Coshocton’s Standard Power center operates blockchain mining for Ohio
- Standard Power had a ribbon cutting and grand opening Monday in Coshocton. The blockchain and data center is one of the largest in Ohio.
- The facility has around 20 employees and 50 mg of data extraction power. By the end of 2023, it is hoped that there will be more than 100 employees and an additional 700 mw of power from a facility in Conesville.
- Speakers at the ribbon cutting included Lt. Govt. Jon Husted and Andrew Burchill of the Ohio Blockchain Council, who argued the importance of the blockchain to the future economy of Ohio.
- The CEO of Standard Power said the welcoming community and help from local officials is one of the reasons Standard Power came to Coshocton.
COSHOCTON – A pioneering technology firm in an emerging industry opened a new facility Monday in Coshocton. It is one of the largest of its kind in Ohio.
Standard Power held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its blockchain and data center at 500 N. Fourth St., on the property of the former WestRock paper mill that closed in 2015. Standard Power purchased the property in October 2018, and former Mayor Steve Mercer announced the company first. coming to the city in his State of the City address in January 2019.
The event included exhibits and demonstrations related to immersion cooling, miner maintenance and management, and the benefits of having a Bitcoin mining data center in Ohio. Formal remarks were made by local and state officials, including Lt. Govt. Jon Husted.
“It’s a natural transition between the old way of doing business and the new way of doing business. I think it’s incredibly ironic that this is the site of a former paper mill and now it’s a digital paper website, so say,” Husted said. “The legacy of this site is that it required a lot of energy for its previous function as a paper mill, and it also requires a lot of energy to perform its new function with blockchain technology. We can leverage existing infrastructure for these new types of applications.”
Blockchain is the creation of a public, digital ledger that can be used for data and digital transactions. Because it creates added security and saves time and costs, the technology is increasingly being used to transfer car titles, record real estate transactions and automate public records. It is also used in payment processing, legal contracts, record keeping, data sharing and digital identification. Ohio law even allows local governments to use blockchain technology.
Currently, the Coshocton site is dedicated to Bitcoin, but Standard Power CEO Max Serezhin said it’s a goal for the future to create a traditional artificial intelligence data center. The facility has about 20 employees, but Serezhin hopes to have more than 100 employees by the end of next year.
Standard Power now has 50 mw for data mining and is developing 700 mw in the burgeoning Conesville Industrial Park, formerly home to an American Electric Power coal-fired power plant. Serezhin said they are already hiring for that project, which should be live by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Serezhin said Standard Power was looking at 15 to 20 sites around the country. They took into account energy markets, local environments and available infrastructure. He said the community’s open arms was a big factor for Coshocton.
“These mayor and community representatives when we started were very supportive. A place that doesn’t see a lot of technology is sometimes challenged to accept new things. What we saw were people interested, curious, hopeful and wanting to learn and wanting to be involved. We didn’t see people who were opposed to us,” Serezhin said. “A lot of people who are afraid of change, they don’t know what it is and they don’t want anything to do with it. This is definitely not that kind of place.”
Mayor Mark Mills said the future is now for Coshocton. He appreciates the commitment Standard Power and the Ohio Blockchain Council have shown the community. With the new Intel chip plant coming to Licking County less than an hour away, Mills hopes Standard Power is the first of many new companies eyeing the region for location.
“Coshocton is open for business and we welcome any new idea or new business. We’re definitely ready for the future,” Mills said.
Andrew Burchwell of the Ohio Blockchain Council said there are several small blockchain operations in Ohio, but the new one in Coshocton is one of the largest and one that shows the potential for Ohio to grow in the blockchain field. He believes there are hundreds of small towns like Coshocton across the state with the right elements blockchain developers are looking for. The newly formed organization will join industry leaders and blockchain and bitcoin developers to present a unified voice advancing the technology in Ohio.
“If people recognize the underutilized power potential and infrastructure already here in Ohio, there will be a gold rush of companies to Ohio to build infrastructure, create jobs and create data centers that will allow Ohio to be one of the strongest states for this industry,” said Burchwell.
Leonard Hayhurst is a content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with nearly 15 years of local journalism experience and several awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.
