Core Scientific placed an order of over 58,000 Bitmain S19 Series Antminers on Dec. 17.
With this purchase, Core Scientific becomes the largest mining hosting provider in North America. In total, Core Scientific has ordered over 76,000 S19 and S19 Pro Antminers since August 2019.
In a press release, Core Scientific claims that this expansion will make it the largest such provider outside of China. Core Scientific runs so many Bitmain machines that it is now the only authorized Bitmain warranty center in North America.
Bitmain is a bit busy
Along with the Core Scientific order, which runs through September 2021, Bitmain is also working through other orders. In October, Riot Blockchain placed an order for 2,500 S19 Pro miners. That order came on the heels of an August order for 8,000 more. Between the two, Riot Blockchain added $23.8 million to Bitmain’s order books.
Meanwhile, Marathon Patent Group also signed a contract for 10,000 S19 Pro.
Core Scientific: where to put them all?
BeInCrypto reported on Dec. 13 that miners outside of China are hunting for new locations. They prioritize cheap energy inputs and a hungry workforce. Other factors, such as Internet access and transport logistics are secondary, as long as the power supply is acceptable.
The power needs of mining companies take them around the globe. In the press release, Core Scientific states that it will consume 250MWh of electricity with the Antminers installed. Obtaining that kind of electric supply constantly at a cost-effective rate requires the availability of a large base load from the electric company.
Hydroelectric power fits this, and companies flocked to northern Quebec and other eastern Canadian locales because of dams. However, even cheap power wasn’t enough to save Great North Data last year, when it declared bankruptcy.
In the US, the Pacific Northwest and Rustbelt states are candidates. South American sites tempt miners, too. Bitfarms, with five mining sites in Quebec, announced on Oct. 26 that it had signed a non-binding memorandum for up to 200 MWh of power supply in South America.
Pricing globally
Bitfarms claimed that their power arrangements in South America were at $ 0.02 per KWh. By comparison, cloud miner Iminig Pro calculated the cost of electricity in Kuwait at $0.03 per KWh and at $0.04 in China and Myanmar.
With Bitcoin hitting new all-time-highs, the temptation for many companies will be to put a plant wherever they can find available power. However, cryptocurrency is volatile, and companies such as Core Scientific, with tens of thousands of machines to feed, will still need to locate sites very carefully
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