Marathon Patent Group Announces Joint Venture with Beowulf Energy for 105-Megawatt Bitcoin Mining Data Center
October 13 2020 - 8:15AM
Marathon Patent Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:
MARA)
("Marathon" or "Company") today announced the formation of a new
joint venture with Beowulf Energy LLC (“Beowulf”) focused on
delivering low cost power to Marathon’s Bitcoin mining operations.
In connection with the joint venture, Marathon
has entered into agreements with Beowulf to co-locate its Bitcoin
Mining Data Center (the “Data Center”) at the Big Horn Data Hub,
which comprises 20 acres of land adjacent to Beowulf’s Hardin
Generating Station, a 105 MW power facility located in Hardin,
Montana. Beowulf will provide power from the Hardin plant to the
Data Center at a production cost of $0.028/kWh. Beowulf will also
become an equity shareholder of Marathon as a result of the joint
venture. Marathon will retain 100% of the Bitcoin mining output
generated at the Data Center.
Marathon will deploy the 11,500 next generation
S19 Pro Antminers (110 TH/s) it previously acquired through its
partnership with Bitmain Inc. at the Data Center. These miners will
generate 1.265 EH/s when fully deployed, with full deployment
anticipated through Q2 2021. Currently, 500 of the S19 Pro
Antminers have been delivered and deployed at the Data Center. The
Data Center has the capacity to deploy up to 30,000 S19 Pro Miners
that will generate 3.320 EH/s, providing Marathon with substantial
opportunity for future expansion.
The Data Center will lower Marathon’s aggregate
mining cost for electricity and data center management to
$0.034/kWh, which is 38% below the Company’s current cost of
mining. This low-cost electricity reduces Marathon’s breakeven
costs to produce Bitcoin from approximately $7,500 per Bitcoin
today to $4,600 per Bitcoin, dramatically improving the Company’s
future profitability.
Marathon Chairman and CEO Merrick Okamoto
stated, “The closing of this joint venture with Beowulf represents
the completion of a long journey to own a Bitcoin mining facility.
Partnering with an experienced independent power producer enables
us to maintain control and certainty of Marathon’s energy and
operational costs, at rates that represent some of the lowest in
North America.”
Nazar Khan, Executive Vice President of Beowulf,
commented, “In pursuing the co-location of a Bitcoin mining
operation at Hardin, we sought to capture the inherent value to the
Data Center of securing a long-term supply of reliable, secure, and
low-cost power while benefitting from the significant on-site
technical expertise to ensure efficient operations. Our expert
in-house engineers and technicians have designed the Data Center to
support the immense computing speeds of the latest generation S19
Pro Antminers. Located in Eastern Montana, the Data Center has a
meaningful competitive advantage on energy pricing, moderate
climate, and regulatory stability. Beowulf has also earmarked an
additional 500 megawatts of generation capacity for subsequent
blockchain and data center expansion.”
Investor Notice
Investing in our securities involves a high
degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should
carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking
statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2019. If any of these risks were to occur, our
business, financial condition or results of operations would likely
suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline,
and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and
uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us.
Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently
deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In
addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable
indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not
be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the
network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may also
materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production
of Bitcoin. See "Safe Harbor" below.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release include
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,”
“should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or
comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are
inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many
of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which
the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or
suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the
factors listed above together with the additional factors under the
heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form
10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update
or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because
of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.
About Marathon Patent Group
Marathon is a digital asset technology company
that mines cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain
ecosystem and the generation of digital assets.
About Beowulf Energy
Founded in 1994, Beowulf is an independent
infrastructure company that develops, builds, owns, and operates
power generation and industrial infrastructure facilities
worldwide. Headquartered in Maryland, the company has extensive
development and operational experience in domestic and
international energy markets. Beowulf has developed, constructed,
acquired, and operated over $5 billion of power generation and
industrial assets. Beowulf is led by its founder, Chairman, and
Chief Executive Officer, Paul B. Prager.
Marathon Patent
Group Company Contact:Jason AssadTelephone:
678-570-6791Email: Jason@marathonpg.com
Marathon Patent Group Investor
Contact:
Gateway Investor RelationsMatt Glover and Charlie
SchumacherTelephone:
949-574-3860Email: MARA@gatewayir.com
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