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Mr. Wonderful-Backed Green Bitcoin Mining Venture To Build $500M HQ In N. Dakota

Who’s putting his money where his mouth is? Mr. Wonderful AKA Kevin O’Leary is. As one of the main proponents of the industry’s need for green bitcoin mining, Mr. Wonderful invested in Bitzero. And now they’re announcing that the company will build its North American headquarters in North Dakota. Why is this news? Because of the things they’ll do with the heat that the data center will produce.

Heat is an unintended byproduct of bitcoin mining, and Bitzero Blockchain Inc. plans to use it to fuel the region’s food production throughout the year. The company will partner with MHA Nation’s greenhouse project to accomplish it. And they’ll use North Dakota’s abundant green energy resources to mine the bitcoin without even touching carbon. Mr. Wonderful is presenting us with a win-win situation right here. 

In a governmental press release, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation Chairman Mark Fox said, “Bitzero is working with us to use our Western Area Power Administration hydroelectric power to reflect the company’s zero carbon mandate. The additional heat produced from the data center facility will be used for our MHA Nation’s Greenhouse Project currently under construction.”

Excited to announce that North Dakota emerged as the logical choice for @bitzerodotcom's headquarters due to alignment on the state’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, a robust energy industry, favorable tax and regulatory environment and access to top-tier talent. 1/ pic.twitter.com/GylnM1aNaO

— Gov. Doug Burgum (@DougBurgum) June 1, 2022

Out of the $500M for the North American HQ, the company already raised $100M. At one point over the next two months, Bitzero will host an IPO in Canada to get the rest. The green bitcoin mining company is originally from Namsskogan, Norway, where their data centers already work with hydroelectric power. That means, their operations run on 100% renewable energy. Using the heat for food production is a benefit on top of that. 

What Does Mr. Wonderful Have To Say About The Situation?

The plan was to announce the North American headquarters before the IPO, and Bitzero delivered. In what seems like a private event with entrepreneurs, politicians, and media, the North Dakota part of the venture came to life. Local radio station KVRR provides video and quotes Mr. Wonderful saying:

“Data is the new oil. This state has plenty of energy. Now, it has an opportunity to convert some of it and diversify into what every single sovereign wants. The value of having your data on your own soil. In a stable place because it’s the records of people, it’s the banking system. It’s all of the information that every single sector of the economy needs.”

For his part, Governor Doug Burgum said in a tweet, “excited to announce that North Dakota emerged as the logical choice for Bitzero’s headquarters due to alignment on the state’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, a robust energy industry, favorable tax and regulatory environment and access to top-tier talent.”

BTC price chart for 06/03/2022 on Cexio | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Other Projects in North Dakota

In the middle of April, just a couple of months ago, the government of North Dakota announced a visit by Mr. Wonderful and Bitzero CEO Akbar Shamji. The purpose of the visit was “to evaluate potential Bitcoin mining investment opportunities” in the state. Apparently, things went well. 

There's so much opportunity in Bitcoin mining using 100% sustainable green energy like wind, solar, nuclear and hydro.

— Kevin O'Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) May 10, 2022

At the time, they announced two more things. First, “the bitcoin mining company has plans to build out 200 megawatts (MW) of power in data centers over the next two years.” So, this is just starting. Second, “in addition to the data centers, the company also plans to develop an assembly and distribution hub for graphene batteries technology.” So, there’s more coming. 

“There’s so much opportunity in Bitcoin mining using 100% sustainable green energy like wind, solar, nuclear and hydro,” Mr. Wonderful said recently in a tweet. Plus, in a Cointelegraph interview, Mr. Wonderful said, “Private capital must be compliant with environmental, social and governance factors. ESG was once a marketing term, but now it’s a real thing.” 

Even though not everyone in the bitcoin space agrees with him, it’s commendable that Mr. Wonderful is not just talking. He’s betting on a green future for bitcoin, and apparently, he’s betting big.

Featured Image by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView

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Green Mining Company HIVE Secures Deal To Buy A Number Of Intel’s New ASICs

The ESG-focused mining company HIVE is the latest organization to sign a deal with Intel. It joins Block, Argo Blockchain, and GRIID, as the first clients and testers of the giant’s new ASICs. Intel’s Bonanza Mine project is quickly becoming one of bitcoin’s stories of the year. It’s funny that, so far, no one has seen the equipment. The idea of a bitcoin miner made in the US is appealing, though. Plus, the project’s rollout has been masterful so far. 

The headline here is that “HIVE owns state-of-the-art, green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland, where we source only green energy to mine.” In a recent press release, the company announced the Intel deal and its intention to expand into the US. “The Company is planning for a 100 MW deployment at one of Compute North’s renewable energy campuses in Texas.” 

HIVE self-proclaimed itself “the first cryptocurrency mining company with a green energy and ESG strategy”. The company’s other significant characteristic is that they’re holders. “Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of its ETH and BTC coin mining rewards.” That goes in line with new data that shows that miners are quietly accumulating bitcoin as the market bleeds.

BTC price chart for 03/08/2022 on Capital.com | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Do We Know About HIVE ‘s Deal With Intel?

Not much, really. “HIVE has entered into a Supply Agreement with Intel which is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, for their upcoming blockchain accelerator.” Notice how HIVE calls the ASICs “blockchain accelerators,” just as Intel did in the company’s blog. Will the name catch on?

The press release doesn’t specify how many bitcoin miners will HIVE buy, but, it provides some relevant data: 

“These miners are expected to be delivered over a period of one year starting in the second half of calendar 2022, the effect of which, if they are all installed, would be an expected increase of up to 95% in our aggregate Bitcoin mining hashrate from 1.9 Exahash per second.”

It also quotes HIVE ‘s president, Aydin Kilic, who about the deal said:

“After months of careful planning, we are very excited to take this step forward with a global technology leader like Intel. HIVE is committed to implementing these next-generation blockchain accelerators in its green energy infrastructure.”

The ESG aspect of the whole endeavor is another important point here.

Bitcoin Keeps Going Greener And Greener

Recently, GRIID’s filling with the SEC revealed several characteristics of Intel’s new bitcoin miners. As always, NewsBTC got you the 411:

“When the world first heard about Intel’s ASIC ambitions, the company cleverly described the machines as “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient.” How efficient will they actually be? Tom’s hardware answers:

“According to the listing, BMZ2’s performance weighs in at 135 TH/s with 26 J/THs of efficiency. Additionally, the miner is roughly half the cost of a competing Bitmain S19 Pro while being 15% more efficient, rivaling the best hardware on the market from competing companies.”

Would 15% really make that much of a difference? If it can rival the S19 Pro, it would. And Intel wouldn’t make this much noise if they didn’t have a winner in their hands, would they? Maybe HIVE ‘s president, Aydin Kilic, can shed some light on that:

“Intel’s energy-efficient and high performance blockchain accelerator is expected to reduce our power consumption over current ASIC miners on the market. HIVE will participate in the system development process from design verification, through to the prototype stages, and then factory & test engineering regimens to arrive at a production model; we are well-positioned and excited to undertake the process ahead.”

That’s right, the first few clients will help with the testing and development of Intel’s final product. That makes all the sense in the world. Let’s wish them luck, because an ASIC miner made in the US would certainly help break Bitmain’s quasi-monopoly. The bitcoin ecosystem needs more decentralization in that aspect. 

Featured Image: HIVE’s logo, screenshot from this video | Charts by TradingView

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Green Energy: In NY, Bitcoin Mining Saved The Oldest Working Hydroelectric Plant

Another day, another hydroelectric plant saved by Bitcoin mining. For the untrained eye, the narrative that says that Bitcoin incentivizes green energy might seem convenient. However, each day more concrete examples come to light. Like the Navajo Nation case. Or this hydroelectric plant in Costa Rica. In contrast, China banned Bitcoin mining and some hydroelectric plants immediately closed and went up for sale.

Anyway, today we’re talking about the Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant in New York. Located near de Hudson River’s shore, in the Town of Halfmoon, Saratoga County. The place is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that’s the main reason it was never torn down. According to Times Union, the plant is “the oldest continuously operated hydroelectric station in the U.S.” and it “was nearly dismantled.“

this plant should become a #bitcoin museum of the start of a trend – #bitcoin funded green power expansion, in this case preserving green power about to be closed! https://t.co/814CJCy8pV

— Adam Back (@adam3us) January 16, 2022

“We think this is the oldest renewable energy facility in the world that’s still running,” said Jim Besha Sr., CEO of Albany Engineering Corp.” That company owns the Mechanicville hydroelectric plant. And how does the station relate to Bitcoin mining?

“Despite getting the plant back to full power, there’s not a lot of profit in running a plant that still uses all of the original 1800s machinery. That’s why some of the plant’s energy is now being used to produce bitcoin.

“We can actually make more money with bitcoin than selling the electricity to National Grid,” Besha said.”

You don’t say, Mr. Besha. Who would have thought?

The Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant Vs. The World

This hydroelectric plant’s story is full of betrayal, twists, and turns. The National Grid had a 40-year commitment to buy power from it. However, according to The Bitcoin Files substack, the National Grid “reneged on the deal in 1993. A decade of litigation ensued, and Albany Engineering took control in 2003.” What’s a hydroelectric plant to do? 

“Converting an outdated hydro plant into a Bitcoin mining is still quite a story, and the local Albany Times Union article from two weeks ago was picked up by Bitcoin publications around the country. Kathleen Moore, who wrote the story on the plant, told me,

“It’s something they’ve been experimenting with – they want to use their power for green uses like charging electric cars. But for now, their choices are limited. So they’re adding some Bitcoin mining.”

That’s right. People might have all kinds of ideas of what it wants to do with their power, but the fact of the matter is that only Bitcoin mining is flexible enough to accommodate any electricity source. In this case, as Besha told Times Union, “It’s the best (type of bitcoin mining) because we’re using renewable energy.”

Sadly, Besha is not going to make it. In that same article, a chilling revelation spoils the party:

“He converts the thousandths of a bitcoin they make each week to cash, rather than holding onto it. He’s skeptical of bitcoin as a long-term investment; he’s just doing it to bring in cash.”

Let’s hope that, as it usually happens, Bescha’s contact with Bitcoin changes him for the best. Let’s hope he already figured out he’s dealing with the best money ever created, and changing it for lesser money is not the best strategy. 

BTC price chart 01/18/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Conclusions And Discussions

In any case, another hydroelectric plant saved by Bitcoin mining will always be cause for celebration. Bitcoin incentivizes the creation and maintenance of green energy infrastructure and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Featured Image: Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant’s sign from this substack post | Charts by TradingView