How a Public Coal Company Quietly Became a Bitcoin Powerhouse

Buried in their SEC filings—right between environmental fines and declining thermal coal revenues—a mining firm stashed a nine-figure Bitcoin position. Now it’s outperforming their core business by 300%.

The ultimate hedge? A coal exec’s ’retirement project’ mining rig cluster now generates more cash flow than three Appalachian mines combined. Wall Street analysts missed it for 18 months—too busy downgrading their ’sustainable’ energy stocks.

Funny how the ’barbarous relic’ keeps rescuing legacy industries from their own obsolescence.

In brief

• Alliance Resource Partners uses its coal-generated surplus electricity to quietly mine bitcoin.
• The company hosts over 1,000 mining machines for third parties while operating 3,500 rigs of its own at its Kentucky mine.
• This hybrid model could inspire others despite controversies over the carbon footprint.

Bitcoin: from coal caves to mining farms

First, Alliance Resource Partners relies on its River View site in Kentucky. There, the electricity generated by its coal facilities is used as fuel for Bitcoin mining. Specifically, the energy surplus is no longer wasted. Paradoxically, it’s a mine powering… another kind of mine.

Furthermore, the company has converted its electric galleries into data centers. It hosts over 1,000 mining platforms for third parties. At the same time, it operates about 3,500 rigs of its own. This dual role allows it to maximize returns and diversify its business.

Next, the operation meets a growing demand for affordable energy. Bitcoin miners are always seeking the lowest costs.

Alliance Resource Partners, however, transforms a constraint – the surplus – into an opportunity. Besides, all its BTC holdings come from this activity. No direct purchases are financed by its coal profits.

Towards a hybrid energy model

Firstly, the approach follows an efficiency logic. The electricity production costs remain drastically lower than those of the public grid. In fact, every kilowatt is monetized into bitcoin at a low cost. This simple calculation explains the coal operator’s choice.

Subsequently, other players have followed the trend. For example, MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA), which acquired a wind farm in Texas to power its own mining farms.

However, Alliance Resource Partners remains a pioneer in the coal-crypto field. Its example illustrates the global quest for alternative energy sources for bitcoin.

Finally, this strategy sparks debates. On one hand, it optimizes the use of underutilized facilities. On the other, it rekindles the question of bitcoin’s carbon footprint.

Alliance Resource Partners defends itself by arguing it recycles fossil energy otherwise lost. Nonetheless, regulators and NGOs are monitoring. And the markets, curious, watch this unexpected marriage between coal and blockchain.

By these choices, Alliance Resource Partners is redefining the boundaries of the energy sector. In just a few clicks, coal smoke transforms into bitcoin blocks. Modern and pragmatic, this model could soon inspire others, especially since no major blackout among miners has been observed so far.

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