Texas crypto mining farm snaps up GMO, SBI Holdings contracts

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A U.S. crypto mining facility has secured contracts with two significant corporate customers, in deals that could see it become the largest bitcoin mine in the world.

Whinstone Inc. is developing a site at Rockdale, Texas, which is expected to be the largest mining facility of its kind upon completion. The deal sees Japanese corporate titans GMO and SBI Holdings agreeing to rent mining capacity at the facility, Bloomberg reported.

The facility is being developed with support from GMO, with a budget of in excess of $150 million for the construction and fit out.

It is expected that the facility will consume 300MW of power during its first quarter, rising to over 1GW during the first 12 months, with plans to draw on renewable sources to power its mining units.

After starting the development, Whinstone was acquired by Northern Bitcoin, the German-based mining company which currently runs a substantial facility in Norway powered by renewable energy.

The development was sited in Texas on account of its comparatively low energy costs, as well as the potential for harnessing and channeling renewable sources, such as wind power, to drive mining operations. Sources have also suggested Texas appeals to Libertarian-minded crypto entrepreneurs for its track record of independence.

The new mine has its sights set on rival Bitmain, who have their own crypto mining facility already operating out of Rockdale. The commitment from GMO and SBI represent significant institutional investment in crypto mining, at a time of increasing interest from the mainstream finance and investment worlds.

With both the Bitmain site and the Whinstone site set to be based in the region, Rockdale is emerging as a hub for the crypto mining industry.

Despite concerns over the significant energy consumption required to mine cryptocurrencies like BTC, the project will nevertheless provide much-needed mining capacity to enterprise market.