French lawmakers have doubled down on their plans for Bitcoin mining by highlighting that the country could generate an annual revenue of up to $150 million from the industry.

In a July 11 bill submitted to the French National Assembly, the lawmakers outlined a five-year pilot program allowing electricity producers to redirect excess power, often wasted during low grid demand, toward Bitcoin mining operations.

According to the lawmakers, data from the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN) projects that dedicating just one gigawatt of surplus energy could generate between $100 million and $150 million each year.

This revenue could help offset the fixed costs of maintaining France’s nuclear fleet while monetizing energy that would otherwise be sold at a loss.

The bill comes a month after French lawmakers initially urged the government to examine whether Bitcoin mining could absorb the excess power generated from the country’s nuclear plants.

The lawmakers argued that France’s energy grid faces mounting pressure from the growth of intermittent renewables like wind and solar.

They stressed:

“The significant share of [renewable energy sources] in our electricity mix is leading to recurring imbalances on the grid, including episodes of overproduction that force electricity producers to sell at a loss due to a lack of storage facilities. These unutilized surpluses represent an unacceptable economic and energy loss.”

Benefits of Bitcoin mining

To solve this challenge, the French lawmakers are pushing for Bitcoin mining centers to be co-located with nuclear production facilities.

These centers would only activate when there’s excess energy, offering a real-time, flexible method for grid stabilization without affecting consumer supply.

According to them:

“Existing infrastructure, currently underutilized or closed, could accommodate this new infrastructure. Abroad, some former factories or decommissioned power plants have already been transformed into mining farms operating on carbon-free electricity.”

Meanwhile, the legislation highlighted the secondary benefits of Bitcoin mining activities, including heat recovery. The lawmakers noted that the mining rigs can generate significant heat, which can be redirected to district heating systems, greenhouses, or industrial operations.

They also highlighted examples from countries like Finland, where Bitcoin mining heat is used to support agriculture and sustainable infrastructure.

If approved, the pilot would begin immediately and last roughly five years, with oversight from the French Council of State. After six months, a full evaluation report would assess the feasibility of broader adoption.

Meanwhile, this effort places France among a growing group of countries, such as Pakistan, Belarus, and Texas in the US, that are exploring Bitcoin mining as a strategic response to electricity oversupply.

At the time of writing, solana

is trading at around $166.28, up 6.23% in the past 24-hour period, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.

Upexi (UPXI), a Tampa-based consumer brands company listed on Nasdaq, announced Friday it has secured approximately $200 million in new financing through a combination of equity and convertible note offerings. A portion of the proceeds will support Upexi’s existing operations, while the rest will be used to grow its cryptocurrency treasury, with a specific focus on Solana

.

As part of the equity component, Upexi raised $50 million from accredited and institutional investors, including its CEO Allan Marshall. Shares were sold at $4.00 each, with management purchasing at a premium of $4.94. The company said the equity deal is expected to close around July 14.

Separately, Upexi entered into agreements to issue $150 million in convertible notes to institutional investors. The notes are backed by SOL as collateral and carry a 2% annual interest rate. They are convertible into Upexi stock at a fixed price of $4.25 per share and mature in 24 months. The notes are expected to close around July 16, at which point the associated SOL will be added to the company’s holdings.

In a June 26 press release, Upexi disclosed that it held 735,692 SOL as of June 24, an 8% increase from the 679,677 SOL reported on May 28. Upon closing of the new financing, Upexi expects to more than double its current SOL position.

The offerings were conducted privately and are not registered with the SEC.

Technical Analysis

• SOL demonstrated exceptional resilience throughout the preceding 24-hour period from 10 July 15:00 to 11 July 14:00, progressing from $156.45 to $166.65, constituting a substantial 6.52% appreciation with an aggregate trading range of $10.99 extending from $155.78 to $166.76.
• The price dynamics unveiled distinctive accumulation sequences with considerable volume-backed support materialising at $160.31 during the 21:00 hour advancement, where extraordinary volume of 3.23 million substantially surpassed the 24-hour mean of 1.34 million, corroborating institutional capital deployment.
• Pivotal resistance emerged proximate to $165.30, subjected to multiple examinations between 22:00 and 03:00, whilst the conclusive breakthrough above $166.00 transpired with amplified volume of 2.26 million, intimating persistent bullish conviction.
• The technical architecture suggests SOL has consolidated a superior trading corridor with robust volume validation, establishing foundations for prospective advancement towards the $170.00 psychological threshold.
• Throughout the concluding 60-minute interval from 11 July 13:05 to 14:04, SOL encountered considerable volatility whilst preserving its overarching bullish disposition, oscillating within a $2.90 bandwidth from $164.24 to $166.76 and settling at $165.87, representing a marginal 0.44% contraction from the hour’s commencement at $165.92.
• The period manifested quintessential consolidation attributes encompassing two discrete phases: an initial retreat to $164.28 circa 13:33 accompanied by intensified distribution pressure of 45,017 volume, succeeded by a vigorous recovery commencing at 13:48 where volume escalated to 81,740 during the ascent towards $166.76, validating renewed accumulation interest.
• Fundamental support crystallised near $164.30 with multiple successful examinations, whilst resistance materialised around $166.50-$166.75, establishing a well-delineated trading corridor that suggests constructive price discovery following the antecedent 24-hour advance, positioning SOL for potential continuation of its broader upward trajectory upon completion of this consolidation phase.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

A wallet reportedly linked to the official Donald Trump memecoin project has transferred nearly $20 million worth of TRUMP tokens to centralized exchanges.

On April 29, on-chain analyst EmberCN reported that the team’s wallet transferred 1.346 million TRUMP tokens, valued at $19.53 million, to three major exchanges.

Data from Arkham Intelligence, cited by EmberCN, revealed that about 700,000 TRUMP tokens worth $10.21 million were sent to Binance. Another 350,000 tokens valued at $5.08 million went to OKX, while Bybit received 296,000 tokens worth roughly $4.32 million.

On-chain activity suggests the wallet is linked to the team or another insider and holds over $150 million TRUMP tokens funded via the wallet 7qtDv.

While the exact reason behind the transfers remains unclear, such movements typically signal preparations for potential sales. However, insider vested token unlocks began earlier this month.

Meanwhile, this activity coincided with a sharp decline in TRUMP’s price. Data from CryptoSlate shows that the token dropped by 9% over the past 24 hours to trade at $13.78, marking a steep fall from its recent highs.

The latest selloff follows heightened excitement about a planned exclusive dinner with President Donald Trump, which initially drove the token’s price and on-chain activity higher.

TRUMP’s token on-chain activity spikes

Blockchain analytics firm Kaiko reported a 200% spike in TRUMP’s trading volume following the dinner announcement.

According to the firm, nearly 10,000 wallets engaged in TRUMP token transfers during the surge, generating approximately $2.4 billion in on-chain transaction volume—the busiest day for TRUMP this month.

Kaiko’s data showed that most transactions came from smaller wallets, each holding less than $100,000 worth of TRUMP tokens.

Meanwhile, the digital asset’s trading activity on centralized exchanges also soared. Kaiko noted that TRUMP recorded its highest daily volume since mid-February, surpassing all other major memecoins, including DOGE.

On the announcement day alone, TRUMP accounted for nearly 50% of total memecoin trading volume across centralized platforms, a clear sign of the token’s dominance.

Although trading volumes and on-chain activity have cooled since the initial surge, Kaiko noted that more movement is expected as the competition deadline nears. The event’s rules state that the top 220 holders with the highest average TRUMP holdings between April 23 and May 12 will qualify for the dinner.

At the time of writing, the user known as “Sun” leads the leaderboard with over 1 million time-weighted TRUMP holdings. Meanwhile, the wallet “REAL” holds the 220th position, with just over 1,002 time-weighted TRUMP tokens.

Mentioned in this article