Crypto company Coinmint is to take over a former Alcoa aluminum smelting facility in New York State, a move that would make it one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining centers.
The smelting plant located in Upstate New York has signed a deal with crypto-mining company Coinmint, to install one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining centers in Upstate New York, reports Bitcoinist. The 10-year lease, with options to renew, will give Coinmint the opportunity to invest USD 700 million into its new facility, expected to bring over 150 new jobs to the nearby town of Massena.
Among stiff competition around the world, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to find locations suitable for Bitcoin mining. Iceland has become the mining location of choice due to its cheap geothermal resources, but already miners are using more than the country’s citizens do, and now Venezuelans are turning to Bitcoin mining in order to combat hyperinflation. Mining companies’ biggest costs come from the electricity needed to power and cool the hardware in the process.
The US struggles to compete with countries like China where most of the world’s mining is done, due to cost. New York state residents and lawmakers have mixed feelings; in March 2018, the town of Plattsburgh, NY, which is only 80 miles east of Massena, issued an 18-month moratorium against crypto-mining operations in the town.
Plattsburg mayor Colin Read has not been impressed with the intended arrival of a new mining center. He regards them as no more than a public nuisance, consuming the town’s power and giving no impetus to local employment prospects; a key factor in mining institutions proposals to local communities. He comments, “The mining companies? They hire a security guard and a guy who comes when something breaks.”
Coinmint remains confident in their plan, as stated by its CEO Prieur Leary: “As long as the Bitcoin network exists we anticipate mining to be profitable. We’ve developed a process to get an edge in the market.”
Coinmint has signed with the New York Power Authority and the New York Independent Systems Operator, giving it access to 435 MW of clean hydroelectric power from the St Lawrence River. The region’s cooler climate was an incentive to select this region of Upper New York State as a location for the new site.
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