Why Are Cryptocurrency Miners Hiring Out Entire Boeing 747s?

Graham Pierrepoint

Cryptocurrency is becoming very big news indeed – and while it may be a few years since bitcoin first emerged as a viable virtual currency, the concept of new money still being sourced from digital mines continues to hold relevance. Relevance, perhaps, no more so than for AMD, who are of course responsible for providing graphics cards and drivers for PCs worldwide – and who have seen a massive spike in share price following the continued demand for their products. Why is this? It’s as a result of a relatively new cryptocurrency – ethereum – exploding in value earlier this year.

While ethereum may still be just behind bitcoin in terms of overall value, some media outlets are likening the current digital mining scene as being akin to a ‘gold rush’ – the price of 1 ethereum, referred to under the code ETH on the markets, is worth approximately $225 at the time of writing – with a staggering market capitalization of just over $21 billion in place. It’s safe to say that – while cryptocurrency may not be the most accessible form of money for the populous at present, it is continuing to stack up in value at a mind-boggling rate.

So much so that it is being reported that cryptocurrency miners – including those specializing in mining ethereum – have been ordering AMD and Nvidia graphics card components in bulk and on a frantic basis – with some farms even leasing out Boeing 747s to accelerate the shipment of new graphics cards to their mining farm locations.

“Time is critical, very critical,” in mining, Marco Streng, chief executive of Genesis Mining, a major ethereum miner, told Quartz. “For example, we are renting entire airplanes, Boeing 747s, to ship on time. Anything else, like shipping by sea, loses so much opportunity.”

Miners of ethereum tokens, ether, share roughly 36,000 new coins each day - representing an approximate value of $8 million available for mining on a daily basis.

“When building our data centers, we have the highest priority on time,” Streng said. “Time counts so much. We are using the fastest delivery possible. You risk the opportunity to mine for the days you are delayed. If you are deploying 10 days later, you are losing 10 days of mining—that is the cost.”

It’s therefore worth keeping an eye on ethereum and other cryptocurrencies as public interest continues to increase – and we at One News Page will continue to keep you informed on the changing world of crypto mining one story at a time.