What Happens Before a Miner Hashes

A Bitcoin miner sitting in a warehouse produces no Bitcoin at all. That was the starting point for Nicolas Rincon, Business Development Manager for mining at EMCD, in a session recorded at Mining Disrupt Miami 2026, held July 21 through 23. Bitcoin was near sixty-six thousand dollars then and is near eighty-two thousand today, and his subject is the part of mining that a price chart never shows.

Rincon has been active in Bitcoin mining since 2023 and says he usually works behind closed doors on operations. People tend to think mining is connecting power and securing a cheap electricity rate. He argues there is far more coordination behind it than most people see.

It starts with buying machines from suppliers in China. Once the price is agreed, the miners belong to you, but they are still in a warehouse in China. The supplier and the freight forwarder then have to work together, and the first set of documents has to be right. A small mistake there can delay the cargo for several days, if you are lucky. Import taxes, he said, are one of the most sensitive variables in running a site. As Rincon put it, "If you don't do the paperwork how they expect you to do the paperwork, you're going to have delays." Delays bring storage charges and fines, and missed timelines cost credibility with customers and investors.

Next comes the site team, which needs to know which machines are arriving and what has to change in the infrastructure. Then a local customs agent, and then the drive to the site. In many mining regions the roads are not paved, rainy season matters, and the driver may not speak English or accept USDT or USDC. "So you need either someone from your team to speak the language or someone you can trust on the field," he said.

Cooling raises its own questions. Is there a water source near the site, and has the water been tested? Is it salty enough to damage the water walls, or does it need filtration? He also called internet redundancy a must, with at least two to three providers.

His closing lessons were plain. Cheap power alone is not enough and might even be a risk. Logistics define timelines and credibility, and uptime depends on operational excellence. The next time you see miners online, he said, remember the hours and the people behind them.

The full story is on Mining Disrupt at miningdisrupt dot com, and many more like it play around the clock on Bitcoin Radio.