Chris Campbell:

Ethereum Turns 10: A Timeline of Major Events and Milestones

It’s been 10 years since ethereum, the network that introduced smart contracts to the crypto world, mined its genesis block on July 30, 2015. Now the second-largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin, with a market capitalization of $458.7 billion, the blockchain has come a long way since its initial goal to become a censorship-resistant global computer not controlled by any single party.

Over its 10-year history, ethereum has evolved through a series of defining stages: breakthrough upgrades, financial experimentation, cultural mania, and increasing institutional adoption. It has also attracted scrutiny from regulators and weathered internal fractures and external competition.

“Ethereum has evolved from a white paper idea into the most widely used platform for stablecoins, real-world assets, DeFi, and now even ETFs — signaling mainstream acceptance,” Kelly Ye, deputy chief investment officer of Avenir Group, told Sherwood News.

While the path to mainstream acceptance hasn’t been exactly smooth, each major milestone and mishap has, in its own way, been key to bringing ethereum to where it is today.

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Davis Wilson:

Power Usage in Wyoming AI Data Center Could Eclipse Consumption of the State’s Human Residents by 5X

Plans are afoot to create a massive new data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that would consume more power than every home in the state combined, a staggering milestone in the ongoing race to meet the excruciating power requirements of AI. The project is expected to kick off with a 1.8 gigawatt facility that would be scalable to 10 gigawatts in the future.

Generally, a single gigawatt is enough to power as many as a million homes, but the population of Wyoming, the least populous state in the U.S., is a mere 590,000 residents.

According to calculations by Ars Technica, the plant would consume 15.8TWh annually, five times that of the state's residents. The full 10GW expansion would consume more than double the state's entire electricity generation each year.

Wyoming is already one of the U.S.’s top energy exporters, ranking only behind the likes of Texas, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania for its mainly oil, coal, and gas-fired energy output. EIA figures indicate the state exports almost three-fifths of the electricity it produces.

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Ari Goldschmidt:

Tesla Picks LGES, Not CATL, for $4.3 Billion Storage Battery Deal

Tesla has a new battery cell supplier. Although the automaker is vertically integrated to a degree not seen in the automotive industry for decades, when it comes to battery cells it’s mostly dependent upon suppliers. Panasonic cells can be found in many Teslas, with the cheaper, sturdier lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells being supplied by CATL. Now Tesla has a new source of LFP cells thanks to a deal just signed with LG Energy Solutions.

According to The Korea Economic Daily, the contract between Tesla and LGES is worth $4.3 billion. LGES will begin supplying Tesla with cells next August through until at least the end of July 2030, with provisions to extend the contract if necessary.

The LFP cells probably aren’t destined for life on the road, however. Instead, they’ll likely be used in Tesla’s energy storage products, which both Tesla and LGES hope will soak up demand now that EV sales prospects look so weak in North America.

The deal also reduces Tesla’s reliance on Chinese suppliers. LGES will produce the LFP cells at its factory in Michigan, says Reuters, and so they will not be subject to the Trump trade war tariffs, unlike Chinese-made cells from CATL.

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