Texas and the Dallas area have seen an uptick in crypto-related business ventures. Cryptocurrency mining and trading are making many rich, with older generations often watching in awe. However, what was once a mystic concept hidden in online forums is now big business with a $2 trillion market value. The industry for the mining and trading of coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin are creating jobs and wealth worldwide. Texas is next in line.
Dallas’ Applied Blockchain, a subsidiary of Bejing company Bitmain, plans to install new hosting facilities in yet-to-be-named locations. A $32.5 million stock sale on behalf of Bitmain allowed Dallas’ Applied Blockchain to begin development. By the end of 2021, the company hopes to finish its first facility capable of operating a 50-megawatt hosting server.
In Big Spring, Texas, the company Compute North has already established crypto mining facilities, and they plan on building three more. Some may be surprised to learn that the biggest crypto facility in North America is located just an hour north-east of Austin in Rockdale. With their facility sitting on 100 acres of land, the Riot Blockchain behemoth holds 60,000 crypto mining systems.
Why Texas? Texas has some of North America’s cheapest electricity, with Energy Bot putting the Lone Star State 13% below the national average. Mining crypto is entirely based on power, with each transaction taking enormous amounts of energy. The warehouses that hold the mining rigs also heat up to around 100 degrees, causing air conditioned cooling to substantially increase costs as well. Cambridge University estimates that Bitcoin mining uses more energy than the entire country of Argentina. Texas’ low energy costs make it a potential oasis for large-scale crypto miners. Coupled with vast farmland, Texas has the potential to become a hub for crypto mining.