A cryptocurrency mining company moved to a former Buchanan steel processing plant to power its operations.
Now powered up for high-energy computing, Coastal Crypto is gearing up to hire 100 employees, a company official said.
Coastal Crypto, which moved from Roanoke, is what co-owner Mark Andersen described as “a retail outlet for crypto mining equipment and a host provider similar to a data center for crypto mining.”
The company’s former home, a Norwich industrial building, “just didn’t have enough power there for what we are trying to accomplish,” but the Buchanan address, which is the former Virginia Forge plant that closed in 2016, offers just over five megawatts of electricity expandable to “the sky’s the limit,” he said.
One cyrptocurrency information source, crypto.com, described mining as “the process of verifying transactions on a blockchain using computer equipment, while earning cryptocurrency in return.”
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Andersen said he and fellow co-owner John Mazzarella have backgrounds in technology including 10 years in crypto mining and began their company in 2021. A small business with two employees, Coastal Crypto is growing at such a pace that the owners foresee hiring 100 people to perform computer, networking and general labor duties, Andersen said. Applicants can reach the company through its website, coastalcryptomining.com.
Jeff Sturgeon (540) 981-3251
jeff.sturgeon@roanoke.com