The dominant bitcoin miner and mining chip designer plans to strengthen its presence in the U.S. The company does not want to gum up the works: the mining facility is expected to be completed in the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2018.
Bitmain Technologies Ltd. is a China-based mining giant. The offices of this company can be found all over the world: from Hong Kong and Fuzhou to the U.S. and Switzerland. The recent announcement of the Bitmain confirmed the rumors of further expansion: the cryptocurrency industry giant is about to launch a new mining facility in Texas.
A new blockchain data center will be located in Rockdale, a small city with a population of about 5,600 people. The Bitmain’s invasion can stand the city in a good stead as the company treats the new project as one of high priority. The official announcement reads as follows:
“The Milam County blockchain data center and cryptocurrency mining facility represents a key component of Bitmain’s strategic investment and expansion plans within North America.”
Bitmain took over a former aluminum smelting facility and plans to turn it into cutting-edge mining center by the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2018. The smelting plant belonged to industrial corporation Alcoa, which closed the facility in September 2018 and laid off 660 workers. Interesting fact: this is not the first operation site of Alcoa to be turned into mining facility. Coinmint already did this to its plant in upstate New York.
Bitmain claims to breathe new life in Rockdale by adding 400 full-time jobs. The company is already hiring the first specialists. The list of available jobs varies from technicians and engineers to senior managers and financial specialists.
The mining facility and blockchain-based data center in Texas will become a big project for Bitmain. However, the company can afford to invest over $500 million during the first seven years of the new facility. This amount of money may seem significant, but it should not be forgotten that Bitmain is valued approximately $12 billion.
If all goes to plan, the new mining facility is to open in early 2019. Even though it is expected to become the key part of Bitmain’s expansion to the U.S., the company prefers not to have all its eggs in one basket. One more mining facility will be situated in Washington state; it is already in the process of building. Ambitions of Bitmain go beyond North America as the company is going to open offices in Brazil.
Bitmain is one of the key players on the market. As a matter of fact, the influence of this company tends to grow to alarming power. The domination of Bitmain’s mining pools has led to the rise of the paradox issue: centralization of Bitcoin network. The Chinese company is rapidly gaining top position in the crypto sphere. New mining facilities will strengthen the dominance of Bitmain. The high tech mining farm may be good for the economy of a small town in Texas. But the growing power of individual companies begs the question of the possibility of the truly decentralized crypto sphere.
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