Bitcoin Hashrate Jumps Then Drops – How $3.6 Million Worth Of Bitcoin Mining Equipment Went Up In Smoke

2.5 Hectares burns down after a suspected short-circuit caused a fire at a Thailand-Based Bitcoin Mining operation.

On 14 Oct in the district of Samrongnua, Thailand, several fire department vehicles were dispatched to attend to a fire at a storage facility.

The storage facility is a single-story computer/data warehouse in an industrial area of ​​about 2 acres. First responders arrived to find a fiercely burning fire and it took over 30 minutes to get the blaze under control.

A warehouse security guard, 34 year old, Mr Sarawut Soda, stated before the incident he and his colleagues were on night duty when he noticed the smell of smoke from a fire. Investigating further, they quickly found the rising flames of a spreading fire in one of the large storage units. The fire spread from the front of the warehouse quickly to the back of the warehouse as the fire jumped from the storage room to the power supply room. They immediately called the authorities but it was too late to save the equipment which was destroyed in its totality.

The ground’s caretaker and mechanic, Mr Woods and Mr Wang both aged 38, stated:

"the warehouse was open for only [the last] 4 months with the storage server. [leased] For rental space of the Internet. [The renter] Employs only 10 people, most of whom are technicians. To take care of various computer systems.."

Thai authorities are investigating the cause further and bringing in technical specialists to determine details and rule out arson, due to the value and nature of the equipment destroyed.

The Bitcoin community has been wondering where a recent 20 Peta-Hash increase in mining power came from, speculating to the recent release of Spondoolies Tech SP31 Model Bitcoin ASIC miners hitting the market.

A very sharp increase, followed by a confusing (until we heard about this fire) decrease.

Before: The SP31’s setup in the data-warehouse Samrongnua, Thailand.

Spondoolies Tech CEO Guy Corem, Confirmed via a post on BitcoinTalk.org that these were indeed brand-new SP30 Models and that the operator had no insurance.

After:

The Bitcoin mining equipment is estimated to be worth $3.6M and was owned by and outfit called "Cowboyminers" according to sources from reddit.

Bitcoin community members on reddit.com were also quick to point out that, unlike conventional mining operations, no ‘miners’ or actual lives were harmed during the fire.