Marathon Digital and Zero Two Partner for Abu Dhabi Bitcoin-Mining Facility

blockchain.news:

Marathon Digital Holdings and Zero Two have announced a partnership to create a large-scale immersion Bitcoin-mining facility in Abu Dhabi. The joint venture, called the Abu Dhabi Global Markets JV Entity, will be based in Mina Zayed and Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates, and will comprise two mining sites with a combined 250-megawatt capacity. Marathon and Zero Two plan to power the facilities with excess energy from Abu Dhabi’s grid, claiming it will increase its base load and sustainability.

According to Marathon Digital, crypto mining in the desert climate of Abu Dhabi, where the average annual temperature is roughly 28 degrees Celsius (82 degree Fahrenheit), was often «infeasible.» However, the company said it had helped develop a «custom-built immersion solution» to cool mining rigs at the proposed facilities, suggesting a liquid-cooling solution.

The two firms expect both Abu Dhabi facilities to be online by 2024 and produce a combined hash rate of roughly 7 EH/s. Ownership of the project will be split between Zero Two and Marathon Digital, with the two companies controlling 80% and 20%, respectively.

The move comes as executives from United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase visited the UAE to test the potential of the region as a «strategic hub» for its international operations. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong met with policymakers and spoke at the Dubai FinTech Summit.

The joint venture between Marathon Digital and Zero Two aims to take advantage of Abu Dhabi's excess energy to power the mining facilities, with a view to increasing sustainability and base load. The use of liquid cooling solutions will help to overcome the challenges of the desert climate, where high temperatures make traditional air