Ever since Bitcoin was introduced back in 2009, this very first cryptocurrency quickly gained a lot of popularity. Not only is it the most valuable crypto, but it was also the first cryptocurrency that you could mine.
So what does mining mean? Simply put, you use your own hardware to help the blockchain technology, on which Bitcoin was based, to record and verify transactions by solving complex mathematical problems.
As a reward for your contribution, you’d get Bitcoins. That said, back then, mining was pretty much seamless. The problems weren’t nearly as complex as they are today, and there weren’t as many people mining Bitcoins as there are today. In other words, it was a lucrative endeavor.
Some people saw an opportunity and decided to capitalize on it, thus the mining farms were created. As you might guess, mining farms are basically hardware data centers dedicated solely to mining Bitcoins. With that in mind, here are a few of the biggest mining farms you should know about.
Russia
Presumably located somewhere near Moscow, one of the biggest mining farms in the world is in Russia. It’s estimated that around 600 Bitcoins are mined there on a monthly basis, which puts Russia in the place of the most powerful countries in the mining industry that’s worth several billion dollars today.
Even after yet another Bitcoin halving, the amount of Bitcoins mined here is still worth a fortune. The hardware utilized on this farm has a hash rate of around 38 PH, which enables around 20 Bitcoins to be mined per day.
However, such a reward comes at a high price. As a matter of fact, the hourly power consumption of this farm is around 4,500KW (Kilowatts). This power draw costs 6.5 million Rubles ($103,424) per month.
China
China became the leader in mining Bitcoins. When it comes to efficient cryptocurrency mining, you need reliable hardware and that’s quite affordable in China. Moreover, rural parts of the country have cheap electricity with seamless delivery, which made the town of Dalian the hub of Bitcoin mining in China.
This mining farm mines around 750 Bitcoins per month. The hardware they utilize has a capacity of 360,000 TH, which makes up 3% of the entire Bitcoin network. However, the electricity cost for this farm is $1,170,000 per month.
Although mining is still legal in China, financial institutions have been banned from handling Bitcoin transactions. Moreover, a lot of platforms that facilitate such transactions have also been shut down. It’s also estimated that the Chinese government would crack down on mining operations, slowly but surely, closing them down one by one.
Iceland
Located in both Iceland and Canada, one of the largest mining farms under the name “Genesis Mining” choose a specifically cold climate so that they can dissipate the heat generated by mining.
This farm’s hash rate is estimated to be around 1000 GH, thus generating a lot of power draw in this Nordic country. This has earned Genesis Mining the title of the largest electricity consumer in the entire country of Iceland.
Apart from China, these two countries are also favorable for mining operations as their electricity costs are quite affordable. This is probably the main reason why the founders of this mining farm have chosen to relocate here.
USA
Dave Carlson, the founder of the “Giga Watt” mining farm, managed to turn his mining operation into a multi-million-dollar business in just twelve months. The owner of the largest mining farm in the US has begun his journey by mining with his own GPU.
Although the location of the farm is unknown due to the prosecution from the government authorities, this farm has a hash rate of 1.3 PH. However, according to Carlson, the monthly expenses of his company exceed $1 million.
Carlson chose Washington state for his mining operation due to the fact that it has the cheapest electricity in all of North America. The electricity costs in this country are $8.42 per kWh for businesses.
Switzerland
Located in the small farming village of Linthal, this mining farm is the largest in Switzerland. The owner of this farm, Guido Rudolphi has previously owned a similar mining operation in Zurich, but he discovered that the expenses were quite high to his liking.
After two years of searching, the owner finally found a farming village with favorable electricity price to house his mining operations. The only issue for him is the problem of cooling. Although this farm’s capacity is unknown, the owner claims he’s not in it for the money.
Mining farms are illegal in most countries and anyone behind such operations faces criminal charges. However, that doesn’t stop people from doing it anyway. The profit earned from mining Bitcoins can easily outweigh the risks.
