Block lays off 40% and AI rationale

On the latest Blockspace roundup, the gang cover’s Block’s 40% workforce reduction and our scoop that Magic Eden is quitting the Bitcoin and Ethereum NFT game.

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Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Charlie and Colin cover the Block’s 40% workforce reduction and why the stock ripped 20% on the news. We also dive into the bitcoin mining conditions that are driving hashprice to all-time lows, Blockspace’s scoop that Magic Eden is sunsetting its Bitcoin Ordinals marketplace, MARA’s latest AI partnership, and the Terra/Luna lawsuit against Jane Street. Plus, Luxor’s Michael San Miguel joins the show to discuss the ins and outs of the GPU market. 

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Notes:

* Block laid off 40% of its 10,000 employees.

* Block stock surged 20% after the layoff news.

* Bitcoin hash price hit an all-time low of $28.

* Bitcoin difficulty adjusted upward by 14.73%.

* Magic Eden is shutting down BTC and ETH marketplaces, multi-chain wallet

* Bitdeer sold all its bitcoin; Cipher plans to sell its bitcoin in 2026

* MARA forms partnership with data center developer Starwood

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

03:33 Hashrate update via Luxor’s Hashrate Index

09:29 Block lays off 40% of staff

16:37 Magic Eden shutting down

25:54 GPUs & compute

28:03 GPU vs ASIC complexity

29:04 Upgrading hardware

32:16 Finding a compute buyer

34:00 Powershell vs Neocloud

37:12 Compute still in price discovery mode

42:05 MARA earnings

45:20 CIPHER dumping bags

48:44 Jane Street is the new boogyman

59:34 Everyone's short MSTR

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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.

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