Luxor partners with Southeast Asia mining firm, seeks to attract capital

Bitcoin mining firm Luxor wants to expand its presence in Southeast Asia by partnering with local mining service provider Cryptodrilling.

The company will be integrating Luxor’s software, firmware, and derivatives into its own platform called hashOS.app, the firm told The Block, adding it will also receive mining advisory. Thailand-based Cryptodrilling helps mining companies set up critical infrastructure like repair shops and software systems and advises on how to negotiate power contracts, build facilities and acquire machines. 

“We’re directly going to be pushing capital providers towards Southeast Asia to help the development there,” Luxor COO Ethan Vera told The Block. “This is one of the more exciting areas of mining moving forward. Not to downplay Latin America and potentially the Middle East, but we also think that it’s going to be, from a growth perspective, very, very high growth in Southeast Asia.”

Cryptodrilling operates across different areas in Southeast Asia with a focus on Laos, where the government has allowed bitcoin miners to operate and set specific fees.

Chinese capital

Cryptodrilling CEO Chayoot (Jay) Anukoolkarn said licensed miners pay a yearly fee of $100,000 per megawatt and that the government has allowed more than 10 companies to operate over 1.2 gigawatts, although currently there are only plans for about 400 megawatts to be used.

“I see Laos as my #1 priority as they have the most abundant renewable energy and they are building a lot more dams, so I know that there will be a lot of surplus energy,” Anukoolkarn said over Telegram, adding that “a lot of Chinese miners are already entering Laos.”

Chinese capital providers are interested due to proximity and similarities in business culture, Vera said.

“Given that China banned mining, we think that’s going to be a great path forward for them, especially with some of the uncertainty in power markets in Kazakhstan and political uncertainty in Russia,” he said.