Friday 12 January 2018

Chinese bitcoin miners eye Canada’s cheap power

Chinese bitcoin mining firms are considering moving to Canada in the face of potential crackdowns and rising energy costs.

China has grown into one of the world’s biggest sources of cryptocurrency mining but there are signs it is increasing scrutiny of the sector’s players and may ask local authorities to regulate their power use.

Mining operator Bitmain Technologies is among several companies looking to expand overseas to energy-rich Quebec, which has an energy surplus equivalent to 100TWh over 10 years, enough to power six million homes in the province.

A spokesperson from the company said it is in talks with regional power authorities and is also considering an expansion into Switzerland.

Bitcoin mining consumes large quantities of energy because it uses computers to solve complex math puzzles to validate transactions in the cryptocurrency.

Last September, Chinese authorities banned initial coin offerings and shut down some mines in late 2017.