Nevada firm in talks to transform US data center into crypto mining farm

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Wuhan General Group (China), Inc. is in talks to transform a data center of the U.S. Department of Defense into a cryptocurrency mining facility.

According to the press release published on Tuesday, Wuhan General Group chose the facility because it meets the security and power requirements the company needs to start their operations. Aside from having high-speed internet, the area surrounding the data center also has a cooler climate, which the Nevada-based company said will help keep the mining rigs in good condition.

With 55,000 square feet of space, the facility has enough room to hold many mining rigs and computers. It also has a standard security measure for protecting both the machinery and the workers from external danger. According to the press release, the facility already has 3MW of power ready to accommodate up to 1,300 crypto mining machines. There are also plans to upgrade the facility power to 30MW in order to add more crypto mining machines.

If the talks are successful, Wuhan General Group expects to bring in the first batch of the crypto mining machines to the data center before the end of October. The company plans to add 12,000 more machines once the power upgrade is completed to increase productivity.

From the mining operations, the company is estimating to get monthly revenue of $3.5 million based on the current cryptocurrency prices.

According to Wuhan General Group, it initially planned to start the crypto mining operations three months ago but had to delay the plans due to “the bearish cryptocurrency market.”

“The decision to wait for market stability was a good one, especially considering many cryptocurrency machines are no longer profitable in the current market. We acted in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders and firmly believe that the market has bottomed and a bullish market is starting again,” Ramy Kamaneh, CEO of Wuhan General Group, said in a statement.

Many parts of the United States enjoy cheap electricity and cool climates which seem to attract a lot of mining activities. Since the beginning of 2018, regulators have had to put up measures to control the number of mining operations in the region. In July, authorities in New York approved new power rates to help balance electricity supply between the residents and cryptocurrency miners. This came after residents started complaining of high electricity costs due to increased mining activities in the state.

An earlier version of this article indicated that Wuhan General Group (China), Inc., is a Chinese company. Wuhan General Group is a Nevada-based investment company focused in crypto mining operations and infrastructure.