As part of our CEO Speaker Series, we’d like to give you a HashChain Technology Inc. exclusive interview with CEO Patrick Gray.

HashChain Technology (TSXV:KASH) (OTCQB:HSSHF) is a global blockchain company with a focus on mining cryptocurrencies. HashChain Technology currently operates 100 Dash mining rigs and has 770 Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) rigs. The company recently purchased an additional 3,000 rigs and also acquired a Dash Masternode. HashChain is now in the process of looking to expand outside of crypto mining and one of its first steps towards this was to purchase the blockchain technology company NODE40.

We spoke with HashChain CEO Patrick Gray so he could tell us a little more about HashChain’s operations.

Tell us about your background and how you got started with HashChain?

I started as a software engineer and am a serial entrepreneur who has been lucky enough to be a part of a few start-ups that enjoyed successful exits. I’m also a founder of a number of technology companies, including most recently sCube in Albany, NY. Having always been a believer in cryptocurrency and its potential to disrupt the status quo in our economy, I made early investments in different coins including Bitcoin (available on Coinbase), Dash, and others. It wasn’t long before I saw the potentially huge upside to investing in cryptocurrency mining and founded HashChain Technology. I was the President of sCube at the time and decided to step down from my role and focus exclusively on HashChain.

What interests you most about blockchain technology?

Blockchain has the potential to transform nearly every industry due to its inherent transparency and accountability. Blockchain eliminates the fundamental security flaw of assuming trust in a third-party verifier. By eliminating the need for trust in the verification process through computing-based crowdsourcing, business as we know it will fundamentally change to become more secure and simple. Cryptocurrency is obviously a very large use case for blockchain now, but it will find so many more applications in the near future.

Why did you decide to focus on Dash?

We initially focused on Dash because it is driven by great technology. With the Masternode system of Dash (the proof-of-stake aspect of the currency), the blockchain allows coin holders to use InstaSend and PrivateSend, making each transaction more secure and quicker to verify. Recently, the Cryptokitty craze on the Ethereum (available on Coinbase) blockchain highlighted a major flaw with “proof-of-work” cryptocurrencies because they can’t verify transactions fast enough to avoid bottlenecks during high volume times. Dash doesn’t have these issues. With all that said, Dash was just the first step for us. We currently have a web-monitoring system that allows us to allocate a portion of computing power to other mineable currencies in real-time as they become more profitable. Our goal is to keep our mining operations flexible and mine the highest-ROI currencies available at any given moment.

How do you plan to achieve your crypto mining expansion plans?

We have the infrastructure already in place to scale at our desired rate. When developing massive mining pools in a short period of time, you need two things – money and the ability to purchase rigs in mass quantity. It is the latter that is the most challenging for many miners. Buying 10 or 20 rigs isn’t an issue, but thousands become a different story. We have a strategic partnership with the largest rig manufacturer in the world, which allows us to scale much quicker than competitors. As an example, we began our mining operations with 100 GPU rigs in December 2017 and have received 770 ASICs for installation and completed a purchase order for an additional 5,000 expected in two shipments by the end of March. We anticipate operating at 5.8 megawatts by the middle of this year.

Why did you choose Vancouver as a location for a data center?

CanADA has the optimal mining conditions for large-scale cryptocurrency mining. You need low costs for Internet and electricity, and a cold environment to reduce costs associated with overheating. There are very few places in the world that have all three, and CanADA is one of them. By keeping our mining costs down, we guarantee the best ROI on each coin mined. Currently, only 14% of all mining is done in optimal conditions, so it is a big advantage for us.

What’s your take on the amount of energy that’s needed to mine cryptocurrencies? Should companies with a focus on crypto mining be looking for alternative energy-saving mETHods?

It’s no secret the energy consumed by mining is detrimental to the environment, and miners have a responsibility to look for ways to reduce their footprint. That’s why a lot of mining operations are attaching themselves to data centers near hydro plans like our data center in Montana. The rig manufacturer we work with develops ASIC rigs that consume less energy per unit than the market average, and as mining continues to ramp up, so will the competition between rig developers to drive down energy consumption.

HashChain Technology recently acquired NODE40. What are the plans moving forward with NODE40?

We have big plans for NODE40 and have already made movements to expand the company. We recently integrated the blockchain accounting portion of the software, NODE40 Balance, with Coinbase, the largest exchange in the world for cryptocurrency. This means that holders of Bitcoin (available on Coinbase), Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) Cash, ETHer, Dash and Litecoin (available on Coinbase) will be able to use our software to report gains and losses (past and present) on their cryptocurrency and place the information within tax forms to share with the IRS. In the near future, we plan to expand our offering to other currencies and many other exchanges.

Is there any big news coming up that you can share with us?

HashChain will continue both the aggressive scaling of our mining operations while diversifying beyond a cryptocurrency mining company to a full-scale blockchain company. NODE40 was our first acquisition in this direction. We want to be able to diversify into a complementary group of blockchain technology companies and see the inevitability of regulations on the market as an important focus for us during this expansion. Many who are involved in cryptocurrency fear regulation, but we have a much more optimistic view on its impact on the market. If people are prepared for it to happen, it will elevate the market by eliminating those who shouldn’t be in the sector.

There have been a number of innovative projects popping up on blockchain – medical record tracking, new marketing techniques, games, etc. – what would you most like to see get coded into the blockchain?

Voting is an exciting prospect. The accountability of blockchain could virtually eliminate voter fraud. A decentralized blockchain for elections could allow volunteers (or government officials) to lend their computing power to verify the votes because of its inherent transparency. Not only does this address the issue of voter fraud, it could also mitiGate the skepticism that surrounds a surprising election outcome. The complete transparency of the blockchain could remove any insinuation of wrongdoing.

Thanks so much to Patrick for taking the time out of his busy schedule to speak with us at CryptoCurrencyNews.com.

To learn more about HashChain Technology, check out their website.

Featured Image: Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) Magazine

If You Liked This Article Click To Share