On June 28, Bitdeer, a Bitcoin mining company, announced that it has entered into a 30-year leasing agreement with the Monroe County Port Authority for a site located at the Hannibal Industrial Park in Clarington, Ohio. The site was previously occupied by an aluminium factory and already possesses the necessary power infrastructure to support Bitdeer’s mining operations.
Bitdeer plans to acquire up to 570 MW of additional power through the site in two phases. The first phase, delivering 266 MW, is expected to be completed in Q3 2025. The remaining 304 MW will become available after a review by utility authorities.
Bitdeer has been gaining attention within the industry for its low energy costs. Analyst Mark Palmer expressed confidence in the company, highlighting its average energy price of $0.04 per kilowatt hour, which is one of the lowest in the Bitcoin mining sector.
In May, Tether, a stablecoin issuer, invested $150 million in Bitdeer, acquiring over 18 million shares. Additionally, Tether holds a warrant to purchase an additional 5 million shares at $10 per share.
The Bitcoin halving in April 2024 has raised concerns about miner profitability. Miners now face higher energy costs and a reduced block reward of 3.125 Bitcoin (BTC). Research from Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm, indicates that several Bitcoin mining companies may no longer be profitable due to the all-in costs associated with mining a single Bitcoin. The report identifies mining costs ranging from $43,913 to $62,276 per BTC for 11 potentially affected mining firms.
Among these firms, Argo Blockchain Mining stands out with the highest mining costs at $62,276 per Bitcoin, followed closely by Hut8 at $60,360 per coin. However, Cantor Fitzgerald’s research assumes a market price of $40,000 as the threshold for profitability, and a return to this price level has not yet been observed post-halving.
In other news, there is an interesting article titled “Creating ‘good’ AGI that won’t kill us all: Crypto’s Artificial Superintelligence Alliance” in the magazine you mentioned.