Blockware Mining, a Chicago-based company, announced the official opening of its flagship Bitcoin-mining facility in Paducah on Monday.
The 30-megawatt facility, with expansions planned into 2023, is capable of 100 megawatts of mining power. It houses more than 9,000 ASIC miner units, with 10 employees and 20 planned hires within two years.
“It’s on track. Everything on the inside is completed and running,” said Executive Vice President Jeremy Witten, a commonwealth native.
“We’ve had to overcome challenges in the supply chain like everyone else, but we’re managing through the (cost) increases in energy everyone has seen across the nation.”
Blockware Mining energized in February. Last year, it purchased five acres at Industrial Park West under agreement with Greater Paducah Economic Development at a projected $5.7 million annual economic impact.
“We are focused on bringing new tech industries and good jobs to Kentucky while aligning with demand for a favorable cost structure and increased access to energy,” said GPED President Bruce Wilcox in a press release.
Co-founder, President and CEO Michael Stoltzner dedicated the facility to “Bitcoin pioneer, Blockware Mining co-founder and my friend, the late Mathew J. D’Souza.”
“We are thrilled to open this new world-class facility to (mine) Bitcoin in a safe, sustainable and energy-efficient manner,” Stoltzner said.
The firm has two colocation centers nationwide and one on-site data center pilot program. In addition to mining and hosting services, it’s cleared for Bitcoin futures and options contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group.
In a press release, Blockware Mining recognized Bob Berry, Big Rivers Electric Corporation president and CEO; George Bray, city of Paducah mayor; Dave Carroll, Paducah Power general manager; Craig Clymer, McCracken County judge-executive; Greg Grissom, Jackson Purchase Energy president and CEO; and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Kentucky is responsible for nearly one-fifth of the nation’s cryptocurrency mining, according to an Oct. 2021 report by Foundry USA, a New York-based mining pool.
Senate Bill 255 and House Bill 230, passed in 2021, provide tax incentives to in-state miners. Blockware Mining representatives said the company is in discussion with additional “crypto-friendly states like Kentucky” to meet growing demand despite a recent market downturn.
Crypto-miners solve algorithms with computer hardware to accumulate Bitcoin. Rising scarcity backs value: Only 21 million Bitcoins exist, and earnings halve approximately every four years — an event programmed into its source code.