It was a headline-heavy week for bitcoin mining news, led by Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT) seeking zoning approval for a massive data center project in Illinois, while Riot and Cipher make personnel changes amid their AI expansions.

In the Bitcoin sector broadly, Bitcoin treasury companies experienced a positive development with MSCI retaining Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) in its indices. On the bitcoin mining network front, the bulk of transactions are coming from non-monetary transactions.

And on the policy front this week, Florida takes another go at establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve.

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Hut 8 is awaiting zoning approval for a proposed 500 MW data center in Logan County, Illinois. 

The project is estimated to cost between $4 billion and $5 billion. While the company has not yet secured a specific tenant, the facility could support AI training, inference, or traditional cloud computing. The proposal faces a critical zoning hearing with the local board scheduled for January 20.

MSCI announced it will retain Strategy in its global indices, declining to exclude digital asset treasury companies at this time. 

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, noted that while the decision is not a permanent guarantee of inclusion, it should alleviate immediate selling pressure on the stock. Currently, Strategy is the only Bitcoin treasury company that meets the index criteria, though the decision leaves the door open for other firms that reach sufficient market capitalization and liquidity.

Cipher (NASDAQ: CIFR) announced the hiring of Lee Bratcher as head of policy and government affairs and Drew Armstrong as head of strategic initiatives. Both hires bring extensive industry experience from the Texas Blockchain Council and Cathedra, respectively. Concurrently, Riot Platforms (Nasdaq: RIOT) appointed Jason Chang as its incoming CFO and overhauled its executive compensation structure. The changes include salary adjustments and the removal of a bitcoin compensation component, signaling a shift in strategy as the company explores high performance computing opportunities.

Bitcoin mining economics are weak currently, with the bitcoin mining revenue metric hash price hovering near all-time lows. Apropos of this, mining difficulty has trended downward, with four of the last five adjustments being negative, a rarity that has only occurred twice before in history.

Bitcoin transaction fees remain a negligible portion of revenue, but what remains is coming from non-monetary transactions. For instance, the BRC20 and Runes standard – two different transaction standards for Bitcoin-native tokens – have generated 6.1 million transactions in the last month, accounting for 42% of all Bitcoin transaction volume. 

Florida lawmaker John Snyder filed a bill to establish a state managed strategic Bitcoin reserve. The legislation would place the reserve under the management of the state’s Chief Financial Officer. 

This marks the state’s second attempt to pass such legislation after a previous version was withdrawn in May 2025 due to market volatility concerns.

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