Page 14 - bne_Tech_10_2018

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
October 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
Russian company launches giant mining farm near
St. Petersburg
Crypto mining service provider CryptoUniverse launched what it claims to be Russia’s biggest data centre for cryptocurrency mining in August, reports East-West Digital News (EWDN)
Located in the industrial park Levoberezhnyi at Kyryshy, a town in the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) region, the facility occupies 4,000 sq. m. and hosts 3,000 machines to mine Bitcoins and Litecoins.
“We are offering all the necessary infrastructure to mine cryptocurrencies, namely the equipment, support, and data security,” the company told RBC. A variety of tariff plans is available, from $79 to $159 per TH/S (terahash per second), according to the company’s website.
The facility has currently a capacity of 20 megawatts, with a potential to expand it to 60 megawatts, the company claims.
The Vice-Governor of the Leningrad (St. Petersburg)
region, Dmitry Yalov, participated in the opening ceremony in late August.
“The region features favorable conditions or
the creation of mining farms. There is enough [power production] capacity in the region, so electricity prices are relatively low. Among the other undeniable advantages of the region are the availability of engineering sites and qualified personnel,” the media quoted the Vice-Governor as saying.
Some RUB500mn ($8mn) have been invested in the facility. CryptoUniverse expects to open two other similar centres in Russia.
Market experts interviewed by RBC believe that mining in Russia is still a profitable activity, in spite of the recent fall of the cryptocurrency markets. Meanwhile, the number of ads selling mining equipment has grown by 62% since January 2018 on Avito, Russia’s largest classifieds site, notes RBC.