• Bitcoin Lake is a non-profit project in Panajachel, Guatemala that seeks to create a circular economy powered by Bitcoin.
• The project has successfully onboarded over 60 merchants, 90% of whom are unbanked and only accept cash or bitcoin.
• The success of the project has been demonstrated through the data collected, with 4674 transactions made and 7.39 BTC volume in 2022.

The Emergence of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a disruptive technology that has revolutionized the financial industry. My work at Bitcoin-friendly companies gave me insight into the many ways this technology is transforming our lives. Seeing its potential, I decided to join the non-profit project, Bitcoin Lake, located in Panajachel, Guatemala.

Creating a Circular Economy

The goal of Bitcoin Lake is to create a circular economy run entirely on Bitcoin. This initiative brings new possibilities for both banked and unbanked merchants alike – approximately 60% of adults in Guatemala don’t have access to formal financial services. Through this project, more than 60 merchants have been onboarded so far; 90% are unbanked but accept cash or bitcoin as payment methods.

Successful Progress

The progress of this project has been remarkable over a short period of time. To assess its success further, data was collected throughout the year which showed 4674 transactions were made and 7.39 BTC volume achieved in 2022 (see figures two and three). Furthermore, education projects such as “Mi Primer Bitcoin” courses have been implemented at local schools with great success – students gained an understanding of how money works and what possibilities cryptocurrency can bring them in the future.

Initiatives Taken

To continue enhancing experience for users here, new initiatives have been taken such as the ‘Bitcoin tuk tuk’ (a common vehicle in Panajachel) and ‘Bitcoin boat’ cleverly named “Peer To Peer”. My first month volunteering with Bitcoin Lake has allowed me to witness first hand just how successful it is becoming – business owners are amazed by this cryptocurrency’s ease of use!

Conclusion

The progress made by Bitcoin Lake serves as an inspiration to all those interested or invested in cryptocurrency – it demonstrates how powerful digital currency can be when used properly! During my time here I’ve seen firsthand how successful this venture has become and am excited to see what other projects may come out of this initiative!

• TBD, a Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of Jack Dorsey’s Block, announced c=, a new Lightning Network business.
• The purpose of the company is to provide infrastructure using bitcoin from Block’s treasury to make the Lightning Network more reliable and dependable for developers and businesses.
• c= will provide liquidity to enable transactions, collaborate with developers to provide more efficient routing and liquidity via APIs and services.

TBD Announces New Business: c=

TBD, a Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of Jack Dorsey’s Block, has announced a new Lightning Network business called c=. The purpose of the company is to “provide infrastructure using bitcoin from Block’s treasury to make bitcoin’s Lightning Network more usable and reliable for developers, businesses (such as merchants that accept Lightning payments), and those businesses’ end consumers.”

Making Transactions More Reliable

The release explains that the Lightning Network is still growing, and that transactions often fail due to liquidity shortfalls. In order to address that, “c= will build infrastructure using the bitcoin it is committing to the network so that businesses and wallets can make their Lightning transactions more reliable and dependable.”

Connections & Efficiencies

“Operating a node on the Lightning Network is all about connections; c= provides node operators — whether bitcoin wallets, individuals, or other entities that want to use the Lightning Network — with valuable connections to Lightning,” describes the announcement. “Through c=’s LSP, any business or individual running a Lightning node can gain efficiencies and make their transactions via Lightning with minimal effort and investment without having to rely on an intermediary to custody their bitcoin.”

Providing Liquidity

For Lighting node operators, c= states that it will provide liquidity yo enable transactions as well as “collaborate with developers tonprovide more efficient routing adn liquidity o node operators via APIs no services.”

A Major Presence in Bitcoin Scaling Protocols

In 2022 when Square was renamed Block TBD’s lead Mike Brock stated how they were ”building a new open source company from t ground up focused on oprn protocols d open standards that all participants in te economy can benefit from.” Now with this entrance into Bitcoin’s second layer scaling protocol TBD will have major presence in lightning infrastructures.

Summary of the Article

• Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in December and is facing eight criminal charges relating to fraud, money laundering and campaign finance laws.
• Federal prosecutors have now added four new charges to his list, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and operate an unlicensed money transmitter.
• The indictment also examines how SBF utilized others to contribute to political movements that he did not want himself or his business entities to be tied to.

Background of Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was arrested in December in the Bahamas for allegedly running a cryptocurrency exchange empire with immense failure. This led to regulatory scrutiny as well as impacts on the industry. Federal prosecutors have announced a new indictment of Sam Bankman-Fried with four additional criminal charges.

Charges Against SBF

SBF is currently facing eight counts by the United States Southern District Court of New York. These include: conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers, wire fraud on customers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders, wire fraud on lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy t defraud the United States and violate the Campaign Finance Laws. The four additional charges include: conspiracy to commit bank fraud and operate an unlicensed money transmitter.

Details Alleged by Prosecutors

The document alleging these new charges starts with the claim that “From at least in or about 2019, up to and including in or about November 2022, Samuel Bankman-Fried corrupted the operations of the cryptocurrency companies he founded and controlled.” It further alleges that instead of protecting their customer’s interests through segregation of assets as promised; SBF used their assets for private expenditures without disclosing this risk resulting from this decision. It also claims that while publicly claiming FTX operated independently from Alameda’s cryptocurrency trading & investments; this was not actually true due its design by SBF himself.

Illegal Donations Examined

The indictment further examines how SBF utilized others for substantial contributions for candidates across both major political parties without wanting his name publicly attached or associated with them either way – leaning neither left nor right.

Conclusion

In conclusion, federal prosecutors have added four more criminal charges against Sam Bankman- Fried (SBF), who was previously charged with eight counts since his arrest late last year over issues related with his failed FTX exchange empire. These include: conspiring bank fraud & operating an unlicensed money transmitter as well as examining his utilization of others for donations which he wanted no association with either way – left or right leaning politically

• CleanSpark Inc. has purchased 20,000 brand new Antminer S19j Pro+ units for $43.6 million.
• After coupons, the company will pay $32.3 million, which is expected to expand their bitcoin production capacity by 37%.
• 15,000 of these machines are planned to be deployed at their Washington, Georgia facility with deliveries starting as early as next month and ending in May 2023.

CleanSpark Purchases Antminer S19j Pro+

CleanSpark Inc. recently announced the purchase of 20,000 brand new Antminer S19j Pro+, the latest generation of Bitmain’s bitcoin mining machines, for a total of $43.6 million after discounts. This purchase is estimated to increase their bitcoin production capacity by 37%, adding 2.44 exahashes per second (EH/s) when installed.

Deployment Plans

15,000 units from this order will be deployed at CleanSpark’s wholly-owned bitcoin mining locations in the USA with its Washington, Georgia facility being the primary location – although there may be some changes depending on the development of the site and order fulfillment speed from Bitmain itself.

Capital Management Strategy

The capital management strategy employed by CleanSpark includes reinvesting a major portion of mined bitcoins back into growth initiatives – manifesting in this expansion effort with Antminers Pro+. The models purchased are more power-efficient and 22% more productive than its predecessor S19j Pro model with deliveries starting as early as next month and ending in May 2023 at all their campuses.

CEO Comments

CEO Zach Bradford commented on this acquisition stating that “Building and owning our mining campuses at multiple locations provides us with a level of agility and reliability that cannot be achieved otherwise.” He further added that “We exercise tremendous control over our infrastructure and therefore our ability to be highly efficient in the way we allocate our resources.”

Conclusion

This massive purchase is part of CleanSpark’s capital management strategy which seeks to reinvest most mined bitcoins back into growth initiatives like these expansions while also providing them significant control over their infrastructure for more efficient resource allocation among other benefits.