Meet the $5M solar-powered Bitcoin mine

Square Inc. will partner with a Blockstream mining to build an open-source solar-powered bitcoin mine in the US

The company announced they will invest $5 million in the facility, which will be a “proof-of-concept for a 100% renewable energy Bitcoin mine at scale.”

Square said it’s “committed to driving further adoption and efficiency of renewables within the Bitcoin ecosystem.”

“We hope to show that a renewable mining facility in the real world is not only possible but also prove empirically that Bitcoin accelerates the world toward a sustainable future.”

Open-source mining technology

The economics of the build will be made open to the public, so that other businesses in the crypto space might follow suit towards going green.

The project will also feature a dashboard open to the public, which will show real-time metrics. This will include information on the project’s performance, including power output and bitcoin mined.

“The dashboard, based on technology developed for the BMN, aims to be available 24/7 from any browser, providing the industry with a real-world, real-time case study of a renewable energy Bitcoin mine,” said Square.

“Ultimately, we hope to demonstrate how Bitcoin mining in conjunction with renewable energy can help drive the clean energy transition.”

Square Inc.

Climate concerns of crypto mining

News of the solar-powered Bitcoin mine comes after Elon Musk recently tweeted that Tesla is going to pull support for Bitcoin over environmental concerns. 

This sent Bitcoin prices tumbling, and also has raised questions about the sustainability of cryptocurrency.  

The Bitcoin mining process requires a significant amount of computing power, which in turn requires large amounts of electricity. This can pose an environmental issue when the miners use fossil fuels.

Bitcoin falls amid China regulations

Bitcoin and a number of other cryptocurrencies fell at the weekend. Experts say this China’s increasing sector regulations and concerns over mainstream adoption were behind the plummet.

This comes after China’s social media service Weibo blocked users from viewing a number of crypto-related accounts. The platform says the accounts violated a number of rules and regulations.

Authorities in Beijing have also recently cautioned against the use of digital currencies.

Jonathan Cheesman from crypto exchange FTX says: “uncertainty about China’s crypto regulations are still a headwind.”

Meanwhile, the former US ambassador to the UN, Republican John Bolton, says there needs to be more regulation around the sector.