Rabbit Hole Recap: Bitcoin Week of 2021.11.08
11/12/2021 · 151 min · transcript via mlx
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Key topics
— Taproot activation is estimated to occur in approximately 352 blocks (two days) at block 709,632; a soft fork that introduces improved privacy and lower fees for multisig transactions, though adoption will take time as wallets and tools integrate support.
— Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,010 this week and is currently trading around $65,110; market cap reached $1.23 trillion with discussion on whether the trillion-dollar threshold represents a floor going forward.
— Stacks and Miami's Citycoin use a proof-of-transfer model where Bitcoin is sent to token holders, creating a "forever ICO" structure; the mechanism is technically clever but relies on poor initial token distribution and aggressive marketing terminology.
— Compass Mining faces hosting delays, particularly at the South Carolina facility; supply chain disruptions and overly optimistic timelines are blamed, though ASICs sent directly to homes have shipped on time and the company's incentive structure should favor quick deployment.
— New ASIC miners from Bitmain (S19 XP) with significant efficiency gains (~50% hash increase, 22 joules per terahash) are expected in July 2022; pre-orders should be avoided given Bitmain's track record and the risk-reward profile in the current market environment.
— Podcasting 2.0 integration implemented with 50/50 sat splits between hosts; per-episode splits involving producers and guests are in development.
Market & price signals
— Bitcoin is at $65,110, with an all-time high of $69,010 hit this week (5.7% away from ATH). Market cap is $1.23 trillion; hosts suggested the trillion-dollar floor may never be broken again. Difficulty adjustment estimated for November 13th, 2021, with mempool fees at 1 sat per byte. Hash value versus hash price charts from Braiins indicate the current period may be approaching the end of favorable ASIC pricing relative to hashrate value, suggesting caution on new miner purchases.
Actionable insights
— Do not rush to move cold storage to Taproot addresses; wait for wallet maturity and adoption to progress before migrating legacy or wrapped-segwit holdings, and prioritize multisig setups where Taproot's benefits are most significant.
— Evaluate mining entry carefully: avoid Compass Mining hosted deployments given current delays; purchase ASICs for home operation only if electricity costs are below $0.28/kWh, delivery timelines are reliable, and you can manage remote access and cooling; stay away from pre-orders on new Bitmain miners until early units are independently verified by partners like Crusoe.
Episode sponsorships
Paid placements mentioned in this episode. BTC Pods is not sponsored by or affiliated with these advertisers. Links are included so you can find offers mentioned on the show.
— Cash App is offering $10 for new users who sign up with code stackingsats, with the bonus going to Owls Lacrosse; the app enables direct deposit, purchases of sats, and cashback rewards including sats via boosts on card transactions.
— Unchained Capital's Vault concierge onboarding package provides a white-glove service to set up 2-of-3 multisig custody; mention "TFTC" to receive $50 off and access multiple video consultations, hardware wallet delivery, and seed-phrase security training, with the option to fund the vault with an additional thousand dollars worth of sats. Visit unchained.com for details on vault, loan, and IRA services.
— Compass Mining allows individuals to purchase ASICs for home delivery with at-home support or hosted at partner facilities with competitive electricity rates; visit compassmining.io to buy miners, access hosting options, podcasts, and newsletters designed to educate plebs about mining.
— Braiins (B-R-A-I-I-N-S, double I) makes BrainsOS Plus Firmware, which boosts ASIC efficiency and lets users point hash to any pool; 0% fees apply when pointing to SlushPool. Braiins announced new SlushPool features including payment thresholds, splits for multi-party operations, and mining profitability tools. Visit braiins.com or insights.[braiins.com/profitability-calculator](https://insights.braiins.com/profitability-calculator) for firmware downloads and mining analytics.