Money attracts money, and Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, knows it. His company has already established itself as one of the most influential corporations in the entire crypto ecosystem. Today, it announced a new venture that will expand its reach into a whole new frontier: the crypto mining industry.
In a recently issued press release, DGC announced the creation of a new subsidiary focused on cryptocurrency mining. Foundry, a company quietly founded last year, has received $100 million in funding to begin operations, focusing on the installation of farms across the United States.
Such a move might seem odd, considering that the U.S. isn’t exactly known for providing cheap energy. Still, Digital Currency Group is confident that other factors could give Foundry a head start.
First, having a robust legal system is a strong plus for any business. Crypto mining has a highly unstable foundation in many countries when it comes to legal and political opinions.
For example, although mining is not technically forbidden in China, one cannot deny that the government has a negative view of the industry (especially regarding those who operate in the underground). Similar cases can be registered in countries such as Iran or Venezuela, where the industry is persecuted despite it not being expressly classified by law as an illegal activity.
Digital Currency Group thinks it can overcome this problem, and at the same time, contribute a little to balance the geopolitical scale. Concerns that much of Bitcoin’s hash power comes from China —with much of the industry revolving around that country— has been a topic of conversation among enthusiasts, developers, and politicians over the past few years. Moving some capital —and hash power— from China to the United States could be a good idea after all.
But the profitability factor is not out of the question either. According to Forbes, the crypto behemoth targets the states of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and upstate New York as possible locations because of their considerably cheaper energy costs compared to the rest of the country. Outside the United States, Quebec and British Columbia are also under consideration.
Foundry is not a PoW-only company. The boom of DeFi dApps and the migration of Ethereum and other blockchains like Cardano to a PoS algorithm have not gone unnoticed by the company, which has also announced its interest in forming Staking pools for those interested in investing in altcoins with this type of technology.
However, DCG is facing a sort of invisible monster. Several mining initiatives have failed to grow in the U.S. Can it succeed where others have failed? It’s hard to say, but with $100 million in backing, they certainly have an advantage.