Blockspace: AI & Bitcoin

Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase! Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to Block Space Live! Today, Luxor’s Kaan Farahani Luxor and MIT DCI Director Neha Narula join us to respectively discuss the wild volatility of Bitcoin mining in Q1 and the question of Bitcoin’s quantum resistance. For news, explore a new stop-gap quantum-safe transaction fix that avoids soft forks, map out the states placing moratoriums on AI data center builds, and discuss the geopolitical shift of Iran accepting bitcoin for oil export tolls. We also break down reports of a buyer interest in Gemini’s defunct UK and European business arms and Nakamoto’s reverse stock split. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: * New quantum proposal costs ~$200 per transaction * Compute time takes roughly 6 hours * March difficulty drop ranked 10th at 7.76% * February saw 11.16% difficulty drop * Maine bans data centers >20MW until 2027 * Buyer interested in Gemini’s shuttered UK/EU exchange businesses *NAKA seeks 1-for-20 or 1-for-50 reverse stock split Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:42 Hashrate Index Update 05:04 Quantum proposal-palooza 15:54 Kaan Farahani 32:42 Neha Narula 48:39 Datacenter Bans 1:02:25 Gemini 1:06:59 NAKA scramble to remain on Nasdaq 1:13:59 Iran & Bitcoin 👉CleanSpark CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK) is a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success. We own a portfolio of power, land, and data centers across the United States powered by globally competitive energy prices. Sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship, we optimize our infrastructure to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. Monetizing low-cost, high reliability energy by producing a global emerging critical resource – compute – positions us to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool Bitcoin mining revenue changes every day. Difficulty adjusts. Fees move. Prices shift. And that makes it hard to plan. Luxor Pool’s Fixed Payouts let miners lock in revenue at a guaranteed daily rate for up to 18 months. According to Hashrate Index, miners who used rolling fixed payout strategies since the last halving have outperformed FPPS mining by up to 15 percent. Fixed Payouts give you predictable daily revenue, so you can plan, budget, and grow with confidence. With Luxor, uncertainty is optional. Learn more at luxor.tech/mining Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase! Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Antoine Poinsot of Chaincode Labs joins us to discuss how the Great Consensus Cleanup addresses poison block attacks (among many things), and Lygos Finance CEO Jay Patel gives a breakdown of the current state of private credit markets. For news, we cover Iran demanding bitcoin tolls for tankers to navigate the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran War’s two week ceasefire, Morgan Stanley becoming the first US bank to offer a Bitcoin ETF, and Bitdeer’s new ASIC. Plus, we take to task the New York Times' latest claim that Adam Back is Satoshi Nakamoto. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: - Iran demands $1 in BTC toll per oil barrel. - A supertanker toll would be $2 million in BTC. - Morgan Stanley ETF fees half of BlackRock's. - Oracle credit default swaps at 2008 levels. - Bitdeer launches SEALMINER A4, with hydro model at sub 10 J/TH Timestamps: 00:00 Start 03:33 Antoine Poinsot: Poison blocks demo 15:47 Iran wants Bitcoin 34:18 Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF 42:16 Jay Patel 1:03:06 Bitdeer ASIC 1:15:10 NYT thinks Adam Back is Satoshi 👉CleanSpark CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK) is a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success. We own a portfolio of power, land, and data centers across the United States powered by globally competitive energy prices. Sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship, we optimize our infrastructure to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. Monetizing low-cost, high reliability energy by producing a global emerging critical resource – compute – positions us to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool Bitcoin mining revenue changes every day. Difficulty adjusts. Fees move. Prices shift. And that makes it hard to plan. Luxor Pool’s Fixed Payouts let miners lock in revenue at a guaranteed daily rate for up to 18 months. According to Hashrate Index, miners who used rolling fixed payout strategies since the last halving have outperformed FPPS mining by up to 15 percent. Fixed Payouts give you predictable daily revenue, so you can plan, budget, and grow with confidence. With Luxor, uncertainty is optional. Learn more at luxor.tech/mining Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase!⁠ Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! For today’s bonus episode, Ben Gagnon, CEO of Keel Infrastructure, joins us to talk about the company's rebranding from Bitfarms and its transition from bitcoin mining to AI and HPC infrastructure. We dive into the complexities of re-domiciling from Canada to the U.S., Keel’s decision to liquidate its bitcoin holdings throughout 2026, and how the company is securing power permits in high-barrier markets like Pennsylvania and Washington. Subscribe to the newsletter! ⁠https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com⁠ Notes: • Rebrand from Bitfarms to Keel Infrastructure. • Re-domiciled from Canada to the United States. • Keel plans to liquidate 2,400 Bitcoin holdings. • Sitting on over $500 million in total liquidity. • Target Bitcoin mining capacity of 4-5 EH/s post-AI transition. • Only the fifth Canadian company in 15 years to re-domicile to US. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 01:24 Bitfarms is now Keel 03:41 Rebranding headaches 08:39 Changes to operations? 10:39 Bitcoin treasury sale 14:17 Panther Creek, Sharon & Moses Lake 21:10 Waste coal power plants 23:07 Deal timeline? 24:28 Any hybrid site plans? 26:25 Regulatory roadblocks? 28:13 Operational transition plan 32:16 Private equity redemption limitations 39:29 Financing for Keel 41:25 Final thoughts 👉⁠CleanSpark⁠ CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK) is a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success. We own a portfolio of power, land, and data centers across the United States powered by globally competitive energy prices. Sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship, we optimize our infrastructure to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. Monetizing low-cost, high reliability energy by producing a global emerging critical resource – compute – positions us to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉⁠Luxor⁠, Blockspace's preferred mining pool Bitcoin mining revenue changes every day. Difficulty adjusts. Fees move. Prices shift. And that makes it hard to plan. Luxor Pool’s Fixed Payouts let miners lock in revenue at a guaranteed daily rate for up to 18 months. According to Hashrate Index, miners who used rolling fixed payout strategies since the last halving have outperformed FPPS mining by up to 15 percent. Fixed Payouts give you predictable daily revenue, so you can plan, budget, and grow with confidence. With Luxor, uncertainty is optional. Learn more at luxor.tech/mining Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase! Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Matt Odell, Co-founder of OpenSats, joins us to talk about their 17th wave of grants and the importance of funding open-source Bitcoin privacy projects, and Spiral bitcoin developer Ben Carman hops on to explain why the longest running Bitdevs meetup is taking a break. We also dive into the $270M Drift Protocol exploit and the sophisticated social engineering tactics used by North Korean hackers. Plus, we cover Charles Schwab launching Bitcoin trading, the first investment bank rating for Keel Infrastructure (formerly Bitfarms), and how a solo miner secured a $250,000 block reward. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: - Drift Protocol lost $270M in a painstaking hack. - OpenSats has distributed over $33M in grants from ~10,000 donors - OpenSats grants ~$1M in Bitcoin every month. - Solo miner earned $250,000 for a single block. - Charles Schwab to offer spot BTC and ETH trading in H1 2026 Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:32 Strait of Hormuz: A Citrini Field Trip 06:33 Drift Protocol (SOL) Hack 15:15 Matt Odell: OpenSats 7th wave of grants 32:45 Ben Carman: Austin BitDevs go bye bye 48:09 Bitfarms becomes Keel 54:38 Charles Schwab opens BTC trading 59:11 Solo miner wins block 👉CleanSpark CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK) is a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success. We own a portfolio of power, land, and data centers across the United States powered by globally competitive energy prices. Sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship, we optimize our infrastructure to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. Monetizing low-cost, high reliability energy by producing a global emerging critical resource – compute – positions us to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool Bitcoin mining revenue changes every day. Difficulty adjusts. Fees move. Prices shift. And that makes it hard to plan. Luxor Pool’s Fixed Payouts let miners lock in revenue at a guaranteed daily rate for up to 18 months. According to Hashrate Index, miners who used rolling fixed payout strategies since the last halving have outperformed FPPS mining by up to 15 percent. Fixed Payouts give you predictable daily revenue, so you can plan, budget, and grow with confidence. With Luxor, uncertainty is optional. Learn more at luxor.tech/mining Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase! Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Alex Pruden (Project 11) joins us to discuss Google and Oratomic’s research papers on the risks quantum computing poses to Bitcoin. We discuss Mara’s recent 15% workforce reduction amid their strategic pivot toward AI. Jamie Gill (Luxor) hops on to break down Luxor’s new fleet management software, Commander. We also cover CleanSpark’s Moody’s rated bitcoin bond and Riot’s bitcoin selling in Q1. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: • Mara laid off 15% of its workforce this week. • Hash price is puttering around $30/PH/day. • CleanSpark issues $100M bitcoin-bonds rated by Moody’s. • 7 of the last 11 difficulty moves were negative. • Quantum papers demonstrate hypothetical attacks on Bitcoin Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:43 Difficulty Report by Hashrate Index 08:40 MARA layoff 16:41 Jamie Gill, Luxor 32:50 Bitcoin backed bond 48:07 Alex Pruden, Project Eleven 1:18:13 RIOT sells BTC 👉CleanSpark CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK) is a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success. We own a portfolio of power, land, and data centers across the United States powered by globally competitive energy prices. Sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship, we optimize our infrastructure to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. Monetizing low-cost, high reliability energy by producing a global emerging critical resource – compute – positions us to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool Bitcoin mining revenue changes every day. Difficulty adjusts. Fees move. Prices shift. And that makes it hard to plan. Luxor Pool’s Fixed Payouts let miners lock in revenue at a guaranteed daily rate for up to 18 months. According to Hashrate Index, miners who used rolling fixed payout strategies since the last halving have outperformed FPPS mining by up to 15 percent. Fixed Payouts give you predictable daily revenue, so you can plan, budget, and grow with confidence. With Luxor, uncertainty is optional. Learn more at luxor.tech/mining Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices