According to Greg Leffel, founder and executive director of the Virginia Blockchain Commission, disclosed on social media that Virginia's SB 439 Blockchain and Crypto Assets bills were unanimously passed by the committee.

According to Jiemian News citing Bloomberg reports, SoftBank Group CEO Junichi Miyagawa, the telecommunications arm of SoftBank, said today that he plans to launch his own generative AI products after "spending next year" training AI. SoftBank said it would set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, SB Intuitions, to focus on training generative AI. Miyagawa Junichi said at the earnings conference that he plans to provide services to enterprise customers through cooperation with Microsoft in generative AI. In addition, SoftBank also hopes to provide Google's AI tools to the Japanese market. It was previously reported that Softbank: A new entity was established in March and is developing the "Japanese version of ChatGPT".

Odaily Planet Daily News Texas is the largest power generation state in the United States, with a large amount of fossil fuel and renewable energy generation. It is also one of the most important Bitcoin mining centers in the world, with a total mining capacity of approximately 1.5 GW as of August 2022. These characteristics make the state a good place for bitcoin mining to merge with the grid. The local grid operator, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, has been using economic incentives to align the interests of miners with those of the public. However, these incentives, in the form of various demand response programs, have drawn criticism from local residents and lawmakers. They say the state is subsidizing an industry that is harmful to the environment and local communities. Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms therefore faced controversy. Riot saved $27 million in 2022 by not mining bitcoin at certain times under its demand response program. These demand response programs allow large energy consumers to disconnect power when the grid faces a surge in demand, in exchange for credits to use the power later. Texas lawmakers recently introduced SB 1751, which seeks to cap mining industry participation in such schemes to 10 percent. The bill initially passed the state Senate but failed a House committee in May. Riot is developing two mines in Navarro and Milan counties in Texas with a combined energy capacity of 1.7 GW. Riot claims that the Navarro mine will be the largest bitcoin mine in the world. ERCOT data shows that 1 megawatt of electricity can usually power about 1,000 homes in the United States, but it can only power 200 homes in Texas during the summer (because it needs to use air conditioning). If complete, Riot's mine will consume enough energy to power 340,000 Texas homes during peak demand seasons. For local resident Jackie Sawicky, Riot is capitalizing on state incentives while making citizens foot the bill. Sawicky founded and leads the Navarro County Concerned Citizens Group of 700 local residents and is involved with National Coalition Against Cryptomining, an advocacy organization active in six states. The Navarro County Concerned Citizens Group has studied the documents in an attempt to determine Riot's impact on the community and the environment. Sawicky asked: "If Riot didn't get guarantees and subsidies from Texas taxpayers and those of us who actually pay the bills, could they continue to operate?" According to the documents, Riot lost $509.6 million in 2022, about 95% of which were due to asset impairments. Sawicky argues that when energy demand and prices soar, energy costs exceed Riot's cost of maintaining operations, so "they shut down anyway." Sawicky’s views were supported by state Senator Lois Kolkhorst, who introduced the mining cap bill, and environmental advocates who attended a hearing on the bill. However, Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Holdings, believes that miners actually contribute to the development and stability of the grid. “What most people don’t understand is that bitcoin miners are an excellent load balancer for the Texas grid, very complementary to the Texas grid. They actually provide a financial incentive for the development of more renewable energy,” he told CoinDesk in an interview. (CoinDesk)

Jinse Finance reported that Lee Bratcher, chairman of the Texas Blockchain Committee, said that Texas will become the Silicon Valley of the digital asset industry. Senate Bill (SB) 1751, known in the industry as an anti-mining bill, has never been submitted to the governor. The bill seeks to limit the lucrative energy credits that local miners have been enjoying. Elsewhere, the passage of Senate Bill 1929 was seen as a victory for the industry. The bill requires a large number of bitcoin mining farms to register with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Supporters of the bill see it as a necessary step towards greater transparency. The bill, which requires large flexible loads over 75 megawatts to register certain details about their loads with grid operator ERCOT, will help improve communication between ERCOT and bitcoin miners.

Texas Could Become 'Silicon Valley' of Crypto, Says Blockchain Council President Texas's 88th legislative session has been a successful one for local Bitcoin miners, with the blocking of one bill and the passage of several others that will likely keep the state attractive for miners. These bills include SB 1929, which requires large Bitcoin mines to register with ERCOT, and HB 591 and HB 1666, which provide tax incentives and proof-of-reserves regimes respectively.

Odaily Planet Daily News According to Satoshi Action Fund CEO and Lianchuang Dennis Porter tweeted that the Texas House of Representatives committee failed to pass the SB 1751 bill, which is called the "anti-mining" bill. As previously reported, the Texas Senate passed Bill 1751, which will amend parts of the state’s utility and tax laws to increase restrictions on crypto mining companies. Incentives for coin mining companies are limited to 10% and tax breaks for the industry are eliminated.