Bitcoin Miner Marathon Eyes Profitability Boost Through Joint Venture with US Power Provider

Nasdaq-listed company Marathon Patent Group is forming a new joint venture with a U.S. power provider that will bring a supply of cheap energy for its bitcoin mining operations.

• In an announcement Tuesday, Marathon said it's teamed up with Maryland-based Beowulf Energy for the venture. Beowulf develops and operates power generation and industrial infrastructure facilities internationally.
• The arrangement will see Marathon co-locate a bitcoin mining facility within Beowulf's Big Horn Data Hub at its 105-megawatt power station in Hardin, Montana.
• Beowulf will supply electricity for the mining farm at a production cost of $0.028 per kWh, according to the announcement.
• That's 38% below Marathon's current aggregate power cost for mining and facility operations, $0.034 per kWh.
• The company says this, in turn, will cut its breakeven costs to mine one bitcoin from approximately $7,500 currently to $4,600.
• Under the deal, Beowulf is also becoming an equity shareholder in Marathon, while the mining firm will retain all of the bitcoin mined at the Big Horn facility.
• Marathon plans to install 11,500 S19 Pro Antminers previously acquired from manufacturer Bitmain; 500 of the devices are already in place, it said.
• The facility is expected to be fully operational in Q2 2021, with an output around 1.265 exahashes per second.
• Marathon said the center has the capacity for nearly three times the planned number of miners, giving ample scope for future expansion.

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