Bitcoin mining company to set up office in Austin, following Tesla

North American crypto mining firm, Blockcap announced today the establishment of its Austin headquarters in a move that the former governor of Texas, Rick Perry, lauded as a critical development in bringing innovation in digital asset technology to the Lone Star State. The decision follows Tesla relocating to Texas, which reportedly bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin in February and now allows customers to buy its vehicles using bitcoin.

Bitcoin mining company to set up office in Austin, following Tesla

In an announcement from on Friday, the company claimed once its new facilities are operational in the Lone Star State’s capital, its hashing power will be 3.5 exahash per second from a total of 42,000 rigs, roughly doubling its capabilities.

According to blockchain data, this would represent more than 2% of the hashrate for the entire Bitcoin (BTC) network, roughly 167 million terahash per second at the time of publication. However, Blockcap claims its total fleet will account for only 1% of the network's hashing power.

“Austin is our home base from which we will pursue our mission and bring this great city closer to the center of the United States’ blockchain technology ecosystem,” said Darin Feinstein, co-founder and executive chairman at Blockcap. “We also see the city as an ideal location from which to continue expanding our operations as we grow at both national and international levels.”

Blockcap cited electric car manufacturer Tesla setting up one of its "Gigafactories" in Austin in announcing the move. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently purchased a home in the Texas state capital on Lake Austin west of the downtown area, while the firm is breaking ground on the Gigafactory on the east side closer to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The firm did not directly respond to questions regarding where it plans to establish its offices in the Austin area or how many jobs would be created as a result, though Feinstein just stated that "hiring locally." 

Some tech companies like Oracle and Hewlett Packard are also moving to Austin resulting in entitling the city as "Silicon Hills," in reference to Silicon Valley. Many employees of these firms may be seeing all-cash buyers purchasing homes, making them unavailable to those with only the financial means of saving for a 20% down payment. Musk highlighted the dearth of Austin housing in an April 4 tweet, seemingly in reference to Tesla employees relocating there.

However, to Blockcap and other blockchain firms has the support of former Texas governor Rick Perry, the Republican politician who once famously forgot the name of the Department of Energy as a federal agency he would eliminate if elected president. 

Perry has claimed Texas had “become the premier location for forward-looking industries like blockchain” and that Blockcap would likely lead to job creation and economic growth of the state.

Founded in 2020 by a group of blockchain veterans, Blockcap now controls roughly 12,000 mining rigs generating over 7 BTC daily. The company has previously raised more than $75 million in two funding rounds led by Off The Chain Capital and Foundry Digital. According to Blockcap, the firm  has purchased more than $500 million worth of mining machinery.