Marathon’s Latest Bitcoin Mining Endeavor Will Heat Up an Entire Town in Finland
By Ruholamin Haqshanas
Last updated:
June 21, 2024 08:21 EDT
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2 min read
Marathon Digital Holdings, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining company, has initiated a new project that will provide warmth for an entire town in Finland.
According to a recent post on X, the pilot project aims to utilize the recycled heat generated from Bitcoin mining to supply heating for over 11,000 residents.
Marathon has launched a 2-megawatt pilot project in the Satakunta region of Finland, marking the company’s first district heating-based pilot project in the Euro area.
Marathon’s project utilizes district heating, a method where water is centrally heated and distributed through an underground network of pipes to warm houses. This approach takes advantage of the excess heat produced by Bitcoin mining rigs, offering an innovative and potentially future-proof solution for residential heating.
Marathon Digital Holdings, with a market capitalization of over $5.84 billion, leads the Bitcoin mining industry. Its market value is 33% higher than that of the second-largest company, CleanSpark, which has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, according to CompaniesMarketCap data.
While Marathon’s project warms an entire town, other companies are also exploring Bitcoin mining-based heating solutions on a smaller scale. One such example is Heatbit, a “plug-and-play” heating and air purifying machine that mines Bitcoin at a rate of 10 TH/s.
In April, Hashlabs Mining, a Bitcoin mining infrastructure firm, also introduced a project that allows heat to be generated using specially designed Bitcoin mining devices, including hydro-cooled WhatsMiner M63S, an ASIC mining device that produces hot water at ~70°C in the cooling process.
Following the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which reduced block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, Bitcoin miners are seeking ways to diversify their revenue streams. Marathon Digital Holdings has been actively exploring ways to monetize the excess heat generated by its Bitcoin mining facilities and data centers, aiming to develop new revenue streams and strategic approaches to achieve zero-cost power for digital asset computing while contributing to the global energy transformation.
The sale of excess heat from Bitcoin mining could provide substantial financial benefits for Marathon, which has more than 11 mining sites worldwide and a 4.8% share of the Bitcoin network’s hashrate, according to the company’s homepage.
Last week, Bitcoin mining stocks experienced significant gains following a commitment by United States presidential candidate Donald Trump to boost mining operations within the country. Trump expressed his desire for all remaining Bitcoin to be produced in the United States, emphasizing the potential for the country to become energy dominant. This statement followed a meeting between Trump and top executives from the Bitcoin industry, during which Trump reportedly assured the industry leaders of his support if he were to be elected as president in November.
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