Cryptographers are heading to Norway and Sweden for cheap energy
Cryptographers are heading to Norway and Sweden for cheap energy In both Scandinavian countries, energy prices are well below the European average
Miners digging for different cryptocurrencies are increasingly turning to Norway and Sweden to take advantage of cheap hydroelectric power and low temperatures to power and cool their servers, according to Reuters. Iceland is the most popular place in Europe for miners of digital currencies such as bitcoin and ether. But at prices of 6.6 eurocents and 7.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, respectively, consumer electricity prices in Sweden and Norway are lower than the 8 cents in Iceland. In addition, in both Scandinavian countries, energy prices are well below the European average of 11 cents per kilowatt hour. The growing interest from miners is good news for market leaders in the energy sector in both countries - Sweden's Vattenfall and Norway's Statkraft. Providing energy to miners is a small part of their current business, but both state-owned companies say they see opportunities for further development as cryptocurrency diggers use thousands of servers at once to get the computing power they need. Bitcoin diggers will use about 130 terawatt hours of energy this year, corresponding to Argentina's consumption or the expected amount of energy that all electric cars in the world will need by mid-2020, according to Morgan Stanley. "We need a place where we can get as much energy as possible," said Olivier Russi Newton, director and co-founder of the Canadian group HIVE Blockchain Technologies, which began producing ether in Sweden in January.
The company said it was expanding its cryptocurrency capacity in Sweden to 17.4 megawatts, with funds to increase it to 26.8 megawatts by September. Last month, HIVE Blockchain Technologies agreed to buy the Kolos Norway AS data center for 9.9m euros to expand its mining business. In March, the US company Bitfury opened a new cryptocurrency digging center in Norway worth $ 35 million. The company will buy 350 gigawatt hours of clean energy from local renewable energy supplier Helgeland Kraft. Many Bitcoin miners are surveying the area, including the Chinese, because of the abundance of hydropower, "said Bill Tai, a member of Bitfury's board of directors. The Chinese company Bitmain, the world's largest miner, which recently set up a unit in Switzerland, is now exploring the potential of Sweden and Norway, two market sources were quoted as saying by Reuters. China is home to 70% of the cryptocurrency mining industry, but due to air pollution problems, businesses are looking for new opportunities. "Many miners want to relocate to Norway, and that includes Bitmain and other Chinese companies," said Mark Collins, CEO of CBH Consulting AG.
According to Alex de Vries, a blockchain specialist at PwC, if energy consumption continues at the same pace, it may be an opportunity for new business for energy companies in the short term, but in the long run miners must find a way to become more efficient. of electricity use.
