Bitmain cancels operation partnership for its Texas mining farm

Quick Take

  • Bitmain and DMG Blockchain have canceled an agreement that designated the latter as the operator of the former’s mining facility in Texas
  • In October, Bitmain announced its Texas mining farm and a partnership with DMG Blockchain
  • DMG Blockchain said the deal in Texas was canceled because of failure to materialize “cost and operational efficiencies” 

Bitmain, one of the world's largest bitcoin mining machine manufacturers and miners, has terminated its management agreement with its Texas mining farm operator, DMG Blockchain Solution. 

Announcing the news on Monday, Vancouver-based DMG Blockchain said the two firms mutually decided to discontinue the existing agreement that designated DMG as the operator of Bitmain's Texas mining farm, which already has 15,000 "next generation" miners installed. The Canadian firm cites the failure to materialize "cost and operational efficiencies" as the reason for this termination, although it stated that the two will continue to explore other collaboration opportunities.

Bitmain launched its Rockdale, Texas-based mining farm in Oct. 2019. At the time of its launch announcement, Bitmain claimed the new farm would be "the world's largest for bitcoin mining." They expected to have a capacity of over 300 MW in the future.

It is not clear whether the facility is still in operation and if so whether Bitmain will hire a new operator for its Texas mining farm or opt for managing the facility itself. In the meantime, the firm is undergoing a slew of layoffs and shrinking its global presence, according to a former employee of Bitmain speaking under the condition of anonymity.

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Bitmain has not replied to The Block's request for comments at the time this article was published. DMG Blockchain declined to comment on the status of Bitmain's Texas mining farm. 

Meanwhile, DMG Blockchain and Bitmain will continue their collaboration for other mining sites, including DMG's Christina Lake mining facility, per a statement from DMG Blockchain. Bitmain recently shipped 1,000 new miners to the site and the miners are now fully operational, said the statement.  

Miners around the world are showing an increased interest in Texas, where abundant natural resources generate cheap electricity. Early this week, Bloomberg reported that Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings and internet service provider GMO internet reached a deal to start bitcoin mining at a Rockdale, Texas-based facility run by Northern Bitcoin AG. Digital Currency Group-backed Layer1 has also raised $50 million to manufacture its own mining chips and run its own electricity substations in Texas. 


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.