CoinDesk Podcast Network THE MINING POD: ERCOT’s 266 GW Surge, IREN’s $2.3B Raise, GPUs > ASICs, Whatsminer M70
Dec 12, 2025
Ethan Vera, COO of Luxor, dives into the booming bitcoin mining landscape. He discusses ERCOT's staggering 270% surge in interconnection requests for 2026 and how IREN raised $2.3 billion in a convertible note offering to strengthen their position. Ethan also evaluates the competitive Whatsminer M70 launch and predicts how GPUs are outpacing ASICs in efficiency. The conversation touches on the precarious state of hash price and the controversial Cat fork proposal aimed at filtering ordinals, raising intriguing questions about network governance.
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Hashprice Stuck In The Gutter
- Hash price has fallen below $40 per PH/s and stayed depressed for about a month.
- Luxor reports approximately $38 per PH/s and several negative difficulty adjustments indicate weak short-term miner revenue.
Refinance High-Rate Debt Quickly
- Iron refinanced expensive short-term notes into longer, cheaper convertible debt to improve capital structure.
- Companies should consider rolling higher-rate debt into longer-duration, lower-cost instruments when market appetite exists.
M70 Launch Hits Tough Market Timing
- MicroBT launched the Whatsminer M70 at ~12.5 J/TH with immediate shipping and multiple cooling variants.
- Despite strong specs, timing is poor because abundant used S21-class machines undercut new-equipment demand.