Two of the biggest bitcoin mining companies in the world are battling it out in a Texas town of 5,600 people

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In this rural Texas town of 5,600 people, two of the biggest names in bitcoin mining are battling it out for market share and cheap electricity.

"They have money. They have equipment. They just need a place – and power, quick," said Gibson.At the main entrance to Bitdeer's Rockdale mine is a small tin shed accented with light blue trim, staffed by a smiling, upbeat guard. There is no gate, nor are there any spike strips on the pavement to deter unwelcome vehicles. Considering how secretive Bitdeer is as a company, it seems relatively welcoming – and surprisingly easy – to gain entry to the property.

When Whinstone first broke ground in Rockdale in January of 2020, many saw it as the David to Bitdeer's Goliath. Harris, the Whinstone CEO, hailed from New Orleans, where he was known for selling pre-decorated Christmas trees to wealthy families. The CTO, Harris' youngest son, had blue hair and had just dropped out of college after his freshman year."No matter what Alcoa told us, we agreed to it," said Harris, of the initial negotiations.

"We bought all the orange conduit in the United States. Every last stick of pipe you could get your hands on," Harris recounted. "And then they call back a week later saying they made a mistake. 'We can't deliver all this.' We're like, 'Just send the money back.' And then they say, 'Hold up, I think we can solve it.'"

183 days later, in June of 2020, Whinstone began mining. Harris estimates that on day one, they had 300% more capacity than Bitdeer. "We brought them over, gave them the pictures, told them what machine to buy, told them how to do it. It still took them like eight months to plug the machine in," he said.

The more machines a miner has online, the greater its share of the network's hashrate, and the better its chances at winning bitcoin. Whinstone builds its own substations which gives the firm an advantage over other would-be miners looking to head to Rockdale. They are in the process of installing three 100-megawatt transformers now.

 

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