Argo Relocates 5,293 Bitcoin Miners to Merkle’s Tennessee Site

Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ: ARBK) has announced a new hosting agreement with U.S.-based Merkle Standard to deploy 5,293 of its Bitcoin miners, marking a step forward in its efforts to relocate over 23,000 machines after Galaxy Digital terminated its colocation contract last year.

Argo said in a release on Monday that under the arrangement, the S19J Pro Antminers—previously hosted at Argo’s Helios facility in Texas—will be moved to Merkle’s site in Memphis, Tennessee, with deployment expected throughout February.

The deal includes a minimum one-year term, and discussions are ongoing to expand the number of miners hosted by Merkle, Argo said. Separately, Argo plans to energize an additional 2,500 S19J Pro units at its existing facility in Baie Comeau, Quebec, where it has unused capacity.

The move follows Galaxy Digital’s decision to end its hosting agreement for Argo’s 23,000 miners in 2023, prompting the London-listed firm to seek alternative solutions. Approximately one-third of these machines, or roughly 7,700 units, are projected to become operational by the end of February as the relocated and refurbished miners come online.

Argo disclosed that the affected miners are currently being converted from immersion-cooling systems to air-cooled models, a process expected to conclude by late March.

This means Argo is poised to report negligible Bitcoin production in January, contributing to the network’s hashrate decline over the past weeks. The company announced last week that its CEO, Thomas Chippas, will step down effective February 28.

As previously reported, Merkle secured a five-year power agreement with Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) in August 2024 to expand to the state.