Recently, the price of Bitcoin dropped after orders by local authorities to halt mining in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province came late last week, resulting in the shutdown of numerous Bitcoin mines. According to a report from Global Times (China’s national English language newspaper) the ban means that more than 90% of China’s Bitcoin mining capacity is estimated to be shut down, at least for the short term, as regulators across the country have taken similar harsh steps. Now, as a result of China’s shifting regulatory approach towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, Bitcoin miners in China are looking to relocate their operations to U.S. states like Texas, South Dakota and Tennessee, The Washington Post reported. ISW Holdings Inc. (OTC: ISWH), Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT), CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLSK), Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF), Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
Forbes indicated in a report that China’s recent crackdown on cryptocurrency mining is a move that’s expected to help shift the industry’s center of gravity from Asia to North America. “… mining is set to become a whole lot easier (and profitable) for North American crypto miners, thanks to the Chinese government’s aggressive crackdown on the industry. Until recently, China accounted for between 65% and 75% of all Bitcoin mining,” the report stated. “Blockchain.com data already shows that the global hashrate, a measure of the computational power used per second by the Bitcoin network, has fallen 50% from its peak in mid-April. It’s now at its lowest level since November 2020. This could be highly favorable for U.S. and Canadian crypto miners…”
ISW Holdings Inc. (OTC: ISWH) just announced breaking news that, “it has finalized its land lease development agreement, which grants the Company full use of a 1st phase 7-acre parcel of property in Georgia tailored for cryptocurrency mining operations, complete with access to energy resources capable of powering over 100 MW of cryptocurrency mining capacity.
‘This agreement puts us in position to scale up into a top-five global cryptocurrency mining position by volume,’ remarked ISW Holdings President and Chairman, Alonzo Pierce. ‘We control an ideal plot of land, to initiate the 1st phase with additional access to over 100 megawatts of power for use in crypto mining. We also have our close partner Bit5ive, LLC – North America’s largest provider of collective management of renewable, clean energy services and mining equipment – right on premises to manage and develop the mining operations at the site. China is cracking down hard and shutting down its domestic crypto mining industry. This has enormous consequences because more than half of the world’s cryptocurrency mining has been taking place in China. As a result, we are already fielding calls from mining firms seeking a new home. We are now equipped to handle this at scale. We have the power!’ The Company is now in the first phase of its expansion into hosting mining operations. The necessary engineering and design involved in installation is already underway. This first phase consists of over 20 MW of power to be deployed among 20 separate New Generation 1-MW POD5 units.
The Company believes this entire first tranche of power will be deployed to active mining operations by the end of this year. The expected gross revenue run rate attached to this initial phase – deployment of the first tranche of 20 MW of power – is currently estimated at more than $10 million per year.
Pierce added, ‘Our plan is to execute an additional agreement with some of the world’s largest and best-known mining companies seeking additional accommodation for expanded mining operations. We are already beginning to design and plan for this added scalability. Once we deploy the full 100 MW, we see total gross revenue run rate exceeding $100 million on an annualized basis.'”
Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) announced earlier in June its May production and operational updates, including its unaudited Bitcoin (“BTC”) production for May 2021 and its latest miner delivery status. The Company plans to continue to provide monthly operational updates and unaudited production results through the end of 2021. These updates are intended to keep shareholders informed of Riot’s mining production as it continues to deploy its expanding miner fleet. On May 26th, 2021, Riot announced it completed its previously announced acquisition of Whinstone U.S. (“Whinstone”). Whinstone’s Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, TX is the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America, as measured by its 300 MW in developed capacity. The Company announced its plans to immediately commence further development of additional capacity at Whinstone in order to rapidly bring the property to its current capacity of 750 MW. This expansion will be driven by Whinstone’s industry leading development team of over 100 employees.
CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLSK) announced last month that it is set to join the Russell 2000® Index at the conclusion of the 2021 Russell indexes annual reconstitution, effective after the U.S. market opens on June 28th. The Russell 2000 is a benchmark stock index comprised of 2,000 publicly-traded small-capitalization companies. The Company also recently appointed industry veteran Bernardo Schucman as the Senior Vice President of its Atlanta-based Bitcoin mining center. CleanSpark President and CEO Zachary Bradford says, “Bernardo has been consulting with the Company since we purchased ATL Data Centers. We are thrilled to officially welcome him and his wealth of experience to lead our Atlanta mining team as we continue to grow rapidly, profitably and as efficiently as possible. CleanSpark succeeded in its bid to purchase ATL last December because of CleanSpark’s proven track record in energy, which is the backbone of cryptocurrency mining. We also shared a common belief with Bernardo on the importance of renewable and carbon free energy sources to support the future of the blockchain. Bernardo’s impressive background and industry expertise will be an asset to the Company.”
Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF) announced last month that the Company has received DTC eligibility for the Company’s common shares in connection with their listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market. e. When Bitfarms begins trading on the Nasdaq, it will be the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner in North America using greater than 99% hydroelectric renewable electricity. We are proud to be a leader in the industry in setting the highest standards for ourselves and our mining operations and to be uplisting to one of the most prestigious stock exchanges in the world. Having reached this milestone we are even more excited about where it will take our company next,” commented Emiliano Grodzki, Bitfarms’ Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk tweeted on May 12th, “Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel. Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment. Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin’s energy/transaction.” While Tesla will no longer accept bitcoin for vehicle purchases, Musk specified that Tesla plans to hold rather than sell the bitcoin it already holds and will be looking into other cryptocurrencies that require less energy for transactions according to CNBC.
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