This week on the podcast our correspondent Selin Bucak caught up with Tim Sandau, CEO of Verakari, on the topic of Bitcoin mining and the evolution of the Bitcoin sector.
Tim Sandau has been in the Bitcoin industry since what he calls the ‘wild west’ days of cryptocurrency back in 2017. His firm, Verakari, is run by a team of highly seasoned professionals from within the tech industry, including alumni from the likes of Google and Facebook. It built the second oldest cryptocurrency mine in the United States. Verakari calls itself ‘the one stop shop for all crypto related services.’ They have built and operate some of the largest mining operations in the world.
Verakari specialises in locating, building and operating state of the art data centres. It uses data centre designs which are employed by a number of the leading public cryptocurrency companies. These are used for operating mines of various sizes, from 5 MW up to the 100 MW behemoths.
At last count Verakari had deployed over 30,000 miners with a total hardware value of more than $155m. The total value of its mining operations exceeds $15m.
On the podcast
On the podcast Sandau addresses one of the key criticisms Bitcoin mining has been facing in recent months, namely the amount of energy it consumes.
The debate has shifted to the US market, because this has become the largest area of Bitcoin mining on the planet, after China cracked down on it last year. Sandau explains how miners can manage their energy consumption more efficiently – e.g. through mobile operating data centres.
Will more eco-friendly Bitcoin mining lead to a zero carbon industry? And can it be done while keeping a lid on costs? Sandau explains how Bitcoin miners can draw on renewable energy.
Verakari specialises in helping both retail and institutional investors to access this market, helping even the smaller player get into the space. “You don’t need to have $5m dollars to get into this space,” Sandau says. He offers access to Bitcoin mining for as little as $500, but also works with some of the largest players in the space.
“International investors can also join our family here,” Sandau says.
Bitcoin price volatility
We also discuss the recent Bitcoin price action with Sandau. He has been seeing a lot more activity from Russian investors taking stakes in Bitcoin and other leading coins since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We can see first hand the real life use of the asset as both a combat to inflation and to an economy that is not doing well,” he says.
The podcast also looks at some of the ground rules for new investors getting involved in the cryptocurrency market, including mining, and how not to get stung by the many scam artists out there.
