The source of a mysterious slump in the mining hash rate of bitcoin has been linked to a warehouse fire outside Bangkok in mid-October, in which more than $3.5 million of ASIC mining equipment went up in smoke.
The 4-acre farmland on which the mining equipment was being run is located in Samut Prakan province, an industrial zone just outside of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. The mining equipment that went up in flames and caused the local fire brigade to draw on all their available resources for hours belonged to a couple of foreigners in their late 30s.
Mr. Woods and Mr. Wang, both age 38, had run the warehouse for only around 4 months, employing 10 people, most of whom were technicians. The fire was allegedly caused by a short circuit current.
News and data provider Brave New Coin was the first to link the incident to sudden spike – and consequent slump – of the total mining hashpower rate of bitcoin on Friday in a special post on the subject.
“A very sharp increase, followed by a confusing (until we heard about this fire) decrease,” the site’s owner Fran Strajnar wrote in the post on the subject.
According to local news reports, authorities are examining whether the equipment’s owners were licensed to carry out such activity in the space provided.
Thailand is a natural choice for bitcoin miners due to its comparatively cheap rent and low electricity costs, which are just 40% of those charged in mainland China. As inflation continues to rage a war on the mainland, Thailand is looking increasingly attractive to many digital currency miners, especially for those who need to be located in the Asian region.
However, permission for such activities usually needs to be obtained from both federal and local authorities prior to their commencement, especially in the case of foreigners looking to cash in on the country’s cost advantages.
On November 23-24, Thailand will hold the first of this year’s bitcoin conferences, with Bangkok Bitcoin Expo expected to attract upwards of 500 people. The event promises an exclusive cocktail reception, a leading panel of industry experts as well as a one-of-a-kind beauty contest made up of local contestants dubbed “Miss Bitcoin” by the event’s promoters.
CoinSpeaker was specially selected to be the prestigious event’s first choice sponsor out of all bitcoin media outlets and will as a result be personally represented at the event.
Zhanna has a background working for an American multinational food and beverage company as well as at a number of translation agencies serving similar top multinational corporations. She enjoys discovering new cultures as well as learning new languages. She is also a lover of all things fabric and floral ,especially if they are design-related. Zhanna is a graduate of Belarusian State Economic University with a major in Intercultural Business Communications.
