Chinese Company The9 Seeks Joint Venture for 200 MW Mining Capacity in Kazakhstan

The9, a gaming and internet company based in China, is planning to build new crypto mining facilities in Kazakhstan with a total capacity of 200 megawatts (MW). It wants to realize the project through a joint venture with a local entity which will also provide mining hardware maintenance.

The9 Subsidiary Signs Investment Memorandum With Kazakhstan Company

NBTC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanghai-headquartered The9, and the Kazakhstan-registered LGHSTR Ltd. have signed a non-binding investment memorandum to establish a joint venture in the Central Asian republic, the Chinese company announced. NBTC will own 51% and control the new entity’s board of directors, a press release detailed.

The main task of the joint venture will be to build cryptocurrency mining sites with a total capacity of 200 MW within two years, The9 revealed. The completed facilities will be able to accommodate over 50,000 S19 Antminer devices and have around 5 EH/s of hash power, the company said. Around 100 MW of capacity should be available by the end of this year, and the deadline for the rest has been set at the end of 2022.

The9 is currently working to globalize its crypto mining business as part of a wider effort to establish itself as a diversified high-tech internet company. Cai Zhifang, CEO of NBTC, noted that the first batch of its hash power has already been restored in Kazakhstan in early August, pointing out that the equipment has been operating stably. The executive added:

If the cooperation with our worldwide mining facilities partners progresses smoothly, we expect to restore approximately 50% of our original hash power by the end of October this year, and we plan to restore all our original hash power and add new hash power before the end of this year.\

Chinese Cryptocurrency Miners Continue Migration to Friendly Destinations

The9 emphasized it will continue to look for low-cost electricity and sustainable energy mining facilities in different regions around the world. It wants to accelerate the large-scale deployment of cryptocurrency mining hardware, both its own as well as equipment belonging to its partners. To achieve that, the company plans to invest in new mining farms and cooperate with operators of existing facilities.

Earlier in August, its NBTC subsidiary signed a non-binding term sheet for the establishment of a joint venture company with another entity from Kazakhstan, Kazdigital Ltd. The plan is to build a cryptocurrency mining site with a capacity of 100MW which will be used to deploy mining rigs owned by The9 and other mining companies. And in July, the Chinese firm signed a hosting agreement with Bitriver to leverage 15 MW of the Russian company’s mining capacity for two years.

Amid an ongoing crackdown on bitcoin mining across China, miners from the People’s Republic have been relocating to friendlier jurisdictions. In June, Shenzhen-based Bit Mining started shipping mining equipment to the country, moving 3,000 machines. A month later, the company announced it’s expanding its operations in Central Asia with the purchase and deployment of another 2,500 miners in Kazakhstan. Around the same time, hardware manufacturer Bitmain unveiled a plan to host Antminer S19 Pro miners in a 180 MW data center operated by Enegix.