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Bitmain Texas Bitcoin Farm Combats China Mining Monopoly
Anja van Oosterhout | Oct 21, 2019 | 05:00
Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain has unveiled a new US facility which could become the biggest mining operation in the world. The newly proposed 33,000 acre farm is a positive step in reducing China’s bitcoin mining dominance.
Bitmain: Texas Farm Can Hit 300 Megawatts
In a press release on October 21, executives confirmed its latest Bitcoin mining farm in Rochdale, Texas had launched.
The 33,000 acre site will initially host a 50 megawatt farm, but its overall capacity can increase six times over to 300 megawatts in future, Bitmain says.
Should it reach those levels, the Texas site would then become the biggest mining farm in the world.
“We are excited to launch this facility, which is significant to Bitmain’s global expansion plans,” lead project manager Clinton Brown commented in the release.
“The stable and efficient energy resources in Texas are fundamental to the inevitable scale of growth for the cryptocurrency mining industry.”
Work began in 2018 on a 25 megawatt project. Operations will be a joint scheme between Bitmain and DMG, which will provide hosting and management services on a day-to-day basis.
“This mining facility marks a major milestone in the development of the mining farm industry,” the latter’s COO Sheldon Bennett added.
BTC Mining ‘Even Split’
The announcement comes at a pivotal time for Bitmain, which is still pursuing its initial public offering (IPO) in the US. Major competitor Canaan Creative beat it to the IPO crown last month, reportedly announcing a $200 million public listing for November.
Throughout 2019, Bitmain’s overall share of the Bitcoin hashrate pie has also diminished. As noted by Christopher Walken, co-founder of mining startup HASHR8, Bitmain’s pools currently contribute around 27% of the total.
By contrast, in January, that figure was closer to 42%. This, commentators have warned previously, placed a single entity close to controlling more than half of the market.
For Walken, however, the trend does not constitute cause for concern.
“People complain that the (Bitcoin) hashrate is too centralized[.] But this is one of the most even splits I’ve seen,” he summarized uploading comparative charts on Saturday.
As Bitcoinist reported, Bitcoin miners are in fiercer competition than ever with one another over mining rewards.
Multiple metrics including hashrate and mining difficulty have repeatedly set new highs this year, despite the recent mixed performance of the Bitcoin price itself.
The newly proposed Bitmain Texas bitcoin mining farm comes only 1 week after Layer1 announced the launch of their $50 Million facility in Texas. Together, the two US-based farms should help boost mining activity in the west and reduce China’s rampant mining dominance.
What do you think about Bitmain’s mining farm? Let us know in the comments below!
Images via Shutterstock
