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Japan’s policy choices are furthering sustainable cooperation with its cryptocurrency miners.
Bitcoin Mining in Japan
Japan-based utility, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) is collaborating with mining equipment manufacturer, TRIPLE-1 to power cryptocurrency mining with excess electricity on its grid. It will involve the deployment of “distributed data centers” throughout Japan “that hybridize surplus electricity from renewable energy.”
The power transmission and distribution company TEPCO Power Grid, is looking for more ways to monetize surplus power with bitcoin mining through its wholly-owned subsidiary Agile Energy X.
The power company is joining major global energy companies in jumping on the bitcoin mining trend. Additionally, the common denominator for most of them need to monetize extra power, something BTC mining does quite well.
ConocoPhillips is selling stranded gas to bitcoin miners in the Bakken, an oil-abundant region in the U.S. –– a similar strategy to what Exxon, a natural gas company, is doing. The oil giant reportedly has an agreement with Crusoe Energy Systems to redirect gas that would otherwise be wasted from an oil well pad to mobile bitcoin mines. TEPCO’s setup also goes along those footsteps.
The Expansion of Data Centers
However, the concept of expanding these data centers across the country is no doubt highly influenced by blockchain technology. Meanwhile, in a country like Japan, where natural disasters are quite common, this kind of distributed system could be more flexible.
The authorities already mentioned that the country has increased the amount of output for such renewable energy. Also, there are some places where it becomes hard to connect renewable energy due to grid congestion. Thus, there are estimates for the potential of up to 2X the amount of power currently being generated. Instead of wasting surplus electricity that congests the grid, this project aims to create new demand for data centers.
Meanwhile, this significant step of Japan in its reorientation towards crypto enabled this collaboration with crypto miners, others around the world are having different experiences. As Canada-based crypto miners, Bitfarms, received a warning from NASDAQ, the stock exchange. It states that the bid price of Bitfarms’ common stock had fallen under its listing requirement of $1 for the past 30-days.
Nasdaq warned and said that it would give another 180 days to Bitfarms to raise its share price above the listing requirement. Although the warning does not state that a delisting will occur after that time, as the company may be eligible for an additional 180 calendar day compliance period.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
