Phoenix seals $380M deal with WhatsMiner for green Bitcoin mining

United Arab Emirates firm Phoenix Group has disclosed a new purchase of hardware equipment from WhatsMiner, aimed at expanding its portfolio of hydro cooling rigs. According to an announcement on Dec. 7, the $380 million deal represents WhatsMiner’s largest order in two years.

Under the agreement, Phoenix received mining equipment valued at $136 million, with an additional option worth $246 million available. WhatsMiner’s line of hydro cooling equipment was released in 2022, with current prices ranging from $1,008 to $2,484, according to the company’s website.

WhatsMiner’s hydro cooling hardware uses a closed-loop water system, preserving the volume and quality of water inside pipes. According to the company, the system offers more efficient heat transfer since water is a more effective heat conductor than air or oil. The benefits of this system include a reduction in operational costs and a minimized environmental impact, the company claims.

Since 2022, Phoenix has been the exclusive distributor of WhatsMiner equipment. This new collaboration, according to Phoenix, is a crucial step for establishing High-Performance Computing (HPC) data centers. It’s unclear where the equipment will be deployed since Phoenix has mining facilities not only in the UAE but also in Canada and the United States.

WhatsMiner is a brand owned by MicroBT, founded by Zuoxing Yang in 2016, a former employee of Bitmain and one of the designers behind its Antminer S9. In October, WhatsMiner released its latest mining rigs with hydro, immersion, and air-cooling systems.

Phoenix is not only an exclusive distributor of WhatsMiner hardware but also Bitmain’s official Middle East distributor. The company debuted trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Dec. 5, with its stock price opening at 2.25 dirhams ($0.60), soaring over 50% from its initial public offering (IPO) of 1.50 dirhams ($0.41). Phoenix IPO subscriptions exceeded the offer by 33 times, with 907,323,529 shares sold for 1.3 billion dirhams ($371 million).

Crypto mining companies have been facing tough times due to rising energy costs and lower Bitcoin prices since early 2022. Mining firm Canaan, for instance, recently raised capital due to a sharp decline in revenue.