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by pishpash 16 days ago
Did crypto workload ever take over an entire data center?
2 comments

Yes.

https://www.riotplatforms.com/bitcoin-mining/corsicana/

> Riot Platforms has initiated a large-scale, 1 gigawatt development to expand its Bitcoin mining and hosting capabilities in Navarro County, Texas with its new Corsicana Facility.

> Development of the Corsicana Facility has begun with an initial 400 megawatts of capacity on a 265-acre site. The substation was energized in April 2024 and mining operations have begun.

https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/archive/2...

> In 2008, the city of Rockdale lost about 80 percent of its workforce following the closure of the Alcoa steel plant. Today, the old Alcoa plant is occupied by Riot Blockchain’s Whinstone facility, believed to be the largest single Bitcoin mining operation in North America. As an industry that relies on high levels of electricity, the company was drawn to the facility due to its existing power infrastructure, including valuable high-voltage transmission lines and large substations.

Bitcoin Mining is 138–205 TWh annually. Surely that's more than a few data centers.