Stephanie Douse 
Argo Blockchain, a bitcoin miner based in Texas, has received a $70M loan from New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) to help purchase mining equipment for its Helios facility in Texas.
The miner has signed a series of loan agreements with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a crypto-focused lender, under which the latter will provide Argo with up to $70.6 million in loans. The loans have a 12-percent interest rate and will be paid off in around two years.
Helios-flagship Argo’s mining plant in Dickens County, Texas will get the funds. The site’s first phase is currently under construction, with plans to open in the second quarter of 2022.
NYDIG’s Head of Mining Services, Josh Burandt, stated in a news statement that the company plans to expand its cooperation with Argo.
About Helios
Helios will be one of the world’s largest “immersion-cooled” Bitcoin mines, according to Argos. The company will submerge its mining servers in a non-conductive fluid to boost server performance and minimize temperature.
Helios was started in July 2021 by Argos. The property is expected to cost the company anywhere from $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
According to Argo, phase one of the facility will have about 50,000 mining machines and 200 megawatts of electricity. An adjacent substation provides around 800 megawatts of electricity to the site.
Bitcoin mining in Texas
Since last year, a wave of Bitcoin miners has relocated to Texas due to easy regulation and inexpensive electricity. Last year, China, which was previously the world’s largest crypto miner, effectively banned the practice.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, for example, is a strong supporter of Bitcoin mining in the state. Cruz is a supporter of Bitcoin and owns some of the digital currency.
Tesla has announced a collaboration with Blockstream and Jack Dorsey’s Block to mine Bitcoin. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, just relocated the company to Texas, citing better regulations.