The Texas State Securities Board has filed for a hearing with the potential to impose a cease and desist order against crypto lending firm BlockFi for not offering a security licensed at the state or federal level. According to a Thursday filing, the state regulator will be holding a hearing related to allegations BlockFi is illegally funding its crypto lending operations and proprietary trading through the sale of unregistered securities. Should the judge accept that the platform’s accounts earning interest on crypto represent unlicensed securities, BlockFi may be subject to a cease and desist order. Should the judge grant the …

Shenzhen-based crypto mining firm, Bit Mining, is raising $50 million to fund an expansion out of the Chinese market. Announced on July 12, the firm has entered into an agreement with select institutional and accredited investors to raise $50 million through a private placement. Bit Mining is raising the funds in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on crypto mining in May, noting plans to “acquire additional mining machines, build new data centers,” and expand its infrastructure overseas. US$50 Million Private Placement! Ready for greater expansion! — BIT Mining Limited (@BITMining_BTCM) July 13, 2021 Bit Mining is owned by …

Galaxy Digital has issued a $20 million loan to United Kingdom-based crypto mining company Argo Blockchain for building a data center in West Texas. In a Tuesday announcement from Argo, the firm said it secured 14 million euros — roughly $19.4 million at the time of publication — in a six-month loan agreement from Galaxy Digital using a portion of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings as collateral. According to Argo, the proceeds of the loans, along with cash raised from previous funding rounds, would be used to expand its mining operations in Texas and meet current operating costs. “This agreement allows …

Shoppers wanting to cash out their crypto holdings to buy groceries may soon be able to do so at many H-E-B supermarkets in Texas. According to a Friday report from the Houston Chronicle, crypto ATM firm Coin Cloud is preparing to install machines into 29 H-E-B locations in the Houston area. The ATMs will allow customers to buy and sell more than 30 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), certain DeFi tokens, and U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. Coin Cloud CEO and founder Chris McAlary said he expects “retailers will become increasingly aware of the important role digital …

The recent crackdown on crypto mining in China has seen concerns expressed over the potential impact a hashrate migration could have on Texas’ unreliable electricity market, as an increasing number of dislocated miners eye the Lone Star State. Texas’ abundant sources of renewable energy and highly deregulated power grid make the state an obvious choice for migrating miners from China and elsewhere, with 20% of Texan electricity being generated by wind as of 2019. Speaking to CNBC, Brandon Arvanaghi, a former security engineer at crypto exchange Gemini, predicted Texas will see “a dramatic shift over the next few months” as …

A Texas state regulator has officially affirmed that Texas state-chartered banks are allowed to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for their customers. The Texas Department of Banking, a state regulatory agency chartering state banks and supervising financial services, issued a notice on Thursday stating that local banks are permitted to provide crypto services in the state. The agency noted that Texas banks “may provide customers with virtual currency custody services, so long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage the risks and comply with applicable law.” The regulator briefly explained cryptocurrencies, stressing that digital currencies do …

Members of the Texas House of Representatives have passed a bill which aims to recognize cryptocurrencies under commercial law in the state. In a session of the 87th Texas Legislature today, lawmakers passed a proposed amendment to the state's Uniform Commercial Code, or UCC, aimed at better adapting commercial law to blockchain innovation and digital asset regulations. First introduced by Representative Tan Parker in March, House Bill 4474 will reportedly help define cryptocurrencies in the UCC. The bill will now go to the Texas Senate for any proposed amendments and potentially a final vote. Should the crypto legislation pass the …

One of the largest crypto mining firms in North America said that it has acquired an additional 8,000 rigs and has begun mining other cryptocurrencies. In an announcement from Blockcap on Monday, the mining firm said it planned to have more than 50,000 mining rigs online by the end of 2022. Blockcap now controls more than 12,000 mining rigs, generating more than 6.6 Bitcoin (BTC) daily — roughly $380,000 at the time of publication. The firm added that it was accelerating its move to mine other cryptocurrencies including Ether (ETH). According to the firm, the addition of the ETH mining …

Crypto mining company Blockcap, which recently announced it would be setting up new offices in Austin, said Texas could become an alluring region for the industry. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Blockcap founder and executive chair Darin Feinstein said the firm had chosen Texas for its headquarters based on the potential hiring pool as well as the regulatory environment. According to Feinstein, blockchain companies operating in the United States — and Texas in particular — may face fewer geopolitical risks than those in China and other countries. "Texas certainly is a place that we see protecting the privacy elements …

In an announcement on Monday, Riot Blockchain reported that it produced 187 Bitcoin (BTC) — roughly $11.2 million — last month, an 80% increase over its BTC mining in March 2020. The company said it held more than 1,565 Bitcoin on its balance sheet as of March 31, representing more than $94 million in crypto. The mining report follows Riot's $138 million purchase of 42,000 S19j Antminers from crypto mining giant Bitmain. Roughly 6% of the rigs — 2,400 Antminers — are reportedly already on route to Coinmint’s facility in New York, where Riot runs a portion of its mining …

North America-based crypto mining company Blockcap announced over the weekend it would be establishing new offices in Austin, Texas. In an announcement from Blockcap on Friday, the mining company claimed once its new facilities are operational in the Lone Star State’s capital, its hashing power will be roughly 3.5 exahash per second from a total of 42,000 rigs, reportedly doubling its capabilities. According to blockchain data, this would represent more than 2% of the hashrate for the entire Bitcoin (BTC) network, roughly 167 million terahash per second at the time of publication. However, Blockcap claims its total fleet will account …

Everything is bigger in Texas, but when it comes to crypto-friendly legislation, this doesn’t seem to be the case… just yet. On March 12, 2021, Texas Representative Tan Parker introduced the Uniform Commercial Code, also known as UCC, amendment bill (House Bill 4474) to better adapt commercial law to blockchain innovation and digital asset regulations. Specifically speaking, the Texas UCC amendment bill aims to recognize virtual currencies under commercial law. Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council — an organization recently established as a trade association intended to make Texas a leader in national blockchain growth — told Cointelegraph …