Italian Miner Alps Buys S21+ Hydro for 70MW Iowa Bitcoin Mine

Italian Bitcoin mining firm Alps Blockchain is entering the U.S. market by partnering with Simple Mining to develop a 70-megawatt (MW) site in Iowa and ordering over 10,000 S21+ Hydro Antminers.

The partnership, announced last month, outlines plans for a 70 MW facility to be built in two phases in Iowa. In a separate blog post on Thursday, Bitmain confirmed Alps Blockchain’s preorder for its S21+ Hydro miners, along with Antspace HK3 containers equipped with dry cooling towers.

While Bitmain did not disclose the total cost or precise number of units purchased, it stated the order exceeds 10,000 miners. The Antminer S21+ Hydro model delivers a hashrate of 319 TH/s with an efficiency of 15 J/TH. To fully utilize the planned 70 MW capacity with the S21+ Hydro miners, Alps would need approximately 14,600 units with a total hashrate capacity of around 4.6 EH/s.

Alps Blockchain revealed that the facility’s first phase will involve 20 MW of capacity, which will be managed by its U.S. subsidiary. The remaining 50 MW will be developed in the second phase through a joint venture with Simple Mining, called Dolomiti U.S. The entire facility is expected to be operational by mid-2025, the companies said in a statement.

Alps Blockchain joins a growing list of overseas Bitcoin mining firms expanding operations to the U.S., citing favorable regulatory conditions under the administration of Donald Trump. Other firms, such as Germany’s Northern Data and the Middle East-based Phoenix Group, have also announced plans to increase hashrate capacity with new facilities in Texas and North Dakota.