Canadian miners face tough times ahead

Manitoba's government wants to raise electricity rates for crypto miners and data centers, saying they use too much energy and don't contribute enough to the economy. They're even thinking about cutting power during peak times. Mining operators are upset because this could bankrupt a lot of them. Quebec and British Columbia have already done similar moves.

The AI data centers are a big part of this issue, wherever they pop up, electricity prices seem to skyrocket for everyone. The Manitoba government seems to be targeting bitcoin miners specifically, wanting to jack up their bills. What gives?

So how much hash rate does Canada actually have? Like, is it around 10eh, 20eh, or 50eh? Anyone have the figures?

Quebec has tons of mining going on. I know of a couple of sites, but I’m sure there are more. Some older data centers are struggling while new ones are launching. The one where I work has made good deals and we’re pushing out a solid amount of power to miners. There’s a nearby place with even more!

Totally makes sense. I guess the reason many aren’t turning into AI centers is that there's just not enough power for that. Some AI setups need crazy amounts of power, like over 70kw for just one rack. Makes more sense to build new places with better power deals.

And yeah, if you've got a contract for power, you can flip it to an AI company for profit. Lots of energy brokers in the U.S. and Canada do this.

Looks like the government just doesn’t get how tough it is for miners now. They keep making it harder, almost like they want them to quit. Mining is getting less profitable every day, and it feels like the government doesn’t want miners to thrive.

Kinda ironic that Manitoba is right next to one of the biggest hydroelectric sites in the world but still can’t figure out how to make it work. If they can’t manage it there, how do they expect other regions to cope?

Sure, AI companies might deal with higher rates, but they won’t accept power cuts. If their service goes down, customers will jump ship. If this proposal goes through, I see a lot of miners shutting down and selling off to AI companies.

Some estimates say Canada’s hashrate is around 3-4%, which is like 30-40 PetaHash. Canada has a good energy mix and is expected to have a surplus, thanks to renewables.

It might be even higher since they have some decent rates. And honestly, during winter, a 10MW mining center could be cooled just by opening a door. But yeah, those hashrate reports rely a lot on assumptions.

Don’t miners have to file official reports on their hashrate and power use? Like, companies in the U.S. do it all the time. What’s the deal with unregistered mining in Canada?

Just an assumption here, but a client I had was based in Texas but incorporated in Delaware. Reporting must be tricky, especially with tax implications. They probably report income differently in Canada and the U.S.

Different states have their own tax breaks, so it’s interesting. In Russia, miners register in each region they operate in. Do unregistered miners face serious penalties there?

Me? I’m not in the mining game anymore. I’ve got a couple of miners just for heat. It’s wild how many data centers are empty now, since so many shifted to the cloud. Local politicians usually don’t care as long as they can claim they’re boosting the economy.

Seems like a bad plan to me. Cheap power and cold weather were great for attracting miners and data centers. Whatever the reason, this move looks questionable from the outside.

From what I know, there aren’t strict reporting requirements in Canada. If there are, it’s for bigger operations or new builds. Nobody really talks about it.

Hiding 50MW is tough, but smaller setups can blend in and take power from places with subsidies. We had a case where local execs were caught mining on the job.

If you’re using more power, you’ll just pay more. Some places use prepaid meters where you recharge when you run out. If you use a lot of power, you’ll be constantly refilling.

That sounds like pure theft. What I’m saying is that data centers sometimes lease space to miners to stay afloat instead of renting to regular businesses. It’s a win-win for the centers.