JAMESTOWN, N.D. — A Texas-based company is putting down electric roots in the soil of Stutsman County. But, Applied Blockchain is not here for the rich soil. They are here for the cold winters.
“North Dakota was perfect for what it is that we’re doing and we just found some great partners in Jamestown that want to see this project go up just as much as we do,” explained Regina Ingel, executive vice president for Applied Blockchain Inc.
The company’s new facility broke ground Tuesday, Sept. 14, and will use a massive amount of electronic equipment to mine cryptocurrency.
“We’re in the realm of 33,000 mining machines, and we’re going to be staffing our facility, it’ll be 24/7,” Ingel said.
Cold weather is ideal because the equipment needs to be as cool as possible to stay in good working condition. Ingel said they plan to hire 30 people working various shifts around the clock.
“Clients reach out to us to host their equipment,” Ingel added. “So the equipment that is most common is the ASIC miners.”
Cryptocurrencies are independent virtual currencies, a type of investment operating like stock markets.
The value of a single Bitcoin went soaring above $63,000 earlier this year. It is back down to about $45,000 as of Tuesday, but that is still more than its value in July, when it sunk down to about $30,000.
This new facility will mine Bitcoin, Etherium, and other types of crypto. The company plans to start operations at the facility by the end of 2021.