WEF’s promo video shows Bitcoin mining, but leaves out the B-word

April 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The video showed multiple scenes depicting rows of what appears to be Bitcoin mining rigs, but the cryptocurrency never got a mention.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) showcased the facilities and tech employed by a cryptocurrency mining firm and implied its operations were the “biggest winner” for the environment — but it never actually said it was mining crypto.

Published on April 20, the WEF video promoted efforts toward reducing flaring — where large amounts of gas from oil production or from decomposition are wasted — by the Colorado-based Bitcoin (BTC) miner Crusoe Energy Systems.

Prominent imagery of what appear to be cryptocurrency mining facilities are presented throughout the video; however, the video never directly addresses what is actually happening.

*The video (screenshot) appears to show a facility housing Bitmain Antminer mining rigs but is referred to as a data center. Source: WEF*

Chase Lochmiller, CEO, and co-founder of Crusoe, explained in the video that it builds and operates “modular data centers” that are co-located with waste energy sources to use wasted methane streams to generate power.

It was noted this enables the production of “ultra-low-cost computing infrastructure” by utilizing stranded energy sources that would otherwise go unused.

*A still from the video showing a close-up of what appears to be a Bitmain Antminer mining rig. Source: WEF*

The video was noticed by several crypto industry figures.

MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor shared the video with his 3 million Twitter followers on April 23, stating that “even the WEF is recognizing the environmental benefits of Bitcoin Mining.”

Even the @WEF is recognizing the environmental benefits of Bitcoin Mining. pic.twitter.com/kPnMIfyJpU
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) April 23, 2023

Meanwhile, Kristine Cranley, a director at the advocacy group the Texas Blockchain Council, pointed out in an April 23 tweet that the video didn't once mention "the b word": Bitcoin.

@WEF promoting mining without using the b word! Source below. Contrast this with the tone of the @nytimes hit piece! Same topic … different emotional experience they are trying to deliver. @NYTimesUp pic.twitter.com/d4OEPkWYFc
— Kristine Cranley (@KristineCranley) April 23, 2023

One user suggested in a tweet that the WEF wasn’t allowed to mention BTC because of their previous “standpoint,” which has included advocacy for changing Bitcoin’s code to proof-of-stake, citing the environmental impact of its current consensus mechanism.

The hidden cost of Bitcoin? Our #environment https://t.co/dF7b2HOkd4 pic.twitter.com/qY5mrmiSaR
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 15, 2018

Crusoe expanded its Bitcoin mining assets through the acquisition of the operating assets of portable BTC mining operator Great American Mining (GAM) in October 2022.

The acquisition added over 10 megawatts (MW) to Crusoe’s mining output, along with approximately 4,000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) crypto-mining rigs.

In June 2022, Crusoe Energy partnered with the government of Oman — a country that exports 21% of its gas production and seeks zero gas flaring by 2030.

Crusoe will open an office in Oman’s capital city of Muscat and install its equipment for capturing gas waste at well sites to use as computing power for crypto mining.

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BTC miner CleanSpark scoops up thousands of miners amid ‘distressed markets’

November 2, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Antminer S19J Pro Bitcoin Mining Machines

CleanSpark bought over 3,800 mining machines at $15.50 per terahash – far below the current market price of $22.94 and an 85.4% discount from the all-time high costs of $106.62 in Dec. 2021.

Sustainability-focused Bitcoin (BTC) mining company CleanSpark has snapped up another 3,843 cryptocurrency miners amid a backdrop of mining industry consolidation.

The $5.9 million purchase of the Antminer S19J Pro Bitcoin miners announced by the company on Nov. 1 came at a price of $15.50 per terahash — far cheaper than the current market price of $22.94 for a machine with the same efficiency according to data from Hashrate Index.

The purchase has brought its total number of machines to around 50,000 according to the company.

CleanSpark said it's purchased 26,500 miners since the start of the "bear market conditions" — a time when many mining firms have been forced to sell off mining equipment or even consider filing for bankruptcy.

There is a possibility that the miners were purchased from competitor Argo Blockchain as an Oct. 31 update from Argo shows it sold 3,843 Bitmain S19J Pro machines, the exact amount and miner model that CleanSpark purchased.

Cointelegraph contacted CleanSpark and Argo Blockchain to confirm if a transaction took place between the companies but did not immediately hear back.

While other Bitcoin miners are struggling in the prevailing market conditions, CEO Zach Bradford said an “unwavering focus” on sustainability, a strong balance sheet, and its operating strategy has enabled CleanSpark to “acquire machines at incredible prices, grow our hashrate, and increase our daily Bitcoin production.”

In an earlier interview with Cointelegraph Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of CleanSpark, said one of CleanSpark’s operating strategies has been to view Bitcoin mining as a “potential solution for creating more opportunities for energy development.”

For example, CleanSpark partners with various city councils in the United States to buy excess energy in order to improve the efficiency of its mining operations – but it also cuts down energy costs for those communities too, Schultz explained:

“These cities essentially become our utility provider. They make a margin on every kilowatt hour we buy to conduct our mining operations. Yet, we are buying such high quantities of energy that it brings down energy costs for the communities we work with.”

But with Bitcoin mining difficulty increasing and profitability decreasing, mining companies will need to look for new ways to diversify their revenue streams in order to stay afloat, while some companies may have no option but to consolidate to stay in the game.

That was the case with Colorado-based Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems, who bought the operating assets of portable BTC mining operator Great American Mining (GAM).

CleanSpark also bought a 36MW facility in Washington, Georgia in Aug. 2022, and recently acquired an 80MW facility in Sandersville, Georgia in Oct. 2022 to go alongside its two existing mining facilities.

Despite CleanSpark’s recent success, its stock price dropped 6.32% to $3.26 on Nov. 1 according to Yahoo Finance — however, the fall was representative of the broader Bitcoin mining sector.

Further BTC mining consolidation as Crusoe acquires peer mining firm

October 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Acquisition

Crusoe Energy Systems has just acquired the operating assets of Great American Mining, a sign that further consolidation could be ahead.

Amid soaring Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty and sinking mining profitability, Colorado-based Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems has announced the acquisition of the operating assets of portable BTC mining operator Great American Mining (GAM).

The deal will see GAM’s operations integrate into Crusoe’s, adding over 10 megawatts (MW) to its mining output and around 4,000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) crypto mining rigs — increasing Crusoe’s capacity by about 9% according to the company.

GAM builds and deploys portable BTC mining facilities — vehicle trailer-mounted containers enclosed with ASIC miners — with the goal of helping oil and gas companies take advantage of stranded or otherwise wasted natural gas by using it to power the facility to mine BTC.

Crusoe will have roughly 125 of these waste gas-powered containers deployed and operating following the acquisition, which it says could reduce an annual CO2-equivalent emission of around 170,000 cars.

The consolidation of these two mining operations comes as the sector faces pressure from both the traditional and crypto markets, along with an all-time high BTC mining difficulty all of which is negatively affecting miner profitability.

Markus Thielen, head of strategy for digital asset services platform Matrixport told Cointelegraph the majority of the mining hashrate moving to the United States over the last two years had “significant consequences” on how the industry was positioned into the wider economic downturn.

“Around 20 Bitcoin mining companies raised additional capital through IPOs where shareholders demanded a high correlation to the underlying Bitcoin price,” he said, explaining orders for new mining machines were placed a year in advance, which was expected to come online in the third quarter of 2022.

“The result was that mining companies bought Bitcoin directly from the market at higher costs than their mining operations and were negatively exposed to further capital expenditure investments as they placed equipment orders a year in advance.”

As miners waited for the equipment some sold significant parts of their BTC reserves to recoup expenditures, but Thielen says “this has not been enough,” and expects an “outright industry restructuring.”

Crypto miners such as CleanSpark have already shown to be interested in snapping up cheap assets amid tough market conditions, purchasing over 1,000 ASIC mining rigs at a “substantially discounted price” in July, and 1,800 Antminer S19 XP rigs the month prior.

In September CleanSpark went on to purchase a $33 million facility in the U.S. from Australian-based miner Mawson, spending an extra $9.5 million buying the firms’ 6,468 ASIC mining rigs.

Rising energy costs and the crypto bear market caused mining hosting firm Compute North to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, with the company owing $500 million to 200 creditors with assets worth anywhere between $100 million and $500 million.

Gas-to-Bitcoin Firm Crusoe Energy Acquires the Operating Assets of Great American Mining

October 12, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Great American Mining

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