The team almost did not make it to Miami. ASIC Jungle is based in Montreal, and to get to Mining Disrupt, Bespaloff's partner Drago carried an ASIC through airport security, something the team had done many times. This time, security was not happy about a man carrying a box of mining hardware, and it took some explaining. Bespaloff told the story to open his keynote, and used it to make a point about how young the industry still was.
Artem Bespaloff, founder and CEO of ASIC Jungle, spoke at Mining Disrupt Miami 2021, held July 20–21, 2021. When this session was recorded, Bitcoin traded at $32,125; on October 11, 2026 it was $82,966. Being this early, he argued, was an opportunity: there was still room to build new infrastructure for buying and selling mining hardware.
An ASIC at airport security
Bespaloff, speaking from his base in Montreal, Canada, noted that the friction experienced at the border was a microcosm of the broader challenges in hardware sales. The industry was evolving rapidly, driven by high-profile investments and a surge in institutional interest, yet the mechanisms for buying and selling the physical assets remained largely unchanged from the early days of retail mining. He argued that this gap between market value and operational efficiency created a unique window for innovation.
this industry is still so early on despite the elon musk's buying the bitcoin and everything that's happening around it
Artem Bespaloff · 1:57
The presence of major tech figures in the cryptocurrency space had accelerated the growth of the mining sector, but it had not yet matured the logistics and sales infrastructure. For Bespaloff, this meant that the standard brokerage model, which relied on human intermediaries to connect buyers and sellers, was inefficient and prone to error. The opportunity, he suggested, was to automate the process, removing the human element from the transaction while retaining the trust and verification that the industry required.
From Concierge Brokerage to Automated Infrastructure
ASIC Jungle had already established itself as a significant player in the hardware space, reporting hardware sales well into eight figures in the first two quarters of 2021. Their core business was brokerage, where the company acted as a middleman, buying and selling ASICs and providing hosting solutions for clients. This concierge service was highly valued, offering a seamless experience for customers who did not want to handle the market's intricacies themselves. However, Bespaloff questioned whether the company should limit its impact to serving only those who required such high-touch service.
for us to be so early on presents us with an opportunity to bring innovation from an early point
Artem Bespaloff · 2:10
The shift was not to abandon brokerage, but to expand the platform to include an automated marketplace. The goal was to democratize access to the same backend services that brokers provided, allowing any user to list, buy, or sell hardware with minimal friction. This approach treated the marketplace not as a separate entity, but as an extension of the brokerage model, stripped of the manual overhead. By doing so, ASIC Jungle aimed to reduce costs for users and increase liquidity in the secondary market for mining equipment.
The Five-Minute Walkthrough: How the Platform Works
Bespaloff described the user experience as simple, comparing the interface to familiar platforms like eBay, but tailored specifically for the nuances of industrial hardware. The process begins with selecting a miner from a list of available units. The platform supports multiple payment methods, including Bitcoin, credit cards up to a certain limit, and bank transfers. Once a user selects a unit, they enter their delivery address and specify logistical needs, such as whether a dock or lift gate is required for delivery.
why limit yourself to working with a broker when you can do it yourself automatedly through a marketplace
Artem Bespaloff · 3:19
The automation extends to shipping, a complex aspect of hardware sales that often involves multiple carriers and varying rates. The system calculates shipping quotes in real-time based on the distance, gas prices, and the type of shipment, whether it is less-than-truckload (LTL), full truck, or air freight. This immediate transparency allows buyers to see the total cost, including shipping, before committing to the purchase. In one example cited during the presentation, a shipping quote of $450 was generated instantly, eliminating the need for back-and-forth negotiations with a broker.
our system automatically calculates the [quote] based on the distance gas prices and all that stuff
Artem Bespaloff · 4:28
Solving the Wire Transfer Dilemma with Deposits
One of the most significant challenges in large-scale hardware transactions is the time gap between payment initiation and confirmation, particularly with wire transfers. If a buyer initiates a wire transfer for a high-value order, the seller faces the risk of the unit being sold to someone else while the funds are in transit. To address this, ASIC Jungle introduced a deposit mechanism that locks the unit in the system.
we can leave a five percent deposit that locks the units in and we let the seller know
Artem Bespaloff · 5:13
With the deposit in place, the seller is notified and holds the units while the wire arrives. For security, orders above five thousand dollars are paid in Bitcoin only; card payments and deposits are not accepted above that amount.
Escrow, KYC, and the End of Middleman Markups
The benefits of the marketplace extend beyond convenience to economic efficiency. By connecting buyers and sellers directly, the platform eliminates the markups associated with multiple brokerage layers. In a traditional brokerage model, a unit might pass through two, three, or even more intermediaries, each adding a fee to their margin. The marketplace model ensures that the price reflects the actual cost of the hardware and the logistics, rather than the cumulative fees of a chain of brokers.
no third party markup in the sense that there's no two or three or five brokers in between
Artem Bespaloff · 6:19
To maintain trust in this direct connection, ASIC Jungle implemented strict Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols. Users must verify their identity before creating a sales account, preventing fraud and ensuring that all parties involved in a transaction are legitimate. Additionally, the platform uses escrow services to protect both buyers and sellers. Funds are held by the platform until the buyer confirms that the hardware has arrived in the condition described. This escrow mechanism mirrors the trust previously provided by brokers, but through automated, transparent processes.
The next Mining Disrupt is Mining Disrupt 2027, March 22 to 24 in Irving, Texas.