Bitcoin and crypto lender BlockFi is now in a bitcoin mining partnership with Blockstream.
Blockstream Mining is hosting BlockFi's new mining machines in one of its warehouses in Adel, Ga., which supports up to 300 megawatts of capacity, according to a press release.
“As BlockFi looks to expand our offerings to the mining community and accumulate bitcoin on our balance sheet, mining directly to support the Bitcoin network provides a means to vertically integrate our supply chain while diversifying our revenue streams,” said Joe Chu director of portfolio credit and mining at BlockFi.
BlockFi said it is running a mix of MicroBT and Bitmain miners but would not reveal how many it has purchased. The firm also didn't state how much hashpower its venture would add to the network.
North American bitcoin mining
The partnership marks BlockFi’s first foray into mining at a time of increasing investment in the North American bitcoin mining industry.
A product of Blockstream, a builder of Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure, Blockstream Mining is one of a handful of companies that operates machines on behalf of itself and others in so-called colocation facilities. The largest of these, Core Scientific, recently expanded its operational capacity to accommodate a mass of new chip orders for itself and its partners.
With North America's bitcoin mining rush in full tilt, mining machines are backordered for months, and miners are struggling to find warehouse space to hold those computers.