- A Kentucky steelworks has shut its operations and turned to cryptocurrency mining
- CC Metals & Alloys closed after 71 years of operation following a lack of demand in 2020
- Not everyone is happy about the move into cryptocurrency mining
A shuttered Kentucky steelworks has moved from the past to the future, by turning to cryptocurrency mining as the plant winds down. CC Metals & Alloys (CCMA) initially ceased operations in July with hopes to reopen in the New Year, but the axe fell this month as the company shut its processing plant for good following the industrial downturn in 2020. During this time however, Ukrainian owner Ihor Kolomoisky has kitted out part of the steelworks with cryptocurrency mining equipment in the hopes of creating a sideline for the business, following in the footsteps of other U.S. companies.
CCMA Turns to Cryptocurrency Mining
CCMA was founded in 1949 and was bought by Kolomoisky in 2011, but the market conditions brought about by the coronavirus led to the plant announcing a temporary closure in July. An unsuccessful reopening led to a full-scale closure being announced this month, but as the steelworks business was winding down, Kolomoisky kitted out a disused warehouse with cryptocurrency mining equipment and began mining Bitcoin.
According to Radio Svoboda, the cryptocurrency mining operations started earlier this year following the downturn in steel production, with the former seemingly outlasting the latter, despite the demand for steel reigniting in recent weeks. However, with the closure of the steel making aspect of the company all but formalised following the dismissal of all the workers, Kolominsly is clearly more interested in the more profitable cryptocurrency mining side of the business.
A Growing Trend
CCMA follows in the footsteps of the likes of the Greenidge Generation plant in New York state, which started mining cryptocurrencies alongside its electricity generation business last year as a supplementary form of income. CCMA may even go the whole hog and copy the Old Rainbow Powerhouse, a former 110-year-old hydroelectric powerhouse in Great Falls, Montana, which was decommissioned in 2014 and repurposed to mine cryptocurrencies in 2019.
