Bitcoin miner, Iris Energy, announced plans to increase the company’s self-mining capacity, from 2 exahash per second (EH/s) to approximately 5.5 EH/s, after it receives 4.4 EH/s of new Antminer S19j Pro miners from Bitmain.
Iris Energy Leverages $67 Million in Bitmain Prepayments for Latest Mining Expansion
Bitcoin mining company, Iris Energy, announced plans to increase its self-mining capacity to 5.5 exahash per second (EH/s) from 2 EH/s. The company recently unplugged 3.6 EH/s of mining rigs in November 2022 after receiving a default notice from a lender. To obtain 4.4 EH/s worth of machines, the company is utilizing approximately $67 million in Bitmain credits.
The newly acquired S19j Pro mining rigs will be distributed among Iris Energy’s data centers in British Columbia and Texas. If the company finds it has an excess of machines, it will sell them to invest in corporate purposes and growth initiatives. Daniel Roberts, co-founder and co-CEO of Iris Energy, described the latest move as an essential juncture for the bitcoin mining firm.
“This is a significant milestone for Iris Energy. We are delighted to have been able to utilize our remaining Bitmain prepayments to acquire new miners without any additional cash outlay,” Roberts said in a statement. “In doing so, [it] not only increase[s] our self-mining capacity to 5.5 EH/s, all powered by 100% renewable energy data center infrastructure, but also fully resolve[s] our obligations under our contract with Bitmain,” Roberts added.
In 2022, bitcoin mining operations faced challenges due to a significant depreciation of BTC prices. Some operations went bankrupt during the crypto winter. However, 2023 has seen an improvement in crypto prices, although U.S. regulators have increased enforcement, which has temporarily paused the recent rise. As of Monday, February 13, 2023, BTC’s price is stable and hovering around its value prior to the FTX collapse.
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