Square, to launch a solar-powered BTC mining system

Payments provide Square Inc. confirmed its partnership with blockchain technology provider Blockstream Mining, as they are planning to develop a solar-powered BTC mining facility, initially announced by the latter through an official press release.

The partnership is part of Square’s plans to “driving further adoption and efficiency of renewables within the bitcoin ecosystem.”

Bitcoin, made from renewable energy

Square is planning to invest over $5 million in the facility, which will be introduced as a “proof-of-concept for a 100% renewable energy Bitcoin mine at scale”.

“We hope to show that a renewable mining facility in the real world is not only possible but also prove empirically that Bitcoin accelerates the world toward a sustainable future,” the official release states.

Square, through CEO Jack Dorsey, invested $50 million in October 2020, adding $170 more million in February. Considering that on Friday he also tweeted about his idea of  “considering making a hardware wallet for bitcoin”, the decision to take BTC mining to a whole new level shouldn’t come as a surprise for many.

As a side note, Dorsey, who is also CEO of Twitter, is one of bitcoin’s biggest supporters, the name of the token being the only word in his Twitter bio right now.

A solution for the future?

It is well known that BTC mining requires ridiculous amounts of electricity and many companies in the industry are constantly after sustainable mining methods. Tesla’s Elon Musk managed to create a huge negative impact on bitcoin’s price recently, after announcing that the automotive company won’t accept BTC as payment for cars anymore, since it comes “at great costs for the environment”.

Musk had a meeting with a group of bitcoin miners last month, which resulted in the creation of a Bitcoin Mining Council, with the purpose of “promoting energy usage transparency and accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide.”

Surely, similar initiatives are expected and the entire crypto community is curious to see which big company will follow the path started by Square and Blockstream Mining.