The company’s co-founder states that Giga’s new location extracts between $200,000 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin by utilizing energy that would otherwise be wasted from natural gas flaring.
Mining tickers down to $70,277 In an effort to make use of the leftover energy from “natural gas flaring.” On the South American country’s oil fields, Giga Energy has extended its operations into Argentina.
Co-founder of Giga Brent Whitehead wrote on LinkedIn on March 26 that the company’s growth is a “significant milestone.”
“This action is in line with our goal to reduce flaring worldwide and expands our operational landscape.”
Gas flaring is the process of burning the natural gas used in oil production. Giga uses the methane it releases throughout the process to power its Bitcoin mining equipment by turning it into electricity.
According to a March 26 CNBC story, Giga will expand by placing a sizable shipping container containing hundreds of Bitcoin miners atop an oil well, directing the extra gas into generators, and then using that energy to power Bitcoin mining equipment.
According to Matt Lohstroh, another co-founder of the company, Giga’s mining site in the Mendoza province of Argentina has been mining Bitcoin since December and has already produced between $200,000 and $250,000 worth of cryptocurrency. The site is now in a test phase.
Giga Energy Expanding to Argentina Amid Profit Anticipation
But before the company can fully expand its operations, it must import all the equipment. The company does not expect to turn a profit until then.
Argentina has the second-largest shale gas reservoir in the world, a University of Michigan scholarly paper recently published states.
According to Whitehead, CNBC, the company’s Bitcoin mining business will also cut methane emissions.
“Giga is actively reducing global methane emissions by capturing stranded natural gas to power modular data centers for energy-intensive computing.”
Exa Tech, an IT services business, will assist Giga with managing operations on-site, while Phoenix Global Resources. An oil and gas company, will supply the gas required to run the Bitcoin miners.
According to CNBC, Giga began mining Bitcoin in 2019 and currently has 150 megawatts of installed container capacity at its locations in Texas and Shanghai.
The action is being taken as Bitcoin mining companies get ready for the anticipated halving of the cryptocurrency. Which is currently scheduled for April 20 or so.
Miners will experience a halving of the Bitcoin reward, reducing it from 6.25 BTC ($439,000) to 3.125 BTC ($219,500).
Significantly, Hashlabs Mining founder and chief mining strategist Jaran Mellerud says the event may shift the global hashrate from the United States to nations with lower electricity costs.
Mellerud states that Paraguay and Argentina possess the highest potential for Bitcoin mining among South American nations.
