Canadians Harness Wind to Mine Bitcoin – in Romania

Canadian investors have decided to put money and effort into a wind-powered crypto mining undertaking in Romania. To make it happen, they have finalized a deal to acquire a wind farm capable of producing enough energy to light the bulbs in over 30,000 homes. Driven by enthusiasm about the project, they have even added “Blockchain Power” to their company’s name.

Also read: Despite Regulation, Russians Plan to Build Europe’s Largest Mining Farms

Who Told Them About China?

It is unclear if the Canadians knew in advance about the closed-door meeting in Beijing on the use of electricity by bitcoin miners. Regardless, they have obviously made a strategic decision to spend their money several time zones to the west of the People’s Republic – in Dobrogea. The region is shared by the poorest EU member states – Romania and Bulgaria. It is a flat, wheat growing land, with no hills or mountains to stop the constant air currents from all cardinal directions. Wind farms are a common sight there.

The Ontario-based Transeastern Power Trust has just finalized a deal to acquire the Dorobantu wind park that had been developed there by OMV Petrom with a €90 million investment. The company intends to use the farm to power the mining facilities it is planning to set up in its vicinity. Cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, will be mined there, according to Romanian media reports.

Transeastern completed the acquisition of the 45MW wind park using $23 million of short-term bridge financing and €2.8 million vendor financing from OMV Petrom. The debt will be repaid from the proceeds of the previously announced $40 million private placement scheduled to close in the first week of January. The utility company has already announced a decision to change its name to Blockchain Power Trust, in line with its focusing on mining virtual coins.

We believe we will be the pioneers of a new and robust business model, switching from a utility company to a vertically integrated cryptocurrency mining operation.

These are the words of Mr. J. Colter Eadie, Chief executive officer of Transeastern. He also added that the name change and the implementation of a new trading symbol will better reflect the Trust’s expansion into cryptocurrency mining powered predominantly by its self-generated, 100% renewable energy. The company is working on similar projects through its subsidiaries elsewhere in Europe, including the Netherlands.

Winds Will Blow Even If Coal Burns Out

The Canadian company has already entered into a non-binding agreement to buy mining equipment for which it expects to pay approximately $23 million. According to Transeastern, its new mining farm will have a processing power of 90.7 PH/s. That translates into generating about 30 bitcoins per day.

Chinese coal may burn out for crypto miners and gorgeous “Gorges” dams may dry out, but it is still a huge global village. From Romanian winds and Dutch waves, to bursting geysers in Iceland and sun catching mirrors in Arizona – there is a lot of energy to prove the work for Bitcoin.

And it’s not just about North Americans or Eastern Asians: Bitcoin is growing big in obscure corners of good ol’ Europe, too. Romanian cryptocurrency exchange CoinFlux announced last year that almost $24 million (100 million RON) worth of cryptos had been traded on its platform since its inception in late 2015, And those were figures from times when bitcoin was trading for a thousand dollars.

The Transeastern “Blockchain Power” Trust from Canada seeks to provide investors with “long-term, stable distributions, while preserving the capital value of its portfolio through investment”. Bitcoin mining sounds like something the company can utilize to deliver on that promise.

Do you think miners will relocate to other regions after China’s decision to quit preferential policies for them? Tell us in the comments section below.

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