- Bitcoin Talent Co.
- Posts
- Issue #9
Brought to you by Bitcoin Talent Co.
“I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of my life in building on Bitcoin and specifically on Lightning.” — David Marcus, Former Paypal President (2023)
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News & Updates
Covering June 1st, 2023 - June 14th, 2023
Company Updates
Coinbase has been charged by the SEC with operating a crypto asset trading platform without registering it, and for failing to register its offering of a staking-as-a-service program. The SEC is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and other equitable relief. The SEC has received assistance from a multi-state task force of 10 state securities regulators. Coinbase custodies ~2 million bitcoin as of November 2022.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been sued by The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating federal securities laws by illegally soliciting U.S. investors to trade crypto asset securities on its platforms and making false representations. Binance has responded to the complaint and is defending its platform. The SEC is seeking injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and other remedies.
Swan Bitcoin announced new custodians for their client assets. All Swan clients' BTC and USD are custodied with Fortress (legal custody, settlement, compliance) and Bitgo (physical custody). This comes after the announcement of their former custodian Prime Trust was rumored to be facing insolvency. Prime Trust was acquired by BitGo shortly after (see post below).
BitGo Holdings, Inc., the Bitcoin and crypto custodian behind many major exchanges, has announced its intention to acquire Prime Core Technologies, Inc., the parent company of Prime Trust, to bring business continuity, long-term stability and regulated, secure services to Prime Trust clients. The potential benefits for both companies include an expansion of BitGo's global network of regulated trust companies, an enhancement of BitGo's presence and regulatory reach, and improved services for BitGo's customers. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval and further details have not been disclosed.
CleanSpark Inc., a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company, has purchased 12,500 Antminer S19 XP bitcoin mining machines for a price of $40.5 million to reach their goal of 16 EH/s. The machines were purchased at a discounted price and they plan to replace their less efficient units if the economics support it. This news comes a day after announcing their Bitcoin holdings grew by 44%, production increased by 16%, and revenue surpassed $100 million.
Strike shared updates about its backend platform that it now owns and operates all its own infrastructure, including Bitcoin and US Dollar custody. This greatly reduces counterparty risk, improves service quality, and ensures the robustness and performance of products. It also allows Strike to serve customers directly with its own licensing and infrastructure.
Product Updates
Zion, a Web5-based social network, has released an update that enables users to make bitcoin payments using the Lightning Network within private, encrypted direct messages without being charged any platform fees. This integration allows users to send and receive bitcoin instantly, with added security and privacy.
Amboss has introduced LINER, a benchmark interest rate index for bitcoin without credit risk, to provide an alternative to enterprises seeking exposure to bitcoin while avoiding the risk associated with CeFi yield platforms. LINER allows for portfolio managers, investors and businesses to leverage the index in their decision-making processes to enable bitcoin holders to earn higher returns while minimizing risk.
ZEBEDEE, a Lightning technology company known for bridging bitcoin to gaming via API’S, has launched an alpha version of its Social app powered by Nostr, which allows users to monetize their content and creativity. It also includes features such as Bitcoin micropayments, encrypted chats, and partnerships with industry players. Learn more about ZEBEDEE in the Company Spotlight section below!
River, a US-based Bitcoin exchange, enabled automatic withdrawals on both the River iOS app and on desktop. Automatic withdrawals allow users to transfer Bitcoin from River sub-accounts to self custody. There is a minimum threshold of 0.05 BTC, and an associated network fee of up to 3%.
Block Green, a Swiss Bitcoin liquidity protocol, and Merkle Standard, a US Bitcoin mining company, have partnered to offer Bitcoin holders and miners access to liquidity and revenue risks at favorable rates. They will facilitate mining rewards streaming agreements and allow BTC holders to benefit from the platform with an attractive return.
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: 🎙 = listen, 📺 = watch, 📖 = read
BTCo 14: Joe Burnett from Blockware Solutions: Host Eric Podwojski sits down with Head Analyst and Product Manager at Blockware Solutions, Joe Burnett (@IIICapital), to discuss his career path starting out as a Management Consultant with EY after graduating from university and then using Twitter to publish Bitcoin research which eventually led to a full-time role with a leading Bitcoin mining company. (🎙, 📺)
BTC134: Bitcoin Integration Into Gaming with André Neves: Host Preston Pysh interviews Bitcoin engineer and Zebedee co-founder, André Neves, and they talk about all the exciting things happening with integrating Bitcoin into online gaming. (🎙, 📺, 📖)
BTC133: Creating a New Libor on Bitcoin w/ Jesse Shrader: Host Preston Pysh has a conversation with Bitcoin Lightning Network expert and Co-founder of Amboss Technologies, Jesse Shrader. Jesse runs an analytics site for the lightning network and is rolling-out a magma liquidity network and a yield curve that shows participants what they could earn by opening liquidity channels with other nodes. (🎙, 📺, 📖)
BIT BUY BIT: Build an Air-Gapped Stateless Bitcoin Signing Device with the Seedsigner Team: Host Max Buybit interviews Seedsigner (Founder), Keith Mukai (Lead Developer), and Nick Klockenga (Lead Maintainer) from the Seedsigner team about the recent updates to the Seed signer project. (🎙)
Coin Stories: Legally Crypto with Hailey Lennon: Host Natalie Brunell interviews a partner in the digital commerce group at Brown Rudnick, which handles high-stakes litigation and business transactions about the lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase. (🎙, 📺)
WiM321: Bitcoin and the Crisis in Healthcare with Andy Schoonover: Host Robert Breedlove interviews the Founder and CEO of CrowdHealth, Andy Schoonover, to discuss the healthcare crisis, how CrowdHealth provides better health insurance, and why Bitcoin is the ultimate medium of truth. (🎙, 📺)
BCB113: Jesse Myers (Croesus): Number Go Up: Hosts Josh and Dan interview the COO of Onramp Bitcoin, Jesse Myers (Croesus) to explore Bitcoin’s full valuation potential and the unignorable “number go up” mechanics behind this remarkable protocol. (🎙)
BTCo 15: Adam Ortolf from Upstream Data: Host Eric Podwojski sits down with the VP of Business Development (North America) at Upstream Data, Adam Ortolf (@DenverBitcoin), to discuss how he started a career in the Bitcoin mining industry through relentless follow-up and providing value during any chance he was given. (🎙, 📺)
Listen to The BTCo Podcast
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Company Spotlight
Total Funding
$46.5M (Source: Crunchbase)
About
“ZEBEDEE is a leading payments platform offering a secure and cost-effective payment solution for developers to take advantage of the speed, global reach and low fees of the Bitcoin Lightning Network. As Bitcoin transaction costs have spiked to over $15 per transaction, ZEBEDEE's infrastructure removes cost hurdles with transactions that cost less than one cent. This empowers all developers, even those without any prior Bitcoin experience, to quickly and easily integrate Bitcoin rewards and payments into new or existing apps, creating value-driven experiences that reward individuals for their activities via real-time microtransactions.”
Leadership
Simon Cowell, CEO
André Neves, CTO
Christian Moss, Head of R&D
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.
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.
🤔 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!👇
That's a wrap for this biweekly newsletter. See ya in +2016 blocks from now!
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- Eric (@epodrulz)
👋 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!