British Columbia Moves to Ban Bitcoin Mining – What Does it Mean For the Mining Community?

Surprisingly, Canada’s British Columbia is pushing to outlaw Bitcoin mining despite the industry’s recent growth. This move shocked many in the crypto community, who expected continued support for the industry.

Many are now wondering how it will impact the region’s stance towards cryptocurrency.

B.C. Energy Minister Rejects New Bitcoin Mining Projects

The Canadian province of British Columbia is cracking down on the energy-guzzling cryptocurrency mining industry. On Thursday, the Minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation, Josie Osborne, made a firm statement about it. 

Based on the statement, the province won’t entertain any new large-scale crypto-mining projects for the time being. 

That’s because crypto-mining operations consume a lot of power. In British Columbia, their unchecked growth was starting to threaten the availability of electricity for homes and businesses.

Notably, BC Hydro revealed it gives power to seven crypto-mining places in British Columbia, amounting to 166 megawatts of electricity cumulatively. Also, with Bitcoin halving around the corner, miners will use even more power as they use more machines to mine new blocks.

So, the provincial government is working on amending laws to give them the power to limit or outright ban crypto miners from tapping into the electricity grid. In December 2022, the province had already frozen new crypto-mining operations for a temporary 18-month period. 

Around 21 projects, which had collectively requested a whopping 1,403 megawatts (M.W.) of power, were put on hold. This amount of energy is equivalent to the power used by approximately 570,000 homes or 2.1 million electric vehicles.

Osborne made it clear back then that the priority was to secure sufficient electricity for British Columbia’s future needs. 

To do this, they’re working closely with the provincial power utility, B.C. Hydro. “That includes regulating electricity service for energy-intensive cryptocurrency miners that create very few local jobs,” she emphasized.

Still in the fight against crypto mining, a provincial supreme court ruled in favor of B.C in February. Hydro’s moratorium against new crypto-mining projects, deeming it a reasonable move.

British Columbia Tackles Crypto Mining’s Power Hunger

In December 2022, British Columbia became the third Canadian province to impose restrictions on this mining industry, following Quebec and Manitoba. 

The ban means that no new crypto-mining operations will be allowed to connect to B.C.’s power grid for 18 months.

According to the Minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation, Osborne, this move is to “preserve our electricity supply for people who are switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps, and for businesses and industries that are undertaking electrification projects that reduce carbon emissions and generate jobs and economic opportunities.”

British Columbia is Canada’s fourth-largest electricity producer, with an estimated generating capacity of 18,250 megawatts (M.W.). However, a report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation raised a red flag against increasing demand for electricity. 

According to the report, increasing demand and generation constraints could make it challenging for B.C. to generate enough power consistently by 2026.

So, with this temporary ban, British Columbia has joined the ranks of other provinces trying to rein in the crypto mining craze to meet its citizen’s power demand.