Cryptocurrency mining is big business. For years, most of the world’s mining operations have been based in China — meaning that China has long dominated the industry. There is, however, a shift taking place in this industry due to the new, even more restrictive regulations in China. These restrictions have yielded a fresh set of opportunities for new entrants into the marketplace.
One company at the epicenter of the new opportunity within cryptocurrency mining is HashChain. HashChain is a blockchain company that focuses on cryptocurrency mining, accounting and tax reporting as well as masternode hosting services. HashChain is distinguished as the first publicly traded Canadian cryptocurrency mining company to support a highly scalable, diverse and flexible mining operation.
Dash Masternode and Expansion
HashChain is also heavily invested in Dash. The company is the first mining entity to focus on Dash, a cryptocurrency that allows users to make instant, private payments online or in store using a secure open-source platform hosted by thousands of users around the world. The company acquired a Dash masternode for approximately $280,000 USD, requiring a collateral investment of 1,000 Dash coins. In addition, HashChain Advisor and Chief Security Officer Perry Woodin is one of only two advisory board members to Dash.
HashChain currently operates 100 Dash miners. They have purchased 770 Bitcoin miners and plan to purchase an additional 5,000 rigs. When all of their miners are fully operational, HashChain will be consuming approximately 8.7 megawatts of power. The company will expand their mining operation by up to 20 megawatts in a facility in Montana.
HashChain utilizes a web interface from an office in Albany, New York, to remotely monitor hash rates, difficulty levels, temperatures and power consumption to ensure that all miners operate sustainably and at maximum efficiency. Through this information, HashChain’s business value as a cryptocurrency mining business lies in its ability to provide investor profit across a wide array of cryptocurrencies at a scale that isn’t normally accessible for the individual.
Embracing Strategic Diversification
In January of 2018, HashChain took a big step by diversifying outside of cryptocurrency mining by acquiring NODE40. NODE40 is an accounting business and hosting service for cryptocurrency and blockchain-based ledgers.
NODE40 provides Dash masternode hosting services, freeing cryptocurrency investors from the technical hurdles and time investment needed to run Dash masternodes. On the Dash blockchain, masternodes are computers that have a wallet and provide essential services to the network such as locking transactions with InstantSend and voting on budget funding. As a part of this acquisition, NODE40 will pay HashChain certain masternode rewards earned over the 26 months following its acquisition.
Masternodes require one thousand Dash for collateral, as well as the ability to run 24 hours a day without exceeding a one-hour connection loss. Masternodes are incentivized by receiving 45 percent of the monthly block reward for providing services to the network.
Also included in the NODE40 deal was NODE40 Balance, a robust cryptocurrency tax-reporting software that integrates directly with major cryptocurrency exchanges. This blockchain accounting solution helps individuals balance their digital assets by reporting cryptocurrency transactions, designating exemptions and managing multiple wallets.
Node40’s software can capture the current total asset value, income, and any realized gains or losses by coin holders by analyzing their history of transactions on a blockchain. These services are well-timed in 2018 amid speculation that cryptocurrency regulations will tighten across the world in the not so distant future.
“The acquisition of the NODE40 is an important next step of creating a global blockchain technology company,” said Patrick Gray, CEO and founder of HashChain. “Cryptocurrency accounting and reporting for tax purposes is a major concern in the industry at the moment.”
This strategic move by HashChain comes on the heels of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to hand over information on all customers who made a transaction worth $20,000 or more between 2013 and 2015. As a result, there is strong evidence that cryptocurrency investors have unknowingly experienced a taxable event. If they don’t properly address it, they will be at risk of violating regulations.
“We have grown significantly as a company by remaining diligently focused on rapidly expanding our mining operations, and diversifying our business to become a multidiscipline blockchain company,” said Gray. “Our investments — large strategically located volume mining, cryptocurrency accounting software, and our masternode businesses — place us in a strong position to deliver on our goal of expanding HashChain’s scope and presence.”
This promoted article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
