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Even before China finally wielded the hammer to ban crypto mining, Bitcoin (BTC) miners in North America had ramped up their capacities as part of efforts to secure a greater share of the mining industry. worldwide distribution of hash rate. From building larger data centers to acquiring hardware inventories, these institutions have made concerted efforts to balance the hash power dichotomy between the eastern and western hemispheres.
North American Bitcoin miners also often face energy consumption issues and some have wanted to partner with oil and gas companies, becoming buyers of last resort for flared gas. Indeed, US oil drillers and Bitcoin mining companies continue to collaborate on the use of natural gas, proving once again that the potential of Bitcoin’s thermodynamic capacity is expected to be a net positive for the environment, despite criticism. raised against Proof of Work (PoW) mining.
With North American-based entities seemingly poised to establish a greater presence in the global Bitcoin mining matrix, here’s a look at four of the region’s biggest Bitcoin miners.
Riot blockchain
As of 2020, China still controlled around 65% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, according to estimates from multiple data sources. However, Riot Blockchain was expanding its operations with a series of major hardware acquisitions from major Bitcoin miner makers like Bitmain.
In August and December 2020 alone, Riot Blockchain spent millions of dollars to acquire thousands of Antminers from Bitmain. Indeed, as Cointelegraph reported in April, Riot Blockchain’s hash capacity increased 460% in 2020.
Riot Blockchain’s expanded inventory campaign continued into 2021, with the company purchasing more than 42,000 Antminers from Bitmain earlier in the year. The Nasdaq-listed company also announced the purchase for $ 650 million of a major data center located in Texas.
By acquiring the Whinstone data center in Texas, Riot Blockchain is expected to own the largest Bitcoin mining facility in the United States. The US mining giant Bitcoin is even preparing to expand the site’s initial capacity from 750 megawatts to more than 1,000 MW.
With its increased capacity coinciding with sweeping crackdowns in China, it’s no surprise to see Riot Blockchain experience greater Bitcoin mining success, as evidenced by the numbers cited in its monthly production and operations update. . In April, the company announced that it had mined 187 Bitcoin (worth $ 11.2 million at the time) the previous month.
The March 2021 BTC production figure marked an 80% increase over its Bitcoin mining total for March 2020. In its last report in June, the company said it had mined 243 BTC, an increase of 406 % compared to its production figure for June 2020.
The June report also put Riot Blockchain’s Bitcoin mining total at 1,167 BTC (currently worth $ 36.5 million). As of June 2020, the company had mined just 508 BTC, which means this year’s production figure represents a 130% year-over-year increase.
In total, Riot Blockchain says it holds over 2,200 BTC at the end of June, with all Bitcoin coming from its mining operations. Detailing the link between its recent production successes and the situation in China, the June report said, “The exodus of Bitcoin mining from China has resulted in a downward difficulty adjustment and a drop in the rate of. global network hash. As such, Riot is currently mining more Bitcoin per day than at any time in the company’s history, ”continues:
“While many Chinese miners are expected to eventually relocate, the company believes it may be some time before the global Bitcoin mining hash rate returns to its previous one. peak of 180 exahash per second (“EH / s”), last seen earlier this year.
Marathon
Marathon is arguably Riot Blockchain’s main competitor in the “North American Hash Wars” and, like its rival, the crypto-mining giant has been increasing its hardware inventory since 2020. In October, the Marathon Patent Group, based in Nevada, acquired 10,000 Antminer S-19s. Benefits of Bitmain.
The size of the order was such that it was estimated to increase the company’s operational hash rate capacity to 2.56 EH / s, slightly more than the target of 2.3 EH / s. for the expansion of Riot Blockchain. With Antminer’s order arriving in batches for Marathon, the company now appears to be focused on achieving “carbon neutrality” and meeting regulatory requirements.
In March, the company first announced its intention to divert all of its current hash power to a regulation-compliant Bitcoin mining pool by early May. At the time, Marathon said the new pool followed U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) protocols established by the U.S. Office of Foreign Control.
As Cointelegraph reported in May, Marathon is planning a 300 MW carbon neutral data center that will house 73,000 Bitcoin miners. According to the announcement at the time, the deployment of the facility will bring the company’s carbon neutrality to around 70% while raising its hash rate to 10.37 pe / s.
According to data from BTC.com, achieving a hash rate capacity of 10.37 EH / s would place Marathon number five on the current Bitcoin hash rate distribution log.
Although down more than 50% from its high of $ 56.56 in 2021, the company’s stock is still up 122.34% year-to-date at the time of writing. . While Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have yet to be approved in the United States, Bitcoin mining stocks are seen as the next best thing in terms of indirect exposure to BTC.
Marathon itself is a holder of Bitcoin separate from its mining interests. At the start of the year, the company bought more than 4,800 BTC, valued at around $ 150 million at the time. The New York Digital Investment Group reportedly facilitated the deal.
Cabin 8
US-based companies aren’t the only major players in the North American Bitcoin mining theater, as Canadian company Hut 8 is a big name in the conversation as well. Once the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner by capacity in 2018, the Toronto-based company appears to be recovering from its previous setbacks.
In 2018, the crypto market suffered a crippling bear market as coin prices fell from highs reached in December 2017 and January 2018. In May 2019, Hut 8 reported losses above $ 136 million for the previous year, which also resulted in significant staff reductions.
After going through the crypto winter of 2018 and 2019, Hut 8 underwent a massive scale up of its mining hardware, announcing the purchase of over 11,000 MicroBT platforms worth around 44 millions of dollars. Based on the capacity of the MicroBT miners, Hut 8’s hash rate capacity is expected to reach 2.5 PE / s once all machines are installed at the company’s 100 MW facility, which is currently under construction.
At 2.5 pE / s, Hut 8 predicts that its daily Bitcoin production will double from 6.5 to 7.5 BTC to 14 to 16 BTC. Such a per diem BTC extraction rate can also serve to preserve Hut 8’s status as a Bitcoin miner with the world’s most self-mined BTC.
In January, the Canadian Bitcoin miner estimated that its total Bitcoin holdings would reach 5,000 BTC by the start of 2022. The company also announced plans to expand its hash rate to six PE / sec by the time. mid-2022.
Related: North American crypto miners prepare to challenge China’s dominance
Beehive blockchain
The east-west shift in the Bitcoin hash rate will ultimately involve sweeping changes in the energy mix for BTC mining, with more emphasis on ‘green Bitcoin’. For the Canadian crypto miner, green energy is a major point of interest for its operations.
From Canada to Iceland and even Sweden, Hive Blockchain operated data centers powered by green energy for crypto mining. In May, the company was reportedly forced to sell its plant in Norway, citing problems with the country’s regulators.
Earlier in July, Hive acquired 3,000 MicroBT M30S miners for its facility in New Brunswick, Canada. The additional hashing power would be brought to the Foundry USA pool which is already aggregating the hash potential of other major North American miners like Hut 8, Blockcap, and Bitfarms, among others.
Hive’s additional 3,000 mining rigs would increase the company’s hash potential by 0.264 EH / s to achieve a total hash rate of 0.83 EH / s. The company also recently joined the ranks of publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies after securing a Nasdaq listing in June.
Meanwhile, Gryphon Digital Mining, another US-based miner, may soon challenge the most established names in North America’s BTC mining industry. The company, which claims to run on 100% renewable energy, recently purchased 7,200 Antminer S19J Pro mining rigs.
Based on the hash capacity of the machines, Gryphon’s hash rate will increase by approximately 0.72 EH / s. This new inventory would be installed in August and at that time the company will receive its ESG rating.
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