Crypto mining company Blockcap, which recently announced it would be setting up new offices in Austin, said Texas could become an alluring region for the industry.
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Blockcap founder and executive chair Darin Feinstein said the firm had chosen Texas for its headquarters based on the potential hiring pool as well as the regulatory environment. According to Feinstein, blockchain companies operating in the United States — and Texas in particular — may face fewer geopolitical risks than those in China and other countries.
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"Texas certainly is a place that we see protecting the privacy elements and some of the other aspects of blockchain technology that some states and some governments around the world don’t like."
The Blockcap executive said that areas of China with a high concentration of Bitcoin (BTC) miners, like Xinjiang, don’t “protect private property” and may encourage firms to set up shop elsewhere. This week, the hashing power of top Bitcoin mining pools in the Chinese region fell due to a regional blackout reportedly aimed at allowing safety inspections, implying that the Chinese government could have some significant control over the Bitcoin hash rate.
However, in the United States, Feinstein said that support of private companies coupled with endorsements from lawmakers like Texas Governor Greg Abbott make the state “a really good hub” for crypto and blockchain. Last month, Abbott tweeted that he supported legislation to better adapt commercial law for blockchain innovation and digital asset regulations.
Other locations in the U.S. like Wyoming have “really good blockchain legislation,” according to the Blockcap founder. However, he said Elon Musk’s decision to set up a Tesla Gigafactory — as well as his personal residence — in Texas may be a better indication of the state’s growth and opportunity for finding qualified new hires.
“We’re all in the first inning of a very long game,” said Feinstein. “The final regulatory decisions are going to take place over the next decade and the jurisdictions that are robustly looking to foster this technology along are jurisdictions that we’re interested in being a part of.”
Blockcap now controls more than 12,000 mining rigs, generating roughly 7.5 BTC daily, with the firm aiming to bring an additional 43,000 miners online by 2022. Along with Riot Blockchain — which also plans to set up shop in Texas — the firms are two of the largest crypto mining operations in the United States.
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