{"id":10124,"date":"2022-03-09T06:22:31","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T06:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=10124"},"modified":"2022-03-09T06:22:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T06:22:31","slug":"dallas-blockmetrix-raises-43m-series-b-dallas-innovates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=10124","title":{"rendered":"Dallas’ Blockmetrix Raises $43M Series B \u00bb Dallas Innovates"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Blockmetrix CEO and Co-Founder Nevin Bannister, VP of Operations Owen McCrory, and VP of Crypto Tech\/Finance Axel Nussbaumer [Photos: Blockmetrix]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Blockmetrix says Texas is in the midst of a \u201ccrypto mining gold rush\u201d\u2014and with fresh funding, the company looks to a future where mining bitcoin is only the beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dallas-based bitcoin mining startup has announced landing a $43 million Series B funding round from unnamed investors, bringing its total to more than $50 million since launching only last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cScaling our company as quickly as possible has been our main prerogative since day one,\u201d said Nevin Bannister, Blockmetrix co-founder and CEO, in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019re striving to keep up this momentum and meet industry demand as we enter our interim round and eventual third round of funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aiming to purchase 5,000 bitcoin mining rigs<\/h3>\n

As with the $7 million Series A Blockmetrix previously raised, the new funding will go towards purchase more than 5,000 digital asset mining rigs, adding to the more than 1,000 the company currently operates. Currently, a majority of those rigs are in Oklahoma, but according to the Dallas Morning News, Blockmetrix will be moving them to Texas in the near future.<\/p>\n

With the money it makes from mining bitcoin, Blockmetrix says it plans to research and develop emerging crypto revenue sources, loan bitcoin, and pursue adjacent opportunities like setting up a cryptocurrency exchange or establishing co-hosting facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are driven to bring the highest degree of professionalism to the crypto mining industry,\u201d Blockmetrix states on its website<\/a>. \u201cMining bitcoin is only the beginning. We intend to use our bitcoin we mine to take advantage of adjacent opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crypto mining comes to Texas<\/h3>\n

Co-founder and company manager David Kiger told the DMN that Blockmetrix eventually plans to go public<\/a>\u2014and the company sees Texas as the next potential bitcoin mining capital. In addition to having relatively low energy costs, the state has taken steps like legally defining what a virtual currency is and establishing a public-private blockchain-focused work group\u2014both initiatives that were spearheaded by the Richardson-based Texas Blockchain Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocal legislation encourages continued investment in digital asset mining operations in the state with the hopes of revitalizing economic growth and bringing jobs to the area,\u201d Blockmetrix stated.<\/p>\n

North Texas is becoming crypto central<\/h3>\n

Partly due to that, the North Texas region has become home to a number of blockchain- and cryptocurrency-focused startups, with Richardson decentralized public network Hedera Hashgraph\u2014which has raised nearly $125 million from investors and initial coin offering\u2014being one of the most notable. Others include crypto mining startup Applied Blockchain, which emerged from stealth with a $16.5 million private equity investment last April, and Core Scientific, a Washington-based infrastructure and mining firm that opened its first Texas facility in Denton last year.<\/p>\n

Dallas is also home to blockchain-focused alternative investment firm Plutus21 Capital and serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who\u2019s invested in a number of operations in the space.<\/p>\n

According to KPMG, investment in crypto and blockchain topped $30 billion<\/a> in 2021, more than the previous three years combined.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobally, there was an incredible increase in the level of recognition for the potential role of crypto and its underlying technologies in modern financial systems. Increasing activity in the space has also sparked further action from central banks,\u201d KPMG\u2019s Pulse of Fintech report states.<\/p>\n

Meet the team<\/h3>\n

Behind Blockmetrix\u2019s five-person team are three co-founders\u2014Bannister, Kiger, and Keith Spickelmier\u2014with deep ties to the entrepreneurial world. A managing director at his family\u2019s investment firm, Bannister, who serves as CEO, has co-founded and led multiple firms that he says have sold for a collective $800 million. Also a private investor, Kiger is the former founder and leader of Dallas global logistics provider Worldwide Express, which merged with Phoenix\u2019s GlobalTranz last year, forming a $4 billion company<\/a>. Spickelmier is a former lawyer and oil-and-gas entrepreneur. Other team members include Southern Methodist University alums Owen McCrory and Axel Nussbaumer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a seasoned leadership team maintaining strong track records in starting, managing, and scaling companies and taking them to exit, Blockmetrix is poised to be the next leader in the crypto mining industry through its experienced leadership and by developing highly coveted business relationships,\u201d the company wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

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