Aluminum Factory Becomes Bitcoin Mining Facility in $200M Deal

A massive aluminum factory that has been sitting empty for over a decade is about to get a surprising new purpose: mining Bitcoin.

Alcoa, one of America's biggest aluminum companies, is selling its unused Massena East factory in New York to NYDIG (a company that mines Bitcoin - the process of using computers to verify cryptocurrency transactions). The deal is expected to close by mid-2026.

The factory has been closed since 2014 because making aluminum there became too expensive. But what makes an old aluminum plant perfect for Bitcoin mining? Three key advantages:

• Power infrastructure - Aluminum factories need massive amounts of electricity, so they already have the power lines and equipment Bitcoin miners need • 24/7 operations - These facilities were built to run non-stop, exactly what crypto mining requires • Cheap hydropower - The New York location gets low-cost electricity from water-powered generators

This isn't the only factory getting a digital makeover. Earlier this year, another aluminum company sold its Kentucky plant for $200 million to TeraWulf, which plans to use it for AI computing instead of making metal.

The trend shows how old industrial sites are finding new life in the digital economy. As traditional manufacturing moves overseas, these facilities - with their robust power systems and permits already in place - are becoming valuable assets for cryptocurrency mining and AI data centers (facilities that house thousands of computers).

For communities that lost jobs when these factories closed, the transformation could bring new employment opportunities in the tech sector.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/alcoa-sells-massena-smelter-nydig-bitcoin-mining-ai-data-centers?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound