Cryptocurrency Miners Look to Stave off Disruptions and Solidify Operations

According to the New York Times, cryptocurrency grew from a digital curiosity into a volatile but widely embraced innovation, and federal regulators are racing to address the potential risks for consumers and financial markets. “Their concerns have only grown as both new and established firms have rushed to find ways to profit from bringing the massive wealth held in cryptocurrency into the traditional financial system through quasi-banking services like interest-bearing accounts and lending,” the Times indicate. 

ISW Holdings Inc. (OTC: ISWH), transitioning to “BlockQuarry,” pending name change, announced last month for current and prospective shareholders with a more detailed discussion about, “the Company’s recent landmark deal with Bitmain Technologies (“Bitmain”), the world’s leading producer of cryptocurrency mining hardware and a leading global cryptocurrency mining firm.

Total Mining Capacity and Timeline to Launch. The deal will involve 56,000 Bitmain mining rigs pairing with 200 megawatts (“MW”) of power at the Company’s “POD- CITY” location in Georgia. The Company expects to have the first 20 MW of power paired with rigs and running full-out by October 2021. The schedule calls for having all 56k miners hooked up to all 200 MW of power and running full-out by October 2022.

Estimated Topline Revenue Impact. The Company estimates that this full complement running at full capacity will be capable of driving estimated annual revenues well in excess of $100 million (over $10 million per month) for ISW Holdings/ BlockQuarry in hosting service fees. This is not contingent upon cryptocurrency pricing.

Key Partners. The partnership is tripartite, between Bitmain, ISW Holdings, and Bit5ive, LLC (“Bit5ive).

Bitmain will bring mining machines, capital, and expertise into the bargain, consuming hosting services and power up to and potentially in excess of 200 MW for a five-year term.

Bit5ive will bring power, hosting services, project management services, and expertise to the table.

ISW Holdings will provide funding, expertise, hosting services, mining services, access to power, and access to public market investors.

Costs Involved. For ISW Holdings, the cost for the entire roll-out to setup and activate mining machines using 200 MW of power will be a total of $62 million. $6 million of this has already been paid. $56 million remains.

Current Mining Operations (excluding Bitmain deal). The Company is currently running 700 miners, representing a mix of Bitmain Antminer S17’s, BitMain S19 95TH/ s’s, and Canaan Avalons. Those miners are running in POD5 units in Stronghold,Pennsylvania at a site managed by Bit5ive. The current hashrate is 36,000 TH/s, with an upside potential of 54,000 TH/s given current capacity. This operational state is capable of producing annual revenues of $4.8 million to $6 million given current three-month trailing average pricing for major cryptocurrency markets. The Company is also actively expanding its mining operations as the business scales up.

Management Commentary. ‘The nature of our business changed significantly last summer when we partnered with Bit5ive and began designing state-of-the-art mining pods with a bold vision and a deep conviction in the value proposition of the cryptocurrency marketplace,’ remarked Alonzo Pierce, President and Chairman of ISW Holdings. ‘Now, just a bit over a year later, we are on the verge of becoming one of the top players in the cryptocurrency world after bringing Bitmain to the table in a deal that will see all parties unlock significant value. Looking ahead, our hosting service revenues will be stable and substantial, and capable of strong growth. And our mining revenues will fluctuate with prices in the cryptocurrency space. That will give us a strong foundation and enormous growth with a significant non-volatile component. This should put us in position to meet requirements to migrate shares to a major national listed exchange in due course. We have a number of additional catalysts in the works as well, and I look forward to providing more insights in the very near future.'”

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) reported earlier last month that DMG Blockchain, (TSX-V: DMGI) (OTCQB: DMGGF) (FRANKFURT: 6AX), a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency technology company, will become the first North American Bitcoin miner, excluding Marathon, to join Marathon’s mining pool, MaraPool. On Monday September 13, 2021, DMG Blockchain will begin pointing 100% of its hash rate towards MaraPool, as the pool opens to additional Bitcoin mining companies. MaraPool is a U.S.-based Bitcoin mining pool that is focused on reducing the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining through carbon neutral mining. The pool, which is fully audited by a third-party firm in the U.S., provides its members with industry leading transparency, an intuitive reporting system, and access to exclusive services from NYDIG.

Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) announced earlier in August that it has received from Mawson Infrastructure Group Inc. (OTCQB: MIGI) (“Mawson”) a purchase order (the “Order”) for 17,352 bitcoin mining machines with an aggregate operating hash power of 1.5EH. According to the terms of the Order, the Company will deliver the latest generations of its Avalon A1166 and A1246 bitcoin mining machines to Mawson’s operations in the U.S. and Australia throughout 2021 and 2022. The Order is in addition to Mawson’s previous order placed earlier this year for 11,760 of the Company’s A1246 bitcoin mining machines with an aggregate operating hash power of 1.05EH. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Mawson is a global digital infrastructure provider with diversified operations across cryptocurrency mining and digital asset management. Mawson currently conducts its bitcoin mining operations in both the U.S. and Australia.

Hut 8 Mining Corp. (NASDAQ: HUT) announced last month its financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2021 (“Q2-2021”) Hut 8 continues to strategically emphasize its “hodl” strategy, taking active steps to generate Canadian and US dollars to help fund operating expenses, so as to avoid selling Bitcoin. During Q2-2021, 100% of self- mined Bitcoin was deposited into custody. As of June 30, 2021, the Company had a total Bitcoin balance of 3,824 with a market value of $166 million. Hut 8’s current Bitcoin balance, including 2,000 Bitcoin loaned as part of the Company’s fiat yield strategy, is approximately 4,240 Bitcoin, reflecting a market value of approximately $245 million. Hut 8 currently has an installed hashrate of 1.37 exahash (“E/H”). Given pending orders, we have additional contracted hashrate of 1.3 E/H (including 1,600 gigahash equivalent), bringing contracted hashrate to approximately 2.7 E/H. Based on current network dynamics, we anticipate daily settlement once all contracted equipment is hashing will equate to 20 – 25 Bitcoin per day.

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