thecoinrepublic.com
Texas has been getting a lot of attention as of late as reports are suggesting that numerous Bitcoin (BTC) miners are expressing their interest to move their operations on the said state. With that in mind, it looks like the Lone Star State could now be the center of the world’s Bitcoin mining.
The city of Rockdale in Texas houses the largest cryptocurrency mine in North America – Whinstone Inc. and it may well seem that more crypto miners are likely to put up their operations in that town. This was revealed by the city’s mayor John King as he claims to have already met with a company that is interested in setting up business in his town.
Whinstone’s CEO Chad Harris, on the other hand, has also disclosed that they too were contacted by several of these Bitcoin miners. It was also learned that back in May, BIT Mining which is based in Shenzhen in Southeastern China, had stated that they are planning to splurge $25 million in a Texas data center. Meanwhile, the Beijing-based server firm of Bitmain is already making improvements on an old aluminum plant right across the street from where Whinstone Inc operates.
Not just Rockdale
Other Texan towns were also deemed good for business by other miners. In 2020, the crypto mining firm of Layer1 Technologies opened up a plant near Pyote in West Texas which is home to 138 people (2020 census). Back in February, the Canadian company dubbed Argo Blockchain revealed their intentions to purchase a 320-acre land in that area within this year, The Washington Post noted.
It’s still debatable, however, as to how Rockdale’s economy benefitted from the so-called crypto boom. For the past half a century, the city which has a population of just 5,600, was deemed a “company town” with most of the jobs are from the aluminum and coal mine plant named Alcoa. During the mine’s heydays, Rockdale even got a nickname “The Town Where It Rains Money.” Unfortunately, in 2008, Alcoa closed off both its smelter and mine as this led to thousands (1,200 of them) being laid off. In 2018, the company’s power plant was also shut down trimming its workforce anew.
Whinstone hired 100 employees when it first came to Rockdale. Albeit the efforts the crypto mining firm has poured into such endeavor, it hasn’t seen some significant growth. In line with this, even the mayor who also has a Bitcoin mining rig of his own has yet to see his efforts pay off. Further, he said that he’s “not very successful at it” adding that he can’t afford to keep purchasing hard drives.
A Bitcoin mining facility the size of Whinstone’s could mine roughly around 500 Bitcoins a month as the company claims. Plans of expanding the operation will be pretty steep in terms of costs as it was mentioned that each of the mining firm’s buildings has a price tag of $40 million to build. Despite all these, Whinstone remains optimistic about its future in the Lone Star State.
Why Texas wants to become the leading Crypto capital?
This is since Texas has a lot to offer to cryptocurrency/Bitcoin miners. One of which is a “deregulated electricity landscape” that allows the customers to choose their energy provider. Also, the state has one of the cheapest energy rates in the United States, not to mention that the state is also known for its gas and oil.