Texas has emerged as the dominant hub for bitcoin mining in the United States, attracting miners from other states with its favorable regulatory environment and support from the local energy provider, ERCOT. Foundry USA, the world’s largest mining pool, has data that shows Texas accounting for a significant portion of the country’s bitcoin mining activity. Despite concerns over the upcoming “halving” event that will reduce mining rewards by 50%, Foundry remains confident in the resilience of the mining industry and is expanding its operations to include machine sales, on-site deployment, logistics, and managed site services. Texas’s position as the crypto capital of the United States is further solidified by its abundance of clean energy and permissive regulations.
The rise of Texas as a bitcoin mining hub can be attributed to the support of local authorities and ERCOT, the operator of the Texas energy grid. Texas offers flexible energy buyers like miners incentives to keep excess energy online during low-demand cycles and allows them to sell energy back to the grid when demand is high. The state’s growing adoption of wind and solar energy, combined with instances of negative pricing in the wholesale energy market, creates ideal conditions for bitcoin miners. Riot, a prominent mining company, has been actively working with ERCOT to balance energy consumption and even earned millions of dollars by selling energy back to the grid.
Despite concerns surrounding the upcoming halving event, which will reduce mining rewards and potentially impact profit margins for miners, Foundry remains optimistic about the future of bitcoin mining. The company believes that by diversifying its operations and offering services such as machine sales and on-site management, it can navigate the challenges posed by the halving and emerge stronger. With Texas at the forefront of the U.S. bitcoin mining industry, the state has solidified its position as the bitcoin capital of the world, attracting miners with its favorable regulatory environment and abundant supply of clean energy.