Alberta, the western Canadian province known for its oil, is looking to become an international destination for cryptocurrency mining as it seeks to diversify its economy.
Alberta is placing itself on a path to host all aspects of the cryptocurrency world, including digital token mining and data centres.
“This is an area of huge disruption, and we want to make sure we're there in that market,” said Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation, in an interview with BNN.
Several cryptocurrency firms have already made Alberta their home base, including Blockchain Guru, Terraform and Bitcoin Well.
Minister Schweitzer touted the province’s abundance of natural gas, its private sector-driven electricity market and environmental offset credits that position Alberta for the energy intensive cryptocurrency industry.
Alberta has been marketing itself globally as a tech-friendly hub to diversify its economy and become less dependent on the volatile oil and gas sector, especially as the world shifts away from fossil fuels.
Economic diversification has been a focus of the provincial government since the 2014 oil price collapse but has intensified in recent years. To help attract cryptocurrency companies, the province has been working to lure a growing amount of technology workers.
Minister Schweitzer said building the province’s cryptocurrency industry will benefit Alberta’s economy in the future.
“When you take a look at the whole decentralized finance space, crypto, you know, this area is not going away. We know what's going to be here long term,” he said in the media interview.
