HashrateUp - A Bitcoin Mining Podcast

🔗 Dr. Margot Paez:
X (Twitter): https://x.com/jyn_urso
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margotpaez/
BPI Profile: https://www.btcpolicy.org/authors/margot-paez

📄 PhD Thesis: https://github.com/dmrobotix/phd/blob/main/dissertation.pdf

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits down with Dr. Margot Paez, PhD researcher and fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, to dig into the first empirical study of Bitcoin mining load flexibility across North American facilities.

Dr. Paez collected hourly energy consumption data from 21 Bitcoin mining facilities and built a full network simulation model to study how miners respond to real-time price signals, curtailment incentives, and grid conditions. The conversation covers what the data actually shows about miner flexibility, why Texas facilities outperform the rest, what grid operators in other regions are getting wrong, and how the ongoing shift of public miners toward AI workloads threatens to permanently reduce one of the grid's most valuable flexible loads.

The episode also explores the parallels between Bitcoin mining energy FUD and the emerging AI narrative, why academic research on data centers keeps getting it wrong, and what policymakers on Capitol Hill actually need to understand about this industry.

0:00 Introduction & what a BPI fellow does
2:04 How BPI shaped Bitcoin policy in the US
4:42 How Margot got into Bitcoin from climate science
8:43 Why academics keep getting Bitcoin mining wrong
18:17 The PhD thesis: goals, data, and methodology
20:46 Load flexibility findings: Texas vs the rest
25:27 Why some miners are not flexible and what to do about it
27:21 Bitcoin vs AI: why grid flexibility doesn't transfer
37:45 AI pivot, hashrate decline, and what it means for the grid
42:05 Rapid fire: hardest data, biggest misconceptions, what miners should stop claiming

🛠 Sponsored by:

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

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

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

📩 HashrateUp Newsletter
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

🔗 Max Obwexer (21energy):
Website: https://21energy.com
X: https://x.com/21energy_com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilianobwexer

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits down with Max Obwexer, Co-Founder & CEO of 21energy, to explore how Bitcoin mining hardware is being turned into residential heating infrastructure — and why it still makes economic sense even at historic low hash prices.

Max breaks down the real numbers behind Bitcoin heating versus heating oil in Austria, introduces the 21energy Port for solar automation via Home Assistant, and explains how 21energy is building a platform that aggregates thousands of distributed heating devices for grid balancing — creating additional revenue streams on top of hashrate and heat.

0:00 Intro
1:21 Company overview
3:04 Bitcoin heating economics
5:17 Low hash price — does it still make sense?
11:50 Why Europe comes first
13:30 Grid balancing platform
20:35 The 21energy Port
25:36 Product roadmap
29:11 Rapid fire

🛠 Sponsored by:

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

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

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

📩 HashrateUp Newsletter
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

🔗 Chris Alfano:
Website: https://360energyco.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-alfano-a195a058/
X (Twitter): https://x.com/chrisallfano

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits down with Chris Alfano, CEO of 360 Energy, to break down one of the most overlooked power cost advantages in Bitcoin mining: negative-priced natural gas in West Texas.

Chris explains why the Waha Hub has traded at negative prices 70% of the time over the last three years, what's driving that structural imbalance in the Permian Basin, and how Bitcoin miners can co-locate at stranded gas sites to access energy costs that go below zero. The conversation covers 360 Energy's origin story, two and a half years of off-grid R&D, their APEX gas offtake model, and the contrarian case for deploying into Bitcoin mining right now while the rest of the industry pivots to AI.

Whether you're an operator looking for your next marginal cost of power or a miner sitting on older-generation ASICs wondering where to redeploy them, this episode lays out a concrete playbook for mining profitably in a low hash price environment.

0:00 Introduction & 360 Energy background
7:00 Raising $6M in 2021 and the school of hard knocks
15:51 The AI pivot and the contrarian case for Bitcoin mining
22:00 Why West Texas gas trades negative: Permian Basin explained
28:24 $1,800/day revenue per 1.2 MW just for consuming gas
35:48 ASIC redeployment: off-grid sites as a hospice for older miners
43:13 Scale, service model, and rapid fire questions

🛠 Sponsored by:

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

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

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

📩 HashrateUp Newsletter
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #OffGridMining #NegativeEnergyPrices #WestTexas #HashrateUp #ASIC #BitcoinMiner

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse breaks down the latest Bitcoin mining news -- from hash price and difficulty trends to public miner financials, Bhutan's Bitcoin sell-off, AI competition for power, and new developments from Luxor, Tether, and the solo mining community.

What are public miners actually paying to produce one Bitcoin once you factor in salaries, financing, and overhead beyond the electricity bill? Jesse challenges the "3.8 cents all-in" narrative from Riot's Q1 2026 report and questions whether large-scale miners are truly profitable at current prices. Also covered: CoinShares estimates up to 20% of miners are now below breakeven, Bhutan has offloaded 70% of its Bitcoin reserves in 18 months, and Anthropic's multi-gigawatt compute deal is intensifying competition for cheap power across the U.S.

On the innovation side: Tether and Canaan are developing modular mining infrastructure that separates compute from power and enclosure, Luxor has committed to a $100M MicroBT hardware purchase alongside a new miner OS for the M50 series, and the Parasite Pool mined its second block just 48 days after its first.

0:00 Hash price, difficulty & mempool update
1:47 Seal Miner A4 & Riot sells BTC to fund AI pivot
2:22 What public miners actually pay to produce 1 BTC
3:51 Bhutan sold 70% of its Bitcoin in 18 months
5:57 AI is competing for miners' cheap power (Anthropic)
7:17 CoinShares: 20% of miners unprofitable
8:51 Parasite Pool mines 2nd block in 48 days
9:59 Hut 8, Tether x Canaan & Luxor x MicroBT

🛠 Sponsored by:

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

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

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

📩 HashrateUp Newsletter
https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/

#BitcoinMining #BitcoinNews #HashPrice #MiningNews #HashrateUp

🔗 Carl Agren:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-agren-6921068/

🔗 NIP Group:
Website: https://miningninjas.com
Investor Relations: https://nipg.com

In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse sits down with Carl Agren, CEO of Mining and Digital Assets at NIP Group, to explore how one of the world's most iconic esports brands quietly built 11.3 EH/s of Bitcoin mining across multiple global jurisdictions.

Carl breaks down the deal structure behind NIP's mining buildout, why the company is staying focused on Bitcoin rather than chasing the AI data center hype, and what makes the AI pivot so dangerous for public miners who don't understand liquidated damages. He also shares his outlook on hash price, why he models NIP's strategy after CleanSpark, and where the company is hunting for stranded energy opportunities next.

0:00 Intro: From Counter-Strike fan to interviewing NIP's mining CEO
1:00 How NIP went from esports to 11.3 EH/s of Bitcoin mining
3:45 Carl's background: co-founding G42 and the Phoenix Group IPO in Abu Dhabi
4:31 The AI pivot debate: why NIP is staying selective and not jumping on the bandwagon
7:43 AI power demand: 400 GW needed for AGI, data center cancellations, community pushback
13:45 Why long-term Bitcoin mining thinking is nearly impossible for public companies
15:40 NIP's current strategy: lean operations, energy arbitrage, stranded power opportunities
18:00 Hash price outlook, the rainbow curve, and Bitcoin by end of 2026
26:49 Rapid fire: BTC price, CleanSpark, hydro vs immersion, HODL vs yield

🛠 Sponsored by:

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

Altair Technology – Buy Bitcoin Min