Switzerland-based crypto mining firm expands operations to Texas

White Rock Management, a cryptocurrency mining company based in Switzerland, said it will be expanding its operations to the United States, starting with Texas.

In a Tuesday announcement, White Rock said it will be partnering with Natural Gas Onsite Neutralization, or NGON, a company that captures natural gas that would otherwise be burned and converts it to energy for use in the firm’s Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations. White Rock said it will be operating out of NGON’s facility in the Brazos Valley region, mining BTC using “environmentally responsible” methods.

According to White Rock CEO Andy Long, the move into Texas was just the first in the firm’s plans to expand its BTC mining operations to areas capable of providing energy from natural gas outside the scope of the state’s power grid. The company began mining crypto at data centers in Sweden in November 2021 and reported its operations in the United States will have an initial capacity of 3 megawatts, aiming for the firm’s total hashrate to be more than 1.6 EH/s.

The recent market downturn — the price of Bitcoin has fallen more than 28% in the last 30 days — may be impacting crypto miners’ profits. Cointelegraph reported on June 10 that the “raw” costs for miners in North America were roughly $22,000 per Bitcoin, with additional costs potentially bringing the total to more than $30,000. Many mining firms in the region including Bitfarms have reported selling some of their BTC holdings amid the bear market.

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It’s unclear how the recent volatility may affect White Rock’s operations in the Lone Star State. Long told Cointelegraph the firm was "able to mine profitably in bear and bull markets" due in part to having the latest generation of rigs. 

"Our U.S. facility perfectly compliments our Swedish 100% hydroelectric powered sites and we see a great deal of opportunity in the current turbulent market conditions," said Long. "In particular we expect there to be attractive opportunities for [mergers and acquisitions] and consolidation between public and privately held miners."

Related: Bitcoin miners sold their entire May harvest: Report

Prior to the market downturn, Argo Blockchain said it was planning to launch operations in Texas’ Dickens County almost a year after first breaking ground — the 200-megawatt data center started mining in May. In April, the City of Fort Worth also launched a pilot program to mine BTC using three rigs in its city hall building.