Why They Mine Bitcoin In The Arctic, In Iceland, And In The Mountains Of Iran -- January 15, 2021

Bloomberg photo-essay.

The Siberian city of Norilsk is best known as the home of mining giant MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC. 

With a population of 180,000, it’s one of the biggest human settlements beyond the Polar Circle and only reachable by plane or boat. 

The city may soon be famous for a different type of mining though — it now hosts the Arctic’s first crypto farm for producing new Bitcoins. 

BitCluster, the facility’s Russian owner, is already planning an expansion after starting operations late last year. 

The city of Norilsk has temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit), making it one of the coldest places on the planet. It is so remote that the locals call the rest of Russia “the mainland.” The temperatures are a big part of the appeal for bitcoin mining, as the two biggest running costs for the process are cooling and electricity. 

BitCluster clients only pay 2.75 rubles ($0.04) per kilowatt hour, among the cheapest rates globally. Norilsk Nickel's power unit mostly uses gas or hydropower to produce electricity.

Might the Bakken be good for mining Bitcoin: cold, and lots of energy.  

When you look at those mining rigs, what do I see? Apple mini-Macs. Just saying. They're already being used for the cloud by AWS.