Just-In: Bitcoin Miner Argo Blockchain Takes $70 Mln Loan For Texas Site

Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain on Wednesday said it will take on additional debt to buy equipment for its flagship Texas facility.

The miner entered a series of loan agreements with crypto-focussed lender New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), under which the latter will provide Argo with up to $70.6 million in debt. Interest rates on the loans are set at 12%, and will mature in about two years.

The funds will be directed towards Helios- Argo’s flagship mining facility in Dickens County, Texas. Phase 1 of the the site is under construction and is expected to begin operating in the second quarter of 2022.

Josh Burandt, Head of Mining Services at NYDIG said in a press release that the firm intends to grow its partnership with Argo.

Argo’s Helios to be among the largest Bitcoin mines

Argos said that when completed, Helios will be among the largest “immersion-cooled” Bitcoin mines in the world. To improve server performance and reduce temperature, the firm will immerse its mining servers in a non-conductive coolant.

Argos began constructing Helios in July 2021. The site is set to cost the firm a total of between $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Phase 1 of the facility will have about 50,000 mining machines, and support 200 megawatts of electricity, Argo said. The site also has access to about 800 megawatts of electricity from a neighboring substation.

Texas emerges as a Bitcoin mining Mecca

Easy regulation, coupled with cheap electricity has seen a slew of Bitcoin miners shift into Texas since last year. The shift also comes after China, once the world’s biggest crypto miner, effectively banned the act last year.

Texas politicians such as Senator Ted Cruz are also largely in favour of having Bitcoin mining in the state. Cruz is a proponent of Bitcoin, and personally holds tokens.

Recently, Electric car maker Tesla entered a partnership to mine Bitcoin with Blockstream and Jack Dorsey’s Block. Tesla head Elon Musk had recently moved the firm to Texas, citing better regulations.