Waveform Adds 1MW at Detroit Data Center for Bitcoin Miners

Michigan’s Waveform Technology has upgraded its data center in Troy (just outside of Detroit) to add 1 megawatt of capacity to serve its growing Bitcoin mining customer base.

Bitcoin mining consists of specially designed servers that ‘mine’ for the virtual currency by solving complex mathematical problems. Economics of mining Bitcoin aside, it’s a new and growing segment of data center customers that is rapidly evolving. These customers require high densities to meet their needs. At least $600 million is expected to be spent on Bitcoin mining infrastructure in the second half of this year, according to a recent estimate. Data center providers CenturyLink and Latisys have recently scored big Bitcoin mining deals.

Waveform has allocated 40,000 square feet of data center space for Bitcoin mining equipment. There are two separate electrical connections to the local utility serviced by two separate electrical substations with a total of 4 megawatts to the building.

Waveform isn’t the first provider to specifically market to Bitcoin mining. Another example is Arizona’s NextFort data center, which partnered with Gray Matter Industries last month.

A Bitcoin mining equipment maker GAW Miners recently bought up data center capacity and launched a flurry of new “Hashlets,” providing cloud-based data crunching power to Bitcoin enthusiasts.

"This upgrade leverages Waveform Technology's 14-year experience providing data center colocation,” said Rich Tota, director of sales.”We believe hosting Bitcoin servers is a natural extension to a business we have been proficient in for over a decade. We believe our track-record of technical expertise and reliability will provide a better alternative to many of the unproven data center startups entering this arena."

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have grown an entire industry surrounding these mining servers. The Bitcoin data center market is a big and growing opportunity, but not an opportunity all of them are in the position to capture.

Tota said that since many of Waveform’s staff members have been Bitcoin enthusiasts, the transition to a new service offering was an easy one.

There’s also a flurry of data center and hosting providers now accepting Bitcoin as payment. Canadian colocation company ROOT announced earlier this month that it would accept Bitcoin from customers. U.S. data center companies C7 and Server Farm Realty take Bitcoin as payment as well.

Many online businesses accept the cryptocurrency too. eBay's Paypal recently started accepting Bitcoin, among other companies like Overstock.com, helping further usher Bitcoin into pop culture.