Japan as a Crypto Mining Hub?

Japan is known for its openness to accept the crypto industry. In fact, Japan is known for its high trading volume. Though there were changed in the crypto regulations of the country, it was only made in order to protect the investors, especially after the Coincheck hacking incident. Japan is also leading the way towards creating regulations that could potentially be followed by other countries.

Aside from crypto exchanges and related crypto businesses, Japan is also attracting crypto miners. What makes Japan the perfect place to mine cryptos is mainly for its cheap electricity coming from geothermal, wind, and hydroelectric power plants. Among areas that are becoming popular today is Fukui which only has a 250,000 population. This city is known for its low electricity prices not to mention reasonable rent. And if you really want to get a discounted price, you only pay 50{4ede17fdd9b4ce8121d01fc4b54913fe84f8215aace504cc657695cefb5329ff} if a company chooses to rent an abandoned factory space.

It was reported that Alt Design is a company that has taken advantage of this setup. Alt Design opened its shop September last year.

Perfect Climate for Crypto Mining?

The warehouses are spacious and relatively cheap compared to Tokyo, According to Shuhei Fujise who is the chief analyst of Alt Design, “Industrial-use electricity is cheaper (in Fukui) than in Tokyo, and we can cheaply rent a larger space that fits all out equipment”.

Alt Design has 500 mining rigs and is mining both Ethereum and Bitcoin. This startup has around 10 employees involved in management as well as installation of the mining equipment. The company makes use of around 2,000 kilowatts of electricity in order to mine 200 Ethereum for their 10 corporate clients. And in return, the company earns a commission.

DMM and Mining

DMM launched a crypto mining operation in Kanazawa. The company also unveiled its showroom that has around 1,000 crypto mining rigs that are accessible to its clients. DMM has indicated its plans to mine different cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. DMM makes use of both ASIC and GPU mining rigs for their operations. The company also revealed that it is going after a cloud mining facility.

First Japanese Mining Rig

Last month, GMO Internet launched the first Japanese Bitcoin mining rig called B2. B2 has been designed in Japan though it was manufactured in Taiwan. By October, it is expected to be sold for around $2,000. Among its specs include a hashrate of 24^TH/s while it consumes 1950watts per unit.

Is Japan going to be the next home for crypto miners? It is true that many crypto miners today are looking for a place where they can take advantage of cheap electricity and a cold weather. Canada is among the top prospects where miners can operate. Though Quebec has opened its doors for crypto miners to apply, they will still have to pay a different rate.

Crypto mining activity stirs debate even within the crypto community. Crypto mining is known to be energy extensive and expensive considering the difficulty of the algorithms that has to be solved.