MegaBigPower launches franchise program

Inside MegaBigPower’s facility.

With over 5.16 PH/s at its command, MegaBigPower is easily one of the biggest direct mining operations in existence. The Washington-based company’s BitFury mining rigs fill a 20,000 square foot warehouse, earning millions of dollars worth of bitcoin and various alt-coins per month.

As impressive as the operation is, it’s not quite enough for MegaBigPower. The company announced last week that it was launching a new franchise program that could add as much as 50 PH/s to the overall bitcoin hashing pool.

Speaking with CoinDesk, MegaBigPower owner Dave Carlson said that the move comes in anticipation of an oversupply of hardware on the market.

“I perceive that there is going to be a large surplus of manufactured hash power," Carlson said. "What I think is going to come of that is that the new commodity won’t be access to mining equipment. It’s access to power.”

If Carlson is right, his company will soon have a glut of cheap, powerful mining equipment, but limited space to operate it. Setting up a new facility and paying for power is too expensive for his current profit margin, prompting the idea of a franchise model for new locations. MegaBigPower supplies the mining rigs, software and expertise, franchisees provide the location and the electricity.

With a 50/50 split of mining revenue, the operation could prove to be hugely profitable for MegaBigPower. Success will, of course, depend on finding franchisees with easily cooled facilities and access to cheap electricity.

“What we want to do is build a large network presence,” Carlson told CoinDesk. “If we do it through this franchise network, we’ll do it faster and easier than if we were to build this power ourselves.”