VICE Tours a Bitcoin Mine in China

A detailed exploration of a bitcoin mine in Dalian, a major city in the north-east of mainland China, has been published by VICE's technology title Motherboard.

The facility is called the No. 1 Bitcoin Mine. It contains 3,000 miners and costs $80,000 a month for 1,250 kW of electricity to keep them running, according to the film. It's located in the Changcheng area, in the waterfront Lushunkou district.

The mine appears to be cooled by huge industrial fans mounted on the walls of the building. According to Motherboard, a "persistent, deafening buzz" emanates from the fans in the hot summer months, where temperatures hit 27 degrees celsius.

Jin Xin said he is one of four shareholders who own and operate the mine. The group, described as "secretive" by Motherboard, operates five other sites. This one mines 20 to 25 bitcoins a day, although it was producing 100 coins a day at its peak.

The mine manager likens bitcoin's current state of development to its eventual role as the "the currency of the future"; to China's own transition from a cash-based economy to a debit and credit-card based one.

The Motherboard video was first released on Snapchat where it was available for 24 hours.