US Blockchain Firm Buys 17K Bitcoin Mining Rigs From Bitmain

American blockchain hosting provider Core Scientific signed a deal to buy next-generation Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines from major Chinese mining hardware producer Bitmain.

Core Scientific will purchase more than 17,000 S19 Antminers from Bitmain on behalf of its clients and for its own use. It will be the largest number of S19 machines purchased by a single blockchain hosting company, according to Core Scientific.

Kevin Turner, president and CEO of Core Scientific and the former COO of Microsoft said, "Core Scientific has received and begun testing the first of Bitmain’s newest ASIC miners, and has seen material success in increasing existing hash rate to achieve a 110 TH/s ± 3%."

The deal comes as Texas has started attracting a number of mining facilities.

Last October, Bitmain opened "the world’s largest” facility for Bitcoin mining in Rockdale, Texas. In January, it was reported that SBI and GMO, two Japanese blockchain-related companies, penned an agreement with Northern Bitcoin AG subsidiary Whinstone to process cryptocurrency transactions at their facility in Rockdale.

Increased Interest in North America

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Russell Cann, Chief Customer Service Officer of Core Scientific, acknowledged the increased interest in growing hash rate via North American mining operations and explained the reason:

“Our view is that this rise in interest and increase in capital allocation and investment can be attributed to the growing acceptance of crypto and/or digital assets as an investment asset class as well as the favorable investing characteristics of North America; specifically, the stable geopolitical and regulatory environment, suitable climatic conditions and multiple energy sources present.”

According to Cann, historically the regulations around mining in other jurisdictions have been “flip-flopped”, creating uncertainty for mining investors. In contrast, hosting mining facilities in North America is beneficial because of “the stability of the power system as well as the regulatory environment around land ownership.”

Moreover, he said the recent collapse of energy pricing makes the North America region more attractive:

“Importantly, with the collapse of energy pricing, the lower cost power areas in the US and Canada, are creating some unique project opportunities for larger-scale miners, like Core Scientific, to consider.”

Yet, it does not mean investors are abandoning other mining operations in such countries as China. Cann suggested that investors are looking to diversify their investments globally.