTV and liquidation risk actually work, why rolling lines of credit (Strike-style) beat fixed 12-month loans, and how BLOC ties into US tax strategy for miners. Steven closes with rapid-fire advice on safe starting LTV, liquidation buffers, and the biggest mistake miners make with Bitcoin-backed loans.

⚠️ Neither Jesse nor Steven are financial advisors. This is not financial advice — treat Bitcoin-backed loans with caution and do your own research.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro & disclaimer
2:30 Wilson Mining update: move from Iowa to Nebraska
5:00 Market conditions: $32 hashprice, -10% difficulty
9:00 What is BLOC? Bitcoin Line of Credit explained
14:00 Commodity storage analogy (corn & soybeans)
18:30 Why you shouldn't buy ASICs on credit
23:00 LTV & liquidation risk explained
27:30 Case study: 0.02 BTC vs 0.32 BTC over 4 years
33:00 Rolling credit lines vs 12-month loans
38:00 Tax advantages for US miners
43:00 Rapid fire: safe LTV, liquidation buffer, biggest mistakes
47:00 Advice for first-time miners

📲 HashrateUp Hardware Deals Telegram: https://t.me/hashrateup

📩 Learn Bitcoin Mining (Free 5 Day Course)
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #BLOC #BitcoinLoan #WilsonMining #Hashprice #HashrateUp

🛠 Sponsored by:Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate toolshttps://luxor.tech/SoloMining, Home & solo mining made easyCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://solomining.deAltair Technology, Buy Bitcoin Mining SolutionsCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://altairtech.ioBTC Backed Loans: https://firefish.io?ref=satoshi2984In this news episode of HashrateUp, Jesse breaks down what may be the first-ever Bitcoin hashrate bear market — and the structural force behind it: the AI pivot pulling power away from mining for good.Starting with a Hashrate Index update at $31.25/PH/day, Jesse walks through the -10% difficulty drop (with a +5.83% adjustment incoming), the 4CP season, and Texas summer curtailment driving the volatility. But the bigger story is structural: public miners are no longer maximizing hashrate at all costs — they're deciding how much of their power should stay on Bitcoin versus shift to AI and HPC.From there the episode opens into the policy and energy picture reshaping the industry: ERCOT's newly approved Batch Zero framework, 438 GW of data center interconnection requests (5x Texas's all-time peak demand), Microsoft's 2 GW West Texas AI campus, FERC ordering grid operators to fast-track large loads, and PJM's $23B warning as wholesale power costs jump 75% year over year. Plus Oman's mandatory national mining pool, Hive's $220M sovereign AI deal, and why Jesse thinks Luxor's forward hashrate market may be mispriced — a trade he's tempted to fade.The throughline: hashrate may simply not come back this cycle. As more companies pivot to AI, the miners who survive will be the ones who already think like power developers — and that power-first playbook is becoming a real competitive edge.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro & Hashrate Index update — $31.25/PH/day1:17 4CP season, Texas curtailment & the -10% difficulty drop2:27 The AI pivot: every article is an AI story3:33 ERCOT Batch Zero & 438 GW of data center requests7:10 Microsoft's 2GW West Texas AI campus & FERC fast-tracking9:27 Oman launches a mandatory national mining pool11:09 Sponsor: Luxor & the forward hashrate market14:49 Bitcoin miners, AI re-pricing & the first hashrate bear market18:08 Data centers blocked & PJM's $23B power cost warning20:17 The power-first playbook as a miner's edge📲 HashrateUp Hardware DealsTelegram: https://t.me/hashrateup📩 Learn Bitcoin Mining (Free 5 Day Course)https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/#BitcoinMining #Hashrate #AIPivot #ERCOT #Hashprice #HashrateUp

🔗 Bush Mining:
Website: https://bushmining.com

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse introduces Bush Mining, his new venture with partner Conrad, and walks through the live pilot project: a hydro-powered farm in South Africa's Eastern Cape that turns stranded, wasted power into Bitcoin mining revenue.

Jesse breaks down the flexible-compute model that makes it work: a site survey identifies surplus power, metering and load controllers measure what's truly available, and ASIC miners soak up only the stranded energy that would otherwise be dumped as heat. Local needs always come first, the load follows the site, and the system can switch off from full load to near-zero in under 0.4 seconds the moment power is needed elsewhere. The conversation then opens up into the bigger picture: why so much renewable generation goes to waste, and how flexible Bitcoin mining can make otherwise unviable energy projects pencil out.

Whether you operate a farm with excess solar, sit on stranded hydro, or want to build an energy asset that nobody could justify before, this one shows how surplus power becomes income, fully scalable from a single machine to half a megawatt in a shipping container.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro: introducing Bush Mining
0:32 The idea: turning wasted power into revenue
0:48 Flexible compute, wherever surplus exists
1:05 The Eastern Cape pilot goes live
1:24 How it works: surplus first, local needs always come first
2:28 Switching off in under 0.4 seconds
3:13 Power source, metering & flexible compute
3:37 Remote operations & load following the site
4:00 The pilot site
4:36 Islanded grid: power that can't be sold
5:18 From dump load to productive mining
5:27 Scalability: one machine to a megawatt
5:59 The 40-year-old hydro dam up close
6:30 Existing dump load vs Bush Mining
7:16 Customer portal preview & next steps
7:24 Who should reach out

🛠 Sponsored by:

SoloMining, Home & solo mining made easy
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://solomining.de

Altair Technology, Buy Bitcoin Mining Solutions
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io

Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools
https://luxor.tech/

📲 HashrateUp Hardware Deals
Telegram: https://t.me/hashrateup

📩 Learn Bitcoin Mining (Free 5 Day Course)
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

🔗 Brad Cuddy:
Website: https://chollainc.com/energy
X (Twitter): https://x.com/_BradCuddy_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleycuddy/

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits down with Brad Cuddy, Director of Energy Operations at Cholla Inc., to unpack the "ASIC retirement home" strategy: buying S19 J Pros for $30 a unit and making them profitable on ultra-cheap Texas power.

Brad explains how Cholla, a three-generation oil & gas exploration company, turned its mining arm into an R&D lab for the wider industry: flexible-load curtailment in ERCOT's energy-only market, early bets on hydro and immersion cooling, and breaking even by mining only when power is cheap. The conversation then widens into the structural shift reshaping mining: pubcos liquidating fleets, megawatts and ASICs being lost to the AI pivot, and what that means for US hashrate.

Whether you run flexible load, hunt for low-cost ASICs, or want to understand where Bitcoin mining goes as AI swallows power capacity, this one is packed with ground-level insight from someone operating at the source.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro & the $30 ASIC tweet
1:30 What Cholla Inc. actually does
5:00 Flexible load: mining only when power is cheap
8:30 Why Bitcoin is the most unique commodity business
12:00 Demand-response software stack (Load, Foreman, Luxor)
15:30 Curtailment strike prices & response times
18:30 Whatsminer vs custom firmware for flexible load
22:00 The $30 S19 J Pro retirement home strategy
26:00 Scrap value as the new price floor
29:00 Pubcos, AI pivot & where lost hashrate goes
33:00 Securing megawatts in B/C-tier jurisdictions
36:00 Oil exploration, Waha pricing & powered-land development
40:00 Rapid fire: best units, hydro vs air, efficiency jumps

🛠 Sponsored by:

SoloMining, Home & solo mining made easy
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://solomining.de

Altair Technology, Buy Bitcoin Mining Solutions
Code: HASHRATEUP
https://altairtech.io

Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools
https://luxor.tech/

📲 HashrateUp Hardware Deals
Telegram: https://t.me/hashrateup

📩 Learn Bitcoin Mining (Free 5 Day Course)
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/