Argo Blockchain Inks Bitcoin Mining Machine Swap Agreement with Core Scientific

The London-listed Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain has inked a partnership with Core Scientific that will see both companies swap their BTC mining machines over the next few months. 

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According to the announcement from the two outfits, the Argo’s Bitmain Antminer S19 series bitcoin mining fleet hosted at Core will be swapped for S19J Pro bitcoin miners previously ordered by Core to be delivered directly to Argo’s new Helios facility in Texas State. Per the details shared, this fleet swap will represent “approximately 60% of Argo’s total mining capacity and will reduce operational expenses for Argo as part of its ongoing transition to operating its own mining facilities.”

The proposed S19J Pro Bitcoin miners on track to be delivered to Argo Blockchain has the capacity for 967 PH/s with the miners capable of delivering a maximum hash rate of 110 TH/s. Based on these specifications, it implies that as many as 9,000 miners are on track to be delivered to Argo Blockchain.

On the other hand, the miners on track to become Core Scientific’s fleet has the capacity for 958 petahashes per second (PH/s), capable of delivering a total of 95 terahashes per second (TH/s), a specification that will amount to a total of 10,000 units of the S19 series. 

“The agreement with Core marks the final step towards our strategic objective of owning and operating all our miners, a path which we chose to pursue in 2020,” said Peter Wall, Chief Executive Officer of Argo. “While we have been pleased with the performance of our miners hosted with Core, this agreement allows us to upgrade our existing fleet and strengthen our mining infrastructure, while greatly reducing the operational risk of relocating between facilities. Finally, we greatly appreciate the hosting services provided by Core Scientific, as well as their flexibility in supporting our strategy shift.”

It is not uncommon to find mainstream crypto mining startups paying third-party hosting service providers to manage their fleet and mine their assets. In a bid to be free from these obligations, Argo Blockchain had been building out the data center in Texas, drawing on support through a short-term loan of $20 million it secured from Galaxy Digital back in June last year.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Georgia on my mine: Bitmain brings 56K Bitcoin miners to the state

Chinese mining hardware giant Bitmain will be bringing 56,000 of its latest Antminers to the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia.

The influx of mining rigs is part of a three-way deal between Nevada-based tech firm ISW Holdings, crypto mining datacenter Bit5ive, and Bitmain. The total cost of the hardware deployment will be around $62 million according to ISW and is expected to generate monthly revenue of $10 million when running at full capacity.

ISW Holdings has already parted with $6 million towards the purchase that will see Bitmain’s Antminer S19J mining rigs deployed under its new BlockQuarry brand using Bit5ive’s infrastructure. Bitmain reportedly suspended orders of new miners in June amid a booming secondhand market.

When fully operational in October 2022, the new miners will consume up to 200 megawatts of electricity at a BlockQuarry facility called “POD-CITY” in Georgia. Initially, ISW expects the first 20 MW of power to be running by October next month according to the announcement.

Alonzo Pierce, president and chairman of ISW Holdings, said that the nature of the business has changed since it partnered with Bit5ive last year and began designing “state-of-the-art mining pods,” adding:

“Looking ahead, our hosting service revenues will be stable and substantial, and capable of strong growth. And our mining revenues will fluctuate with prices in the cryptocurrency space.”

Bit5ive will manufacture “BLOQPODS” which will be grouped into “BLOQPARKS” operated by BlockQuarry. Each pod comprises 280 Bitmain Antminers to produce a hash rate of 28,000 terahashes per second (TH/s).

ISW Holdings already operates 700 miners comprising Bitmain Antminer S17s, S19s, and Canaan Avalons at a Bit5ive managed site in Pennsylvania.

Related: Bitcoin hashrate triples since June 28 in recovery from China syndrome

Bitcoin’s hash rate has recovered to 133 EH/s from its late June slump to 68 EH/s following the great miner migration from China. On-chain analytics provider, Glassnode, reported on Sept. 6 that miners had started taking profits, adding:

“The increase in hash-rate is likely a combination of previously obsolete hardware finding a second lease on life, and miners in China successfully relocating, re-establishing or re-homing their hardware and operations,”

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