Marathon Digital Selects Abu Dhabi For Immersion Crypto Mining Expansion

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc, a crypto mining company, recently announced its partnership with digital assets firm Zero Two. 

This announcement marks a major milestone in Marathon Digital’s plan for global expansion. The creation of the “Abu Dhabi Global Markets JV Entity” will involve joint ownership between both companies, with Zero Two holding 80% ownership and Marathon Digital holding 20%.

Marathon plans to capitalize on the advantageous climate and energy costs in Abu Dhabi while forging valuable partnerships through its expansion efforts.

The newly formed joint venture with Zero Two will develop and operate two digital mining sites with a combined capacity of 250 megawatts.

The sites will be located at two different places in Abu Dhabi. The larger 200MW site will be located at a feasible hub in Masdar City. The second site of 50MW will be located in the port zone of Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi.

Marathon and Zero Two anticipate leveraging the excess energy in Abu Dhabi to power the sites. According to the firms, this approach will increase the base load and sustainability of the Abu Dhabi power grid. 

In the past, the two firms ran a trial project to see if Abu Dhabi, where the desert temperature has historically made air-cooled digital asset mining unattainable, might be a viable location for a large-scale operation.

As such, Marathon Digital and Zero Two developed a custom-built immersion solution that’ll cool the ASIC miners and also developed the right mining software. Notably, the infrastructure and mining equipment needed has already been requested, and construction is underway.

These mining sites are projected to be among the most technologically advanced and energy-efficient mining hubs globally. According to the current construction timelines, both sites might be operational by 2024, with a total hash rate of about 7 EH/s.

The news of the mining operation surfaced as executives from Coinbase visited the UAE to assess the region’s potential as a “strategic hub” for its global operations. The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, spoke at the Dubai FinTech Summit and met decision-makers in UAE.

Several U.S.-based crypto companies, including Coinbase and Ripple, are considering relocating their operations abroad due to the unfavorable regulatory environment in the United States. The UAE appears to be a favorable jurisdiction for crypto companies seeking a more welcoming regulatory climate.

The latest advancement in immersion technology, coupled with the expertise of those involved, will be a significant benefit to the companies involved and the local economy.

As Marathon partners with local businesses, it can create new job opportunities and enhance economic growth in the region. With immersion technology, the firm can help minimize the worries about the negative effect of cryptocurrency mining.

Featured image from Pexels and chart from Tradingview.com