Bitcoin mining ASIC processor and systems manufacturer CoinTerra has announced it will offer hosted mining contracts.
The Austin-based company says customers can now purchase plans ranging from 200 gigahashes (GH/s) to more than 1 petahash (PH/s) with immediate deployment.
CoinTerra framed the move as an extension of its mission to bring bitcoin mining to more consumers around the globe.
Ravi Iyengar, CoinTerra’s CEO, explained:
“Many prospective bitcoin miners don’t have the space or power requirements to operate their own bitcoin mining hardware, especially at scale. In addition, some foreign countries have import restrictions on advanced cryptocurrency hardware or punitively high duties.”
The new contract offering, Iyengar said, would allow these consumers broader access to bitcoin mining products.
The hosted mining service will be powered by TruePeta, a new scalable system built on top of the company’s GoldStrike I ASIC and TerraMiner platform, which hit its tape-out stage in December. CoinTerra shipped its 5,000th TerraMiner unit in April.
Still, while the offering is likely to find demand in the current market, not all consumers have been satisfied with CoinTerra’s service to date, as the company, like many other consumer-focused mining companies, has struggled with performance and delivery issues.
Entering the market
CoinTerra said it now offers a range of hosted mining plans, starting at $999 for a 12-month 200GH/s rental. One PH/s mining contracts, the release suggested, would require a two-year commitment.
Given that CoinTerra manufactures its own equipment, CTO Timo Hanke suggested that the move will allow the company to deploy orders more rapidly than its established competitors in the hosted mining space.
Further, he added that the company is able to provide a host of extra services as well, stating:
“The systems are monitored by a team of experienced engineers, ensuring 24/7 uptime in a controlled and secure managed environment.”
A maturing mining industry
The move is also notable given that it follows the merger of cloud mining contract provider CloudHashing and enterprise ASIC hardware developer HighBitcoin, which joined forces to form PeerNova in early May.
PeerNova will also be using its own ASIC hardware to provide hosted mining solutions.
Notably, representatives from both CloudHashing and CoinTerra will also be on hand at this week’s Bitcoin 2014 conference in Amsterdam. For more on this conference and what’s it store for panel topics and guest speakers, see a full schedule for the event here.
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.