Jack Dorsey announced Tuesday that he is mining Bitcoin, using a third-party service that hosts the equipment necessary for him to help secure the network and compete for its rewards.
First surfacing in reply to a tweet, he revealed he has signed up for Compass Mining, a startup that is seeking to broaden participation in Bitcoin mining, disrupting an industry now dominated by large data centers.
User @kitt_andrew wrote:
“As a Bitcoin enthusiast for years I can’t believe it’s taken me this, long but I’ve finally pivoted my business to get into the mining space thanks to @compass_mining. I couldn’t be more excited, and can’t wait until Feb when they fire the first one up.”
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has a habit of replying to certain posts of small, unrelated accounts, bringing them great attention. Jack wrote in response: “I’m trying mining with @compass_mining too…”
It is unclear how many miners Jack has procured and has Compass Mining maintain, although it is notable that he chose this mining as a service route, as the billionaire could surely afford to set up his own small mining operation to experiment.
It is not impossible that Jack Dorsey would use his Compass Mining venture as an education trial run for Cash App, a platform that allows users to buy, sell, send, and receive Bitcoin.
The vague tweet doesn’t really tell us much about his venture at all. Although one might read it as more of a personal interest pursuit rather than a strategic business partnership, the PR was certainly good for the Bitcoin-first Compass Mining company.
Compass Mining has grown in popularity over the last year. The company rents out hardware and space in mining facilities around the world through a platform that looks something like a hotel booking service.
Compass is also beginning to bring trust to the mining-as-a-service space, a sector historically dominated by scams and fly-by-night operators.