Marathon Digital and Zero Two Launch Groundbreaking Bitcoin Mining Venture in Abu Dhabi Desert
In a pioneering move, Marathon Digital Holdings and Zero Two have announced their collaboration to develop a large-scale immersion Bitcoin-mining facility in Abu Dhabi, setting a precedent for crypto mining in desert climates. The partnership seeks to exploit excess energy from Abu Dhabi’s power grid to promote sustainable mining, presenting an innovative approach to base load enhancement.
The joint venture, named the Abu Dhabi Global Markets JV Entity, will primarily operate in Mina Zayed and Masdar City in the UAE. The facilities will have a combined capacity of 250 megawatts, spread across two mining sites, marking a significant boost in the Middle East’s crypto mining capabilities.
Uniquely, Marathon Digital and Zero Two aim to combat the challenging desert climate of Abu Dhabi, where the average annual temperature is roughly 28 degrees Celsius, using a custom-built immersion solution to cool mining rigs. This solution illustrating a shift away from traditional digital crypto mining methods. According to Marathon Digital, this novel approach to cooling could offer significant advantages to miners operating in high heat and humidity environments.
Marathon Digital’s CEO, Fred Thiel, highlighted the innovative nature of the project, stating, “Our team successfully co-developed and implemented a full immersion solution, as well as developed proprietary mining software from the ground up to provide flexibility, resilience, and optimization.”
Ownership of the project will be split, with Zero Two controlling 80% and Marathon Digital holding 20%. With an initial contribution of about $406 million, the firms expect both facilities to be online by 2024, projecting a combined hash rate of approximately 7 EH/s.
The announcement of this project coincides with Coinbase executives visiting the UAE to explore the region as a potential strategic hub for its international operations, underscoring the region’s growing importance in the global crypto landscape.
