Bit Digital Inc (BTBT)

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Thousands of Bit Digital miners go offline after explosion, fire at NY facility

by Catarina Moura

May 20, 2022

An explosion last week at the substation of a bitcoin mining facility in Niagara Falls, New York led to a fire and caused thousands of machines to go offline.

The facility where the incident happened, on May 10, is owned by Blockfusion, which offers colocation services to miners.

One of their clients, Bit Digital, said Thursday that power was cut off to about 2,515 of their Bitcoin miners and approximately 710 Ethereum miners that had been operating at the site.

"Operations are hoped to resume within a few weeks, but at this time there can be no assurances as to timing," the company said. "Blockfusion is working with its insurer and the utility to restore power as quickly as possible."

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Per Bit Digital, no one was injured during the incident and there were no significant damages to the mining center building or to Bit Digital's miners.

Per Bit Digital's statement: "The explosion and fire are believed to have been caused by faulty equipment owned by the power utility. Blockfusion and the Company intend to pursue claims including seeking reimbursement for lost revenue."

About 1,580 Bit Digital miners operating at a different location in New York also recently got their power cut. Their hosting partner at that location, Digihost Technology, said that they needed additional approvals from power authorities.

Bit Digital said the two incidents combined cut its operating hash rate to 46.8%.

"This is expected to have a material adverse effect on our operating results until such matters are resolved," it said.