Executives of a North Canton, Ohio, software company are moving quickly to outfit a $23.1 million cryptocurrency mining operation in Akron with the computers needed to do the job.
Local executives at Squirrels LLC, the screen mirroring and wireless presentation company, are jointly developing the crypto-mining facility, called Viking Data Centers, with Bit Mining Ltd. (NYSE: BTCM), of Hong Kong, China.
Bit Mining is investing most of its money in Akron as China's ban on cryptocurrency mining and trading takes effect, causing a migration of companies to the United States and elsewhere.
"Time is always of the essence with anything crypto-related, because time is literally money," said Jessica Gritzan, chief operating officer for Squirrels LLC.
Gritzan wears other hats, including controller for DAS Factory LLC, the North Canton company created to manage the Akron operation.
She and her Squirrels colleagues, David Stanfill and Andrew Gould, have been founders and executives at a handful of software and computer-related businesses over the last decade, Gritzan said.
"We were local kids," she said. "I grew up in Green. David grew up in Tuscarawas County. We're passionate about bringing opportunities to the area and renovating old spaces. So it's a very exciting opportunity for us."
The trio are turning the former Maxion Wheels stamping plant at 428 S. Seiberling St. into Bit Mining Ltd.'s largest cryptocurrency-mining facility in the world.
Bit Mining will own 55% of the Akron joint venture, and the local executives will own 45%, Gritzan said.
This summer, the local executives heard about the crypto-mining opportunity from a partner on a previous venture, Gritzan said.
Using their supply-chain expertise, the execs began putting in orders for computers and other hardware before the Bit Mining deal closed to avoid disruptions caused by the pandemic, she said.
The computer installation is expected to be completed by March, according to a Bit Mining press release.
They bought the industrial building built circa 1919 and once owned by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and started the environmental cleanup and repairs needed to house thousands of computers there.
For Gritzan, the Viking Data Centers opportunity includes creating "trending" technology jobs in Akron, starting with two jobs for computer technicians to keep the first of five sets of computers running, she said.
Viking Data Centers also is an opportunity to improve the electrical infrastructure in Akron.
The local executives are working with Akron's FirstEnergy Corp. and its local utility, Ohio Edison, to install new transformers, substations and other electrical infrastructure to not only feed their own eventual need for up to 150 megawatts of power but to "help upgrade the equipment on the grid," Gritzan said.
"We're also able to throttle our usage during peak times" to make more power available to other businesses and residences, she said.
