Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB: BTCS) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today that the Company secured a 83,000 square foot facility, about 1.4 times the size of a regulations NFL football field, to expand its mining operations.
The Company also purchased from Spondoolies Tech Ltd. ("Spondoolies"), 100 S35 miners totaling 550 TH/s of hashing power, a 161% increase in its mining capacity, and anticipates having the newly purchased equipment online in two to four weeks, which would bring BTCS's total mining hash rate to 891 TH/s. Additionally, the operating costs (inclusive of power) at the new facility should be approximately 30% lower than our current facility. With minimal improvements, the new facility is anticipated to handle over 10 megawatts (mw) of power and can potentially house up to 40,000 TH/s of mining hardware. The Company launched a new website to demonstrate its planned services, which includes a new multi-signature secure bitcoin storage solution as a next step in the build-out of its universal ecosystem.
"We're seizing market opportunities created by the recent downturn in bitcoin price and expanding accordingly. At the current price of bitcoin, cost structure matters, and we believe we'll have one of the lowest cost mining operations in the industry," says BTCS CEO Charles Allen. Without any further expansion, the Company believes their mining efforts should yield at least 350 bitcoins in the first quarter of 2015. Additionally, the Company agreed to issue 250,000 shares of its common stock to Spondoolies as partial compensation for the equipment. Charles Kiser, the Company's Executive Vice President, voluntarily agreed to the redemption of 250,000 shares of his common stock for $2,500 such that the share issuance to Spondoolies will result in no additional dilution to the Company's public shareholders.
"We're thrilled to be working with Spondoolies as we seek to increase our capacity beyond 10,000 TH/s and 10 mw," said Allen. Spondoolies- CEO Guy Corem commented, "Mining hardware companies should be prepared for market changes as part of their strategy. At Spondoolies, we've anticipated a full range of market scenarios such as the current bitcoin price decline and volatility, and are pleased to partner with an innovative company like BTCS."
Along with the expansion of its mining operations, BTCS released a new website, which includes a beta version of a multi-signature secure bitcoin storage solution built on Gem.co's multi-signature security platform. The beta version of the storage solution is currently only accessible by invitation. Additionally, BTCS is the only strategic investor in Gem.
"It was clear to us that BTCS was focused on offering a bitcoin storage solution that was both innovative and secure, and we were thrilled they chose Gem's multi-sig platform to deliver this unique solution to their customers," said Gem CEO and Founder Micah Winkelspecht