Austin Data Center Linked to Bitcoin Mining After Importing Cooling Containers

A data center project outside Austin, Texas, initially proposed two years ago near a planned private airport site, appears to be a Bitcoin mining facility.

The 1.4-million-square-foot data center, known as Bastrop Project, was registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in January 2023, according to a report from Datacenter Dynamics. Recent U.S. shipments of Bitmain’s cooling containers suggest the project is geared toward Bitcoin mining operations.

According to the filing, the project is located at 2048 FM 969, Elgin, in Bastrop County. It was expected to cost $10 million in private funding and include four evaporative cooling buildings, a warehouse, and an office building. Construction began in October 2022, with estimated completion by November 2024.

The land is owned by Central Texas Airport, while the tenant listed in the filing is Kevin Hsu. Hsu is also the founder and CEO of Ocean Blockchain and AcroHash, according to LinkedIn profiles. AcroHash’s website advertises services related to miner colocation and digital asset mining.

In April 2024, a company called Ocean Blockchain Bastrop Project 1 LLC joined the Procore construction procurement network. The company is listed with an address at 2017 FM 969, Elgin—just a two-minute drive from the proposed site of the Bastrop data center.

Shipping records from November and December show that Ocean Blockchain LLC and another entity, Bastrop Project 1 LLC, imported 66 packages of Bitmain’s cooling containers and dry-cool towers. The recipient address for the shipments was also at 2017 FM 969, Elgin.

It remains unclear how much hashrate capacity the facility is expected to support. In an investor presentation from Q3 2022, AcroHash touted plans for two phases of Bitcoin mining facilities in Austin, targeting a total capacity of 160 megawatts. In a LinkedIn post early 2024, the company said its phase two expansion of 44 MW continued as planned.