This summer, I visited an unincorporated community in Texas that was neighbor to a giant bitcoin mine and two power plants.

Why it matters: We frequently hear about complaints from neighbors of bitcoin mines, but we don't often hear from the residents who aren't making noise.

• This week, we did.

Catch up quick: Local activists, seeking to exert leverage in a nearly two-year fight with the data center over claims of harmful noise pollution, secured the right to hold an election to incorporate their community.

• Becoming a town would give them the power to write ordinances around noise levels.

The latest: Residents of the area voted the measure down Tuesday. The vote count isn't final, according to the county elections page, but it currently shows a tally of 86 voters against incorporation versus 52 who wanted to create the town of Mitchell Bend.

• (Mitchell Bend is the name of a nearby turn in the Brazos River.)

What they're saying: "We tried," the group, Protect Hood County, said in a statement shared with Axios.

• They said the community got slammed with communications from the mining interests, spreading fear about the idea of incorporating.

The other side: "We're pleased that Hood County voters saw through the sham incorporation effort and rejected it at the ballot box," MARA's Granbury data center wrote on its Facebook page.

💭 My thought bubble: I was just there for a day. The sound was unremarkable then, as I wrote this summer, but it might not always be that way.

• But driving around there, it looked like a place where people go when they want minimal local oversight, so that might have been another reason folks there didn't want a rule-making municipality.

"At its core, advocacy depends on building coalitions — across the crypto industry, we are all working together to enable the next generation of financial innovation."

On Tuesday, we said that if bitcoin went below $100,000, then we could expect to see some gloom out there.

• It did. We did.

The big picture: Even the most fervent believers in a bright future for the oldest cryptocurrency are feeling a bit shook by the last month.

What they're saying: "The days of 1000x, 100x, or even possibly 10x gains in BTC are probably over. Instead, BTC has matured," says Alex Thorn, director of research at Galaxy, the publicly traded crypto shop, in his most recent research alert.

• Translation: Let go of your fear of missing out, because you missed out.

Yes, but: Thorn argues that bitcoin's price realignment is a healthy one — creating a more stable base of long-term holders with a lower tendency to sell.

• "The longer-term bull case remains structurally sound: Bitcoin continues to gain institutional legitimacy, deepen liquidity, and absorb old supply," he writes.

Reality check: It's a bull case. Not a moon case. Bitcoin has already reached the moon.

• Previously, Thorn had been calling $185,000 BTC by the end of the year. In this note, he dropped that to $120,000.

In the weeds: Thorn sees a few key problems for short-term bitcoin.

• Early whales are clearing out their coffers, putting a lot of supply on the market (though this has transitioned into institutional holdings).
• The $19 billion leverage wipeout of October has left traders shaken.
• Stablecoins are doing a lot of what people hoped bitcoin would do.

Meanwhile, there's a lot of other awesome stuff out there to buy, like the Mag7 and AI plays. And, the bitcoin treasury company trend seems to have run through its first big phase, he notes.

Fun fact: About 10 minutes after Thorn put out his note, I got another note from a lesser-known firm that had basically the same bullets. Remarkable!

The bottom line: As Thorn puts it, there's "narrative competition, and the absence of major new catalysts" has dampened near-term enthusiasm.

Crypto services company Ripple announced Wednesday it has raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation in a round led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities.

Why it matters: This deepens Ripple's war chest and its ties to institutional investors as crypto companies continue to fight for customers.

Follow the money: Existing investors Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital also participated and were joined by new investors Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace.

• Ripple also said it recently completed a $1 billion tender offer at the same valuation.
• Prior to that, it bought back stock at a $15 billion valuation in 2022.

Context: Ripple has made of series of large acquisitions in the last two years that expand its user base beyond the crypto native and deepen its services to create an ecosystem around its own tokens.

• Just last month, it acquired corporate treasury player GTreasury for $1 billion.
• In April, it acquired Hidden Road for $1.3 billion. And in 2023, it bought Metaco for $250 million.

Zoom out: The passing of the GENIUS Act means tons of valuations of crypto are now being rewritten, with investors engaged in talks to invest in players including Tether.

The bottom line: For now, Ripple is the most valuable crypto unicorn, at least stateside.

If you need smart, quick intel on fintech dealmaking for your job, get Axios Pro Deals.

⛏️ Fidelity has taken an 8% stake in Riot Platforms. (Blockspace Media)

🎥 The Welshman who can't find his $750 million in bitcoin might get a movie. (Decrypt)

🐭 A Trump official says that the Clarity Act has been advancing despite the shutdown. (DL News)

• Thought bubble: If Clarity actually passed, I suspect that would be a catalyst, to use Thorn's words, but that seems unlikely.