Bitfarms Plans 210 MW Bitcoin Mining Facility in Argentina

The Canadian mining firm’s project will be able to power some 55,000 new-generation mining machines.

AccessTimeIconApr 19, 2021 at 9:47 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 19, 2021 at 8:53 a.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Publicly traded bitcoin mining company Bitfarms (TSXV:BITF, OTC:BFARF) has signed an agreement under which it can draw up to 210 megawatts of electricity for its planned mining facility in Argentina.

The initial term of the contract with a private Argentinian power producer is eight years, the company said in an announcement Monday, with an effective cost of $0.022 per kilowatt-hour for the electricity for the first four years.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • In October, Bitfarms had agreed to develop a 60 MW bitcoin mining operation in Argentina, noting a “favorable year-round climate” for the facility, which the company said will be a “significant contributor” to its target of 8.0 exahash/second by the end of 2022 and “provide geographic production diversification to reduce risk.” 

    “Our planned expansion in Argentina is a continuation of our experience and our desire to deliver value to shareholders,” said Bitfarms President Geoffrey Morphy. “The strategic expansion provides the scale and efficiency that we were seeking.”

    “With considerable low-cost power available to us over many years, we can enhance our margin performance in the short term and ensure we have a viable operation on which we can count through and after the next halving event in 2024,” Morphy said.

    According to Bitfarms’ announcement, the “210 MW is sufficient to support approximately 55,000 new-generation miners, which could generate approximately $650 million of revenues or 11,774 BTC, based on current difficulty levels and a bitcoin price of $55,000.” 

    Bitfarms now has five industrial-scale hydroelectric facilities in Québec, Canada, with a combined capacity of 69 MW. The company is also preparing for a Nasdaq listing in a U.S. push. 

    Bitcoin mining expansion in the Americas

    In recent months, Bitfarms has purchased tens of thousands of bitcoin mining machines as part of its wider expansion efforts. In early March, it disclosed plans to buy 48,000 MicroBT mining machines.  A “substantial portion” of those miners are destined for the Argentinian facility, Bitfarms said Monday. 

    Bitfarms also announced Friday that it had purchased an additional 1,996 new MicroBT mining machines, which will be installed through August and will provide an extra 160 petahash per second.  

    According to Ben Gagnon, director of mining operations at Bitfarms, there has never been as much capital ready to be used in North American markets as there is right now as a result of coronavirus lockdowns.

    “How do you invest capital in a market like this? Bitcoin mining is the perfect candidate," he told CoinDesk "It has quick ROIs (return on investments), is capitally intense, can utilize turn-key infrastructure and produce an asset that requires no customers and is appreciating in value faster than anything else they can produce."

    The company isn’t alone in its moves toward increasing the mining footprint of North American firms. Other industrial-scale miners such as Marathon, Riot and Blockcap have purchased tens of thousands of machines in recent weeks. On Monday, DMG Blockchain Solutions, another publicly traded Canadian bitcoin mining company, purchased 3,600 application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) machines. 

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.