bitcoin-mining

Gryphon Raises $14 Million For Zero-Carbon Bitcoin Mining Operation

14/04/2021 by Idelto Editor

Gryphon Digital Mining has raised $14 million for a zero-carbon bitcoin mining operation.

According to a release, Gryphon Digital Mining has raised $14 million in a Series A fundraise for the launch of a zero-carbon footprint Bitcoin mining operation.

“At Gryphon, our long-term strategy is to be the first vertically integrated crypto miner with a wholly-owned, 100 percent renewable energy supply,” said Rob Chang, CEO of Gryphon Digital Mining, per the release. “Our vision is to further develop and use economically viable, renewable, off-grid energy.”

The announcement noted that institutional investors made up more than 30 percent of the Series A and it closed in a little over two weeks. It also noted that Gryphon has partnered with a data center that grants it access to electricity costs as low as $0.013 per kilowatt hour (kWH). At launch, it expects its mining operation to have 730 petahashes per second (PH/s) of processing power which it thinks can grow to more than 2,000 pH/s by the end of the year.

The release did not detail the specific energy sources that Gryphon expects to leverage, but it did position the firm as one that sees opportunity in fueling the practice through green energy.

“Gryphon has the opportunity to become a market leader by providing reliable, low-cost mining while relying on renewable energy to minimize Bitcoin mining’s carbon footprint,” according to the release.

While there is a popular belief that bitcoin mining is a waste of energy that unduly contributes to issues like climate change, projects like this are demonstrating that Bitcoin mining can actually incentivize and drive use of renewable energy sources.

Online Game Operator The9 Plans to Purchase 2,000 Bitcoin Miners for Over $6 Million

10/04/2021 by Idelto Editor

The Shanghai-based online game operator, The9 Limited, has revealed the company is planning to acquire 2,000 Canaan Avalonminers for over $6 million in a stock deal. The9’s binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) explains that the new units will give the company 0.1 exahash of bitcoin hashpower.

On April 9, the publicly-listed gaming and internet company The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) revealed the firm’s intentions to acquire 2,000 bitcoin (BTC) miners. The new miners will give the company a total hashrate of approximately 100 PH/s or 0.1 exahash (EH/s) of processing power.

According to the announcement, The9 entered into a legally binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an “unrelated bitcoin mining machine owner.” The machines will be exchanged for Class A ordinary shares.

The9 said that the firm will issue approximately 8,127,390 shares based on the share price of around $24.81. But during the next six months, the number of shares could be reassessed.

But the new MOU is not the only deal The9 has established. The company also disclosed that it obtained 0.288 (EH/s) of hashpower. This deal took place when the company signed definitive agreements for 12,246 bitcoin mining rigs.

The announcement does not disclose whether or not the 12,246 mining rigs are Canaan Avalonminer brand miners. That specific deal was also completed with share calculations and an issuance agreement with a lock-up period of six months.

The9 is a very well known gaming and internet firm and for a very long time, The9 had an exclusive license to operate and distribute the extremely popular game World of Warcraft in China.

What do you think about The9 purchasing 2,000 Avalonminers from an unknown source? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Texas Bitcoin Mining Swells- Riot Purchases Mining Site for $650M, Blockcap Establishes HQ in Austin

10/04/2021 by Idelto Editor

The Lone Star State of Texas is solidifying its role as a bitcoin mining and blockchain hub. This week two major bitcoin mining companies established operations in Texas. The company Riot Blockchain purchased a mining site in Rockdale and the bitcoin mining firm Blockcap announced establishing headquarters in Austin.

Blockcap Sets Up Headquarters in Austin, Former Texas Governor Rick Perry Welcomes the Mining Company

On April 9, 2021, the firm Blockcap announced that it was establishing headquarters in Austin Texas, and the company will join a number of companies that reside in the Lone Star State. Just recently, Blockcap announced that the company raised over $75 million and revealed a number of large-scale acquisitions of BTC mining rigs. During the announcement, the former governor of Texas, Rick Perry welcomed Blockcap for bringing innovation to Texas.

“The State of Texas welcomes Blockcap and its decision to establish its headquarters in our capital, which is yet more evidence that we have become the premier location for forward-looking industries like blockchain,” Perry explained. “With Blockcap now joining Tesla and a whole host of other innovative companies here, I’m even more excited for what the future has in store for our state, our flourishing industries and, most of all, our people.”

Moreover, the company has noted that the U.S. currently ranks second worldwide as far as hashrate is concerned. The leading country in the mining industry for both hashpower and manufacturing is currently China. Blockcap’s executive chairman and founder, Darin Feinstein says the company looks forward to setting up in Texas.

“Austin is our home base from which we will pursue our mission and bring this great city closer to the center of the United States’ blockchain technology ecosystem. We also see the city as an ideal location from which to continue expanding our operations as we grow at both national and international levels,” Feinstein said.

Riot Blockchain Buys Whinstone from Northern Data AG for $650 Million

Furthermore, the company Riot Blockchain just announced the acquisition of a mining site in Rockdale, Texas for $650 million. The company has obtained Whinstone Inc., a project started in 2019 and aims to be one of the largest mining centers worldwide. The deal for the $650 million stems from a mix of cash and Riot Blockchain shares. Northern Data AG sold the data center operations to Riot so Northern Data can focus on its remaining six sites.

“Northern Data has been able to create a versatile multi-site network of efficient HPC capabilities with an industry-leading sustainability focus by offering secured access to renewable energy sources,” Northern Data’s CEO Aroosh Thillainathan detailed. With the proceeds from the transaction, we can accelerate our expansion significantly and reinforce the focus on value-accretive HPC services.”

After closing the deal, Northern Data AG will own 12% of the total outstanding common stock of Riot Blockchain, which is approximately 11.8 million shares. Both Blockcap and Riot Blockchain will be neighboring the bitcoin miners Layer1 and Bitmain in Texas as well.

What do you think about Blockcap’s move to Austin and Riot Blockchain purchasing Whinstone Inc.? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Riot Acquires Whinstone With Intent On Operating North America’s Largest Bitcoin Mining Facility

08/04/2021 by Idelto Editor

North American bitcoin mining company Riot will acquire Whinstone and add 300 MW of capacity to its operations.

Bitcoin mining is a business that requires lots of power to be put toward computing. Now, in a new acquisition that significantly changes the face of the practice in North America, bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain has announced a contract to acquire Whinstone US, the owner of a major hosting facility.

The total transaction value is to be $651 million, per the release, with $80 million to be paid in cash with the remainder in the form of 11.8 million shares of Riot common stock. Whinstone’ facility offers 300 megawatts (MW) in developed bitcoin mining capacity, and Riot believes this can be scaled to 450 MW.

Riot framed this as its bid to become the biggest Bitcoin mining company in North America.

“Riot views Whinstone as a foundational element in its strategy to become an industry-leading Bitcoin mining platform, on a global scale,” per the release. “Upon the closing of this acquisition, Riot is expected to be the largest publicly-traded Bitcoin mining and hosting company in North America, as measured by total developed capacity.”

Riot has shared hosting facilities in New York already, but with this planned acquisition of Whinstone, it would be able to significantly grow its capacity.

According to Jason Les, the CEO of Riot, the acquisition of Whinstone would help to create “a very clear path for the company’s future growth,” the release states. “Riot will wholly own the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America, with very low power costs, and one of the most talented development teams in the industry.”

He added that “Whinstone will serve as the foundation of Riot’s Bitcoin mining operations, upon which we will drive our goal of increasing the American footprint in the global Bitcoin mining landscape.”

Chinese Lottery Firm Rebrands, Purchases Bitcoin Mining Rig Manufacturer for $100 Million

08/04/2021 by Idelto Editor

Following the acquisition of the Chinese mining pool Btc.com, the China-based lottery company 500.com revealed the purchase of a bitcoin mining rig manufacturer Bee Computing. The Shenzhen firm purchased the semiconductor and mining device manufacturer for roughly $100 million in a share exchange agreement.

500.com Changes Name to Bit Mining Limited and Acquires Bee Computing for $100 Million

On April 5, 2021, the company 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI) registered a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a Form 6-K filing. The Shenzhen-based firm detailed that it entered into a share exchange agreement with the company Bee Computing. The mining rig manufacturer Bee Computing was established in 2018 and the filing notes that it specializes in 7nm-powered mining machines. Additionally, after acquiring the well-established mining pool Btc.com, 500.com changed its name to “Bit Mining Limited.”

Bee Computing has two mining rigs and both leverage 7nm semiconductors. The Pumbaa mining machine gets around 52 terahash per second (TH/s) and the B2T series gets around 21 TH/s. The most powerful miner has an efficiency rating of around 54 joules per terahash (J/TH) and the B2T has around 55 J/TH. The share exchange agreement is noteworthy and totals around $100 million for the acquisition.

The company’s SEC filing explains:

Pursuant to the share exchange agreement, the company shall, subject to customary conditions, [and will] issue at the first closing an aggregate of 16,038,930, or US$35 million worth, of its Class A ordinary shares to the selling shareholders. The first closing is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2021. Subject to satisfaction of the following milestones, the company shall issue at the subsequent closing an aggregate of 29,786,600, or US$65 million worth, of its Class A ordinary shares to selling shareholders and research and development team members.

Bee Computing to Continue Mass ASIC Mining Rig Production

Bee Computing is expected to continue the mass production of bitcoin miners incorporated with 7-nanometer application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). The manufacturer must continue the development of machines with 7nm technology and deploy ETH-based ASIC mining machines as well. Bit Mining also wants Bee Computing to develop litecoin (LTC) mining machines.

According to the filing, Bee Computing has invested over $35 million into R&D projects and leveraged Mediatek Inc., the largest IC design company in Asia to help with the 7nm chips. Yufei Jiang, CEO of Bee Computing says the chips stem from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

What do you think about 500.com’s purchase of Bee Computing and its entry into the bitcoin mining space? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.