HIVE Blockchain Technologies announced the acquisition of a dedicated cryptocurrency mining operation with access to 30 megawatts (MW) of low-cost green power on Monday.
The acquisition of the Bitcoin mining facility marks the publicly-listed Canada-based blockchain firm’s diversification and continued expansion in the crypto mining industry.
The facility was leased by Cryptologic Corporation and is located at Lachute, Quebec. The total transaction was valued at CAD$4 million (approximately US$2.8 million).
HIVE doubles global mining capacity
The mining firm also intends to double its global mining capacity by expanding its total available power capacity globally to approximately 50MW.
Earlier this month, HIVE announced the two-phase expansion of its Ether mining operations by over 20% at its Sweden facility.
Currently, HIVE has Ether mining facilities in Europe (Sweden and Iceland). With this newly acquired facility, HIVE’s European GPU-mining operations are currently mining on the Ethereum network, while the Quebec facility will be focused on the Bitcoin miners.
Frank Holmes, the interim executive chairman of HIVE said: “This is an important strategic acquisition for HIVE that diversifies our business significantly, and we are making it at an opportune time at an attractive valuation for our shareholders.”
In an interview, Holmes also gave some reasons behind acquiring the new facility in Quebec.
“A blend of factors make Quebec a very attractive location for us: geographical diversification, competitive green energy costs, the cost of skilled labor and VAT costs. The acquisition provides us direct control of our destiny including a significant capacity for expansion and flexibility for our future operations,” he said.
He also pointed out the possible outlook for blockchain adoption as a reason for expansion.
Quebec facility focuses on green power
The interim chairman also said “the acquisition provides us with an advanced, operating Bitcoin mining facility ready to transition to next-generation mining hardware with access to some of the lowest-cost electricity on the planet. The cost of US$95,000 per MW is much less than half the industry standard build cost per MW.”
HIVE blockchain posits that due to the low electricity prices in the facility, blockchain miners will generate positive gross margins, trading under current market conditions.
Holmes added that the facility carries out all its operations on renewable hydroelectricity.
It is important to note that this news comes at a time of competition among Bitcoin miners, a time where miners have seen the second-largest decline in the history of Bitcoin mining.
Featured image courtesy of Flickr/Crypto 360