Cryptocurrency mining has become a very big industry as of late. Companies from all over the world are searching for lucrative areas to mine Bitcoin. Canada has proven to be a rather promising region in this regard. The Marathon Patent Group is the latest company to set up a Bitcoin mining operation in Canada.
Marathon Patent Group Sets up Shop
It is always interesting to see how companies approach Bitcoin mining. Specific requirements need to be met before such a venture can even become profitable. In this case, one needs efficient space, enough hardware, and accessible free or low cost electricity. Finding that latter “ingredient” can prove to be rather challenging these days. One country which has an abundance of electricity right now is Canada.
The Marathon Patent Group is seemingly convinced that the region holds the key to successfully mining Bitcoin. This company purchased 1,400 Bitmain ASIC miners in early February. One week later they announced the lease of space in a data center in Quebec. It didn’t take the company that long to get everything up and running, by the look of things. More specifically, they have started mining Bitcoin since late last night.
As of right now, the mining operation consumers 2.0 MW. With this amount of electricity, the Marathon Patent Group brings 19 petahash of Bitcoin mining power to the network. It is expected additional units will be deployed in the coming months. This further confirms the Marathon Patent Group has big plans when it comes to mining Bitcoin. A somewhat surprising decision, given the increasingly volatile Bitcoin price.
Major Bitcoin Mining Plans
With the plan to expand their operation, the Marathon Patent Group set an interesting precedent. If their plan can be executed, they will bring another 2,800 Bitmain ASIC miners online. That will make this mining operation one of the biggest ones around the world. More competition in the Bitcoin mining space can only be a good thing. Right now, these efforts are mainly centralized in China.
The big question is how this mining venture will pan out. Setting up such an operation requires a massive upfront investment. If the Bitcoin price continues to decline, achieving a return on investment may take a lot longer than anticipated. That is something Marathon Patent Group will need to take into account. Assuming things play out that way, their shareholders may not be too pleased with this mining operation in Canada.
Even so, we see a renewed interest in Canada’s renewable energy sources. The country has more electricity than is being used right now. Bitcoin mining operations are more than happy to benefit from this cheap electricity. At the same time, these mining ventures create new jobs along the way. It is a win-win situation for all parties involved. That is, as long as Bitcoin mining remains profitable in the country.
