THE MINING POD: ICE Raids BTC Mine, EOY Hashrate Forecast, Core Scientific CRWV Vote, Tether’s BTC Holdings

Oct 3, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Ben Harper, Director on the derivatives desk at Luxor Technologies, dives into the current Bitcoin hashrate trends and forecasts a significant surge to 1.2 zettahash by year's end. He breaks down the recent ICE raid on a Texas ASIC repair shop and its implications for compliance in the mining sector. The conversation also touches on Tether's impressive stash of over 85,000 BTC and the dynamics of hash rate forwards, highlighting how miners can strategically lock in revenue.

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INSIGHT

Difficulty Surge Outpaces Price Relief

Bitcoin network difficulty rose nearly 6% in the latest adjustment and is up 26% across seven increases.
The difficulty surge squeezes miner margins even as BTC price rallies above $100k.

ANECDOTE

ICE Raid At Pyote ASIC Repair Shop

ICE raided an ASIC repair shop in Pyote, Texas and arrested about 12–13 undocumented Chinese workers.
The facility was a Bitmain-certified repair site and the raid raises questions about other repair shops' compliance.

ADVICE

Hedge Mining Revenue With Forwards

Use forwards to lock in future hash-price revenue before difficulty and fee surprises hit.
Sellers capture upside when markets underestimate hashrate growth or overestimate fees.

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ICE raided an ASIC repair shop this week, and a look into the crystal ball for Bitcoin’s hashrate at the end of the year.Click Here To Join the BitAxe Giveaway!

Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, Ben Harper from Luxor Technologies joins us to talk about the brutal hash rate environment as hashrate surges past 1 zettahash. For news, we break down ICE's raid on a Bitcoin miner repair shop in Pyote, Texas, Core Scientific’s shareholder vote for the CoreWeave acquisition, and Tether's massive 86,000+ BTC treasury.

**Notes:**

• Difficulty increased 6%, up 26% over 7 adjustments

• Hashrate expected to reach 1.2 zeta by year-end

• Core Scientific vote scheduled for October 30th

• Tether holds 85,335 BTC worth $10.4 billion

• ICE arrested 12-13 undocumented workers at TX ASIC repair shop

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

04:27 Difficulty Update by Luxor

06:48 ICE raids ASIC repair shop

11:30 Hashrate Forwards

23:03 End of year Forward projections

25:41 Cleanspark Ad

26:10 Core Sci Update

28:44 Tether holds more BTC than you think

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