In a move that has drawn criticism from Bitcoin advocates, the British Columbia government recently made permanent its 2022 temporary ban on new electrical hookups for cryptocurrency mining operations.
The decision, announced earlier this month, prohibits new BC Hydro connections to the electricity grid for Bitcoin mining.
"Our new allocation framework will prioritize vital growth in sectors like mining, natural gas and lowest-emission LNG, while ensuring our clean energy is directed to projects that deliver the greatest benefit to British Columbians,” stated Adrian Dix, minister of energy and climate solutions.
During the latest edition of the Bitcoin Show, hosted by NowMedia Group’s Jim Csek and Scott Dedels, founder of Block Rewards, the pair argued that the ban is shortsighted.
"We're getting left in the dust...we're making decisions that are uninformed and will set us back because they're decisions that are, you know, like a 20th-century mindset for a 21st-century reality," said Dedels.
The pair highlighted how Bitcoin mining could stabilize the energy grid by providing flexible, off-peak demand and turning excess renewable energy into a valuable digital commodity.
"The other thing that I think people really don't understand and Adrian Dix surely seems like he doesn't understand, is that Bitcoin miners offer electricity producers something that's called flexible low demand," Dedels explained.
"Bitcoin is basically the only thing where you can reliably dial up and dial down the energy consumption at scale."
Dedels and Csek contrasted BC's policy with approaches in places like Texas and potential opportunities in Alberta, emphasizing lost jobs, innovation, and wealth creation.
Click the above video to hear more from the pair’s conversation, which touched on crypto mining policies in other provinces, potential legal challenges from existing mining operations in BC and more.
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