In 2017, the bitcoin has blown up the consciousness of the world, soaring from $1 thousand to almost $20 thousand. Then he abruptly dropped out of the public eye, falling below $4 thousand. Investors began to doubt whether he even become the world currency of the future.
But if bitcoin ceased to be the number one topic in the world media, the question of cryptocurrencies and mining, is still relevant. It is expected that miners of bitcoins, faced with the wave of bankruptcies after the fall of prices in 2018, will again begin to make a profit this year. Most of them will get the maximum profit by setting the computers from which they are mined cryptocurrency in a cold climate and close proximity to cheap sources of energy. However, one innovative company in West Texas will work differently.
In the startup Layer1 invested co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel. In 2019, the company bought Texas electric substation, which allowed to get rid of dependence on suppliers. The state was chosen because of cheap electricity. One of the hottest States in the country, Texas, is the largest owner of wind farms in the United States.
As you know, summer system Texas suffer from increased load as well as a huge number of people are using air conditioning. And the secret of the success of this startup is the willingness to share power from the substation during these periods. Startup involved in the agreement under which the company is obliged, if need be, to shut down all the mining hardware.
In exchange for this service the company will obtain from the government at $19 per MWh, or about $17 million a year. This reduces the price of electricity for Layer1 75%. That is, the company will pay only 10% of the amount that private consumers have to pay for electricity. And the use of the substation Layer1 will be cheaper than building new power plants.
Given that the annual use of electricity is slightly more than in Switzerland, Meiners of bitcoins around the world may soon think of becoming a kind of backup energy networks, experiencing the seasonal bursts. Texas, which is the largest oil-producing state and the largest state producing wind energy in the United States, a sufficient amount of cheap energy for the miners. And since the summer is a significant spike in electricity demand, it seems that bitcoin miners will have to reconsider the question of where they open their point.