Competition between cryptocurrency mining companies is heating up, with two of the top companies, Miner One and  Ice Rock Mining, going head-to-head with their ICOs. Both companies offer a crowdfunding approach to cryptocurrency mining, promising to make the industry more accessible, efficient, and community-oriented.

Competition between the two companies has recently intensified, providing insights into the differences between the two ICOs and the features investors should take note of.

1. Marketing vs. Technical Expertise. Ice Rock seems to focus chiefly on marketing expertise over data center know-how. Ice Rock’s management team features 10 marketing experts, but not a single data center experts. The presence of so many marketing experts will undoubtedly help it excel during its crowdfunding and ICO phases, but may raise investor concerns when it comes to the technical expertise needed to build and manage the proposed underground mining center. Miner One goes a different route, with 11 data center experts and 3 marketing experts on the team, emphasizing its superior technical experience and expertise in the company White Paper. 

2. Location.  Miner One operates in Sweden, a country with a reliable communications, energy and internet infrastructure, and one of the most politically, economically and legally stable in the world. Miner One says it has secured a building suitable for data center operations in Luleå, just down the road from Facebook’s main European data center. Pictures were recently provided on the company’s blog, including an aerial shot of the facility. Ice Rock is based in an old Soviet bunker located in an undisclosed area of Kazakhstan. It’s difficult to know the quality of the space and infrastructure there, as not much information is provided in the company’s White Paper. Part of the cave is shown in a recent video.

3. Cooling. Both companies say they will minimize costs by locating miners in cool climates. Miner One’s location in Northern Sweden is favored by many data centers, including Facebook’s, which simply pumps outside air (it averages 2 degrees Celsius) into its facilities to keep equipment cool. Ice Rock makes much of the fact that it will place its miners in an underground cave, where the temperature remains a constant 12 degrees Celsius, and, due to this, they will not need to install any equipment to keep miners cool. Miner One has contested this claim, based on its team’s knowledge of the amount of heat emitted by crypto mining equipment. If Ice Rock does not install a significant amount of equipment in its underground bunker—of which the cost does not appear to be included in initial profit estimates—the equipment will quickly overheat. The installation of either ventilation or cooling equipment will significantly alter cost estimates, impacting profitability. Moreover, whether Ice Rock can get anyone to insure such a facility against fire and other hazards remains doubtful.

4. Transparency. Ice Rock consistently fails to provide detailed information on their location, equipment, energy suppliers and energy sources. Miner One, on the other hand, has a meticulously detailed White Paper and makes no secret of its location nor its energy suppliers, who offer access to 100% renewable energy sources. This transparency with community members positions Miner One well for long-term success.

Choosing the right ICO to invest in is not an easy task. A closer, critical look at some of their key features and comparing the proposed business models of companies in the same industry can often give insight into the strengths and weaknesses of each ICO, inspiring a more informed and sensible investment decision.