Canada to host Bitfury’s new 28MW crypto mining facility

Blockchain company Bitfury announced the launch of a new crypto-mining data center in Ontario, Canada. The new crypto mining center adds to the list of existing Canadian sites currently operating in Drumheller, Alberta and Medicine Hat.

Bitfury partnered with Hut 8 Mining, a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining company, to set up mining operations across North America. The new crypto mining facility in Ontario is expected to operate at 16 megawatts (MW) by the end of this month.

According to the announcement, Bitfury has plans to add 12MW capacity in the coming months, which will bring up the total capacity of the mining facility to 28MW by May end. However, the company highlighted that the facility could be potentially upgraded to operate at 200MW, over seven times the current capacity.

Located in the city of Sarnia, the site is equipped with Bitfury’s in-house ASIC mining chips and other proprietary hardware and software. All of Bitfury’s Canadian crypto mining facilities heavily rely on Canada’s cold climate for sustainable and efficient operations.

Sustainability increased by 1% in Q4 https://t.co/gGrgE4C4Zl

— Hut 8 Mining (@Hut8Mining) January 18, 2022

Citing the commencement of operations, Oleg Blinkov, Bitfury’s Head of Data Center Development and Operation said:

“North America continues to represent an attractive, strategic market for Bitfury and digital asset mining at large, and we are excited to deepen our presence here and around the world.”

Back in October, Bitfury co-founder and CEO Valery Vavilov told Cointelegraph about his plans for considering an initial public offering to fast-track the company’s global growth:

“As Bitfury and its portfolio of companies continue their global expansion in the digital assets space, Bitfury will be considering an IPO as part of its broader expansion and growth plans.”

Related: Canadian MP introduces bill aimed at encouraging growth in crypto sector

Earlier this month, Michelle Rempel Garner, a member of the House of Commons of Canada, introduced a bill recommending a framework to encourage growth in crypto.

Canada should be attracting billions of dollars in investment in the fast growing cryptoasset industry.

Today I introduced a bill, the first of its kind in Canada, to make sure this become a reality.

Learn more about my bill at https://t.co/htCy7rrZD6 pic.twitter.com/krmmTIOTt6

— Michelle Rempel Garner (@MichelleRempel) February 9, 2022

“The framework must, among other things, focus on lowering barriers to entry into the cryptoasset sector while protecting those working in the sector and minimizing the administrative burden,” Garner said in the proposal.