Merkle Standard partners with Bitmain to develop 500 MW data center

California-based Merkle Standard bitcoin mining farm has announced a joint venture agreement with Bitmain to develop data centers with a capacity of up to 500 megawatts (MW). Bitmain will provide financial and technical support for the development of data centers that will house Bitmain’s mining equipment. Merkle will become the majority shareholder in the joint venture, managing the data center development process and operations. The first phase of development has begun at Merkel's 225-megawatt facility in eastern Washington. Expected to be fully completed in the second quarter of this year, Merkle will be on-site with Bitmain’s various S19J Pro, S19 XP and S19+ Hydro mining rigs. It is reported that the S19 Pro+ Hydro is Bitmain’s latest mining machine, using liquid cooling technology.