US Bitcoin Mining Company Blockcap to Establish New Office in Austin

North America-based crypto mining company Blockcap announced over the weekend that it will establish a new office in Austin, Texas.

Blockcap said in a statement on Friday that once its new equipment is operational in Austin, its computing power will reach about 3.5 EH/S, with a total of 42,000 mining machines deployed, reportedly doubling its computing power. According to blockchain data, this will account for more than 2% of the entire Bitcoin (BTC) network computing power. However, Blockcap claims that its computing power will only account for 1% of the Bitcoin network.

“Austin is our home base and is where we will realize our mission to make this great city closer to the center of the U.S. blockchain technology ecosystem,” said Darin Feinstein, Chairman and Founder of Blockcap. “We also see the city as an ideal location to continue expanding our operations as we grow on a national and international level.”

In announcing the move, Blockcap mentioned that electric car maker Tesla is building a "gigafactory" in Austin. Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk recently purchased a property on Lake Austin, west of downtown Austin, Texas, for more than $3 million, while Tesla is breaking ground on a gigafactory near Bergstrom International Airport in the east of Austin.

Blockcap did not immediately respond to questions about where it plans to open an office in the Austin area or how many jobs it will create, though Feinstein said the company will "hire locally." Musk tweeted last month that the new site in Austin, Texas, will bring more than 10,000 jobs, effectively increasing the electric car maker's workforce by more than 14%.

While some tech companies like Oracle and HP are relocating to Austin, leading many to dub the city "Silicon Hills," in many ways Austin has become a microcosm of the U.S. real estate market. Many employees at these companies are likely to see all-cash buyers purchasing homes, making them inaccessible to those who can only afford a 20% down payment. Musk highlighted the lack of housing in Austin in an April 4 tweet, seemingly referring to the need for a large number of homes for Tesla employees to relocate there.

However, Blockcap and other blockchain companies moving to Austin have been supported by former Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican politician who famously forgot that the Department of Energy is a federal agency and would get rid of it if he were elected president. Perry said Texas has "become a premier location for forward-looking industries like blockchain," and Blockcap could bring jobs and economic growth to the state.