Merkle Standard, a digital assets mining firm that aims to reduce carbon footprint by prioritizing renewable energy sources, has partnered with Bitmain, a leading manufacturer of application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) for Bitcoin mining.
The partnership will see Merkle Standard and Bitmain building out a 500 megawatt (MW) data center that could house over 150,000 ASIC mining rigs. The Bitcoin mining facility is touted as being built in a “clean” or ecologically sustainable manner, and will be located at its recently acquired facility at Eastern Washington (Ponderay), Idaho. To date, Merkle Standard is the first U.S.-based Bitmain client to receive 4,449 units of Bitmain’s latest ASIC mining rigs model, the S19 Pro + Hydro, which will be delivered and installed to the mining facility by May this year.
Bitmain’s S19 Pro + Hydro has a rated power of 188 TH/s (terahashes), roughly doubling the capacity of S19 J Pro, its predecessor. The mining rig features hydro cooling technology that will significantly increase the capacity and thermal threshold limit of each unit. The power efficiency of the S19 J Pro model is rated at 27.5 J/TH (joules per terahash). With this latest acquisition, Merkle Standard’s nameplate hashrate will be increased by approximately 840 PH/s (petahashes).
“Our joint venture further solidifies our strategic partnership with Bitmain, and we are excited to leverage our combined resources to develop the industry’s most efficient digital asset mining data centers. Bitmain’s carbon neutral strategy makes Bitmain an ideal partner to grow our sustainable infrastructure initiative,” shares Merkle Standard CEO Ruslan Zinurov.
According to Merkle Standard, it plans to oversee the facility’s development and operation as a majority owner of the venture. Bitmain, meanwhile, will lead engineering on the site’s data development resources and supply all of the facility’s mining machines.
“The developed infrastructure will support exclusively Bitmain equipment and will be supplied with the latest technology we have to offer,” shares Bitmain Mining Division chief Du Shisheng.
The latest mining rigs from Bitmain will be complemented by existing models S19J Pro and S19 XP, with the partners planning expansion for additional sites in the U.S. after the completion of its current facility as Q2 2022 closes.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
