Blockcap, one of the largest Bitcoin mining firms in North America, has added more than 12,000 additional Bitmain Antminer S19s to its inventory.
The firm — which currently mines approximately 6 Bitcoin (BTC) each day — is now expecting to deploy more than 40,000 Bitcoin miners by the fourth quarter and projects an operational hash rate of roughly 3.5 exahashes per second, or EH/s. This would equal roughly 2% of BTC’s current combined hash rate of 171.3 EH/s.
Reportedly combining the assets of five pre-existing mining companies, Blockcap was founded in December 2020 by veterans of major blockchain-hosting company Core Scientific.
After launching with roughly 13,000 Antminer S19s, and 500 upgraded S17s, Blockcap added another 10,000 S19s to its inventory in mid-February before acquiring 8,400 new-generation miners earlier this month from Canaan. Blockcap estimates its mining hardware is valued at $270 million on the secondary markets.
In an announcement, Darin Feinsten, Blockcap’s executive chairman, emphasized the company's intention to bolster U.S.-based hashing power:
“With this latest hardware acquisition, we are doubling down on our mission to become a world leader in the mining of bitcoin and other digital assets. We are moving at high speed to position the United States as a global player in this increasingly strategic industry.”
Bitcoin mining firms are increasingly capturing the imagination of traders. Fundstrat analyst Leeor Shimron recently noted that on average, the four largest publicly listed mining firms outperformed BTC by 455% over the past 12 months.
“Until a Bitcoin ETF is approved, investors may view public mining companies as one of the only ways to get exposure to Bitcoin,” he speculated.
On March 22, Greenidge Generation announced its plans to go public by combining with Support.com. Greenidge anticipates its shares will trade on the Nasdaq. Majority-owned by private equity firm Atlas Holdings, the company possesses its own power generation facility in Upstate New York.