- Bitcoin Talent Co.
- Posts
- Issue #10
Issue #10
Bitcoin Industry Updates From June 15th, 2023 - June 28th, 2023
Eric Podwojski
June 28, 2023
Brought to you by Bitcoin Talent Co.
โBitcoin is a remarkable cryptographic achievement and the ability to create something that is not duplicable in the digital world has enormous value.โ โ Eric Schmidt, Former Google CEO
One Request Before Reading
If you found value in this newsletter please subscribe and forward this email to a friend. Our mission is to strengthen the bitcoin network with premiere recruiting services. The more professionals know about us, the more talent we can bring into the industry!
News & Updates
Covering June 15th, 2023 - June 28th, 2023
Company Updates
BitGo has ended its acquisition agreement with Prime Trust, a crypto custodian, after speculation that Prime Trust was facing bankruptcy. A few days later, news broke that Prime Trust lost access to legacy wallets in 2021 and used customer assets to buy back crypto. According to legal documents filed in Nevada, Prime Trust owes customers $85,670,000, in fiat currency, but only has $2,904,000.
EDX Markets, a new cryptocurrency exchange backed by Fidelity, Citadel Securities, and Charles Schwab, has entered the market, offering a secure, noncustodial bitcoin trading platform targeted at brokers and investors. The development indicates that major traditional finance institutions are expanding into bitcoin, with regulators providing a favorable environment.
Riot Platforms, the largest public U.S. Bitcoin mining company, has partnered with Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer MicroBT to produce ASICs in America and increase hash rate capacity. The partnership is expected to create hundreds of jobs and expand options for miners, while also strengthening the domestic supply chain in the U.S. and positively impacting the industry as a whole.
CleanSpark Inc., a Bitcoin mining company, is acquiring two turnkey bitcoin mining campuses for $9.3 million, which will add 1 EH/s to their hash rate and host 6,000 of the latest and most efficient mining machines. The acquisition will be immediately beneficial to the company and increase their mining efficiency ahead of the Bitcoin halving in 2024.
Block announced partnerships with Coinbase and Cash App to make it easier and safer for customers to buy and transfer bitcoin from exchanges to its new self-custody wallet called Bitkey. Customers will be able to see transparent fees for their purchases and transfers and the cost of the transaction will be displayed in the Bitkey app.
Product Updates
Strike launched Send Globally in Mexico, which allows users to send faster and cheaper cross-border payments from the U.S. to phone numbers, debit cards, and bank accounts in Mexico over the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Mexico received a record $60 billion in remittances from the United States alone last year.
Damus, a decentralized social media client built on the Nostr protocol, expects deplatforming from Appleโs App Store for violating in-app purchase guidelines. The app had a feature that allowed users to send small amounts of bitcoin as tips, which Apple deemed a violation of their guidelines. Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, criticized Apple's decision, saying it could restrict Bitcoin adoption. Apple has an opaque review process and other Bitcoin apps may be at risk.
Binance has set up Lightning nodes on the Bitcoin network to eventually offer Lightning-based bitcoin deposit and withdrawal services. Other popular exchanges such as Kraken and Bitfinex are already offering Lightning network services and Coinbase is likely to follow. The Lightning network now holds $145 million worth of bitcoin.
Voltage, a Lightning infrastructure company, released their new Lightning node management software called Surge. Surge is a tool that helps node runners monitor their node performance, visualize their peers' connectivity, analyze transactions, get alerts on issues, and get insights and recommendations.
Need Help With Hiring?
Bitcoin Talent Co. is the leading recruiting firm in the Bitcoin ecosystem, focused on partnering with companies whose products and services seek to expand a monetary network that will bring freedom and prosperity to all.
Interviews w/ Industry Leaders
KEY: ๐ = listen, ๐บ = watch, ๐ = read
BTCo 17: Julian Liniger from Relai: Host Eric Podwojski sits down with the CEO of Relai, Julian Liniger (@Julian_Liniger), to discuss the background story that led him to co-found Relai and questions related to hiring in the Bitcoin ecosystem. (๐, ๐บ)
Bitcoin Magazine Podcast: How to Use Your Bitcoin W/ Bitpay: Host CK interviews the CEO of Bitpay, Stephen Pair, to explain how Bitpay can give you more options for using your Bitcoin and shares his views on Bitcoin's evolution. (๐)
Coin Stories: David Marcus: From PayPal to Facebook to Building on Bitcoin and Lightning: Host Natalie Brunell interviews the CEO and co-founder of Lightspark, David Marcus, about building core infrastructure on the Lightning Network with his new company. (๐, ๐บ)
WiM331: Building Tools for Bitcoin Mining with Jan ฤapek: Host Robert Breedlove interviews the Co-Founder of Braiins, Jan ฤapek, to discuss the problems with the centralized production of Bitcoin mining hardware, the significance of free market competition, and the morality of Bitcoin. (๐, ๐บ)
BTCo 16: Sam Wouters from River: Host Eric Podwojski sits down with Bitcoin Research Analyst at River, Sam Wouters (@SDWouters), to discuss how he started educating others about Bitcoin and the process behind landing a job with River including what he does day to day as an analyst. (๐, ๐บ)
Listen to The BTCo Podcast
Subscribe to The BTCo Podcast to hear insights from leaders navigating within the Bitcoin industry.
Company Spotlight
Total Funding
$10.2M (Source: Crunchbase)
About
โLaunched in April 2020, Foundation builds products that make Bitcoin and decentralized technologies accessible to everyone, enabling you to reclaim your digital sovereigntyโฆ
This mission starts with Passport, our best-in-class Bitcoin hardware wallet, and Envoy, our mobile app. But weโre just getting started.
Join us as we transition to the era of sovereign individuals!โ
Leadership
Zach Herbert, Co-Founder & CEO
Ken Carpenter, Co-Founder & CTO
Jacob Johnston, Co-Founder & Head of Supply Chain
Working in Bitcoin
Bitcoin Talent Co. is the first recruiting firm to focus exclusively on the Bitcoin landscape. We see through the noise of crypto, blockchain, Web3, and all other buzzwords to help Bitcoin-focused companies operate at scale. Below are some of the positions we are actively recruiting candidates for.
Open Roles
Lead C++ / Go Bitcoin Developer - A Bitcoin company vertically integrating mining operations, hardware manufacturing, and data center design is seeking an experienced Back-End Engineer.
Chief Financial Officer - A Bitcoin financial services company offering specialized custodial solutions is seeking a seasoned CFO. Candidates culturally aligned with the ethos of Bitcoin are preferred.
VP of Engineering - An interoperable Web 5 company using the Lightning network for decentralized bitcoin payments is hiring a VP of Engineering to work closely with the CEO. The role requires a candidate willing to work more than 60 hours per week writing code and managing an engineering team.
Sr. Front End Developer - A European-based Bitcoin-only exchange is seeking an experienced React Native engineer with previous experience working in a startup environment.
Site Technician - A petroleum energy exploration company is seeking a technician based in West Texas to join their Bitcoin Load Center team and support ongoing mining operations.
Sr. Trust Officer - An enterprise banking company providing secure custodial storage of digital assets is seeking a highly qualified Trust Officer to join their rapidly growing team. Candidates must be based in Puerto Rico.
Recruiter - Bitcoin Talent Co. is seeking an experienced recruiter to join the team. Knowledge about Bitcoin and Bitcoin culture is a must.
๐ค Interested in an open role or know someone who may be interested?
Send us a message or reach out if you have strong folks in your network that could be a great fit, we have a very exciting referral program!๐
That's a wrap for this biweekly newsletter. See ya in +2016 blocks from now!
If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@BitcoinTalentCo) and connect with us on LinkedIn.
- Eric (@epodrulz)
๐ One more thing...
If you found value in this newsletter please subscribe and tell a friend. Our mission is to strengthen the bitcoin network with premiere human capital. The more professionals know about us, the more talent we can bring into the industry!