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⌐◪-◪ → The rumors are true, Trump is officially speaking at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville on July 25-27.

He’ll be joining fellow Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn — an absolutely stacked speaker list.

Crypto Twitter is already speculating on his potential topics:

• Triple down on freeing Ross Ulbricht

• Double down on banning CBDCs in the US

• Reaffirming the right to self-custody and BTC mining

This announcement follows the Republican Party’s new platform pledging to protect Bitcoin from the “un-American crypto crackdown,” which we covered in yesterday’s issue.

There’s no doubt about it, Bitcoin has become a partisan issue, with Republicans as the official pro-crypto party.

Let me know if you’re going to the conference in Specs.Chat, I’ll be there and would love to connect IRL!

⌐◪-◪ → Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the CTFC, reiterated during a Senate hearing that BTC and ETH are commodities, not securities. A recent Illinois court ruling in a $120M Ponzi case supported his stance, classifying both as commodities.

Behnam noted that 70-80% of the crypto market consists of non-securities, emphasizing the need for regulatory frameworks from the CTFC, not the SEC. He stressed that inaction from other regulators would increase risks to financial markets and investors.

Nice to see a sensible regulator defending crypto while pushing for clarity. Study Behnam.

I can’t get over all the political and regulatory momentum in crypto right now. Somebody check on Elizabeth Warren, she’s been awfully quiet lately — lol.

⌐◪-◪ → Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and Core Scientific (Nasdaq: CORZ) announced a partnership to decentralize mining hardware using Block’s new 3nm ASICs. Core Scientific will integrate these chips, adding about 15 EH/s of hashrate.

Block’s Proto team and ePIC Blockchain Technologies co-designed a modular platform to enhance efficiency and sustainability. “This agreement shows how we envision our mining products advancing and decentralizing the industry,” said Thomas Templeton, lead of Block's Proto team.

This partnership aims to boost decentralization, transparency, and resiliency of the Bitcoin network.

What impact will this have on the future of Bitcoin mining? Let me know in Specs.Chat!

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