The fifth-largest city in Texas, Fort Worth, is set to become the first city in the United States to mine Bitcoin (BTC) via a new pilot project that was approved in a vote made by the city’s council. The vote came as part of a larger set of crypto-friendly initiatives.

Ethereum scaling startup Optimism has confirmed it’s launched a dedicated governance token, OP, which will be used in the startup’s new governance structure called the Optimism Collective.

Brazil’s Senate has approved a bill on cryptocurrencies during a plenary session, paving the way for official regulation of the cryptocurrency space in the world’s ninth-largest economy.

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Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Fort Worth to Become First U.S. City to Mine Bitcoin
• Ethereum Scaling Startup Optimism Launches Governance Token
• Brazilian Senate Approves ‘Bitcoin Law’ Regulating Crypto
• How Many Bitcoins are Currently in Circulation?
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Fort Worth to Become First U.S. City to Mine Bitcoin

The fifth-largest city in Texas, Fort Worth, is set to become the first city in the United States to mine Bitcoin (BTC) via a new pilot project that was approved in a vote made by the city’s council. The vote came as part of a larger set of crypto-friendly initiatives.

Fort Worth has now partnered with the Texas Blockchain Council, a blockchain technology advocate in the state, to mine BTC. The city will maintain three Bitmain S9 miners in a climate-controlled location in the Information Technology Solutions Department Data Center located at Fort Worth City Hall.

The miners will be housed on a private network to minimize security risk and were donated by the Texas Blockchain Council. The city’s Mayor, Mattie Parker, said:

“These small but powerful machines mark Fort Worth’s larger commitment to becoming a leading hub for technology and innovation.”

The pilot program will allow the city to experiment with the mining process, which will be re-evaluated in six months.

Ethereum Scaling Startup Optimism Launches Governance Token

Ethereum scaling startup Optimism has confirmed it’s launched a dedicated governance token, OP, which will be used in the startup’s new governance structure called the Optimism Collective.

Optimism Collective is comprised of two parts, a “Token House” and a “Citizens House.” The former is set to focus on “protocol upgrades, project incentives, and more” as it “drives growth,” while the latter will “govern public goods funding, creating a flywheel of protocol development.”

The startup is airdropping OP tokens in the second quarter of the year to over 250,000 eligible addresses. These addresses include those that made a transaction on Optimism prior to June 23, 2021, and addresses that made an on-chain donation through Gitcoin.

The announcement comes months after social media users spotted an Optimism token price page on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, fueling speculation a token was set to be launched.

Brazilian Senate Approves ‘Bitcoin Law’

Brazil’s Senate has approved a bill on cryptocurrencies during a plenary session, paving the way for official regulation of the cryptocurrency space in the world’s ninth-largest economy.

The bill still needs to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and signed off by President Jair Bolsonaro, to become law in the country. The bill was first proposed in 2015, and allows Brazil’s executive branch to create rules on virtual assets.

The bill can either create a new regulator or delegate power to the country’s central bank or Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). If the bill moves forward, the Brazilian economy would be the largest in the region offering regulatory framework for cryptoassets.

How Many Bitcoins are Currently in Circulation?

At the time of writing, there are little over 19 million bitcoin in circulation, meaning there are less than 2 million BTC left to be mined. Every day, around 900 new coins enter the market.

These coins are added to the network each time a new block is mined. After the latest Bitcoin halving event, each new block comes with a base block reward of 6.25 BTC. Every 210,000 blocks, this figure is halved by design.

When Bitcoin was initially launched, each new block contained 50 BTC as a reward to the miner – these coins were, at the time, virtually worthless. In 2012, when block number 210,000 was mined, the reward dropped to 25. In 2016, it dropped to 12.5 BTC at block 420,000. The last halving was in 2020, at block 630,000.

In 2024, at block 840,000, block rewards will be cut to 3.125 BTC. In 2028, when 1.05 million Bitcoin blocks have been mined, the block reward will drop to 1.5625 BTC, and so on.

It’s important to point out some of the bitcoin that are currently in circulation are believed to be “lost.”

Learn more via CryptoCompare’s guide on Bitcoin’s circulating supply.

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