On The Brink with Castle Island Ben Gagnon (Bitfarms) on Separating Fact from Fiction in Bitcoin Mining (EP. 303)
Mar 30, 2022
53:33
Ben Gagnon, the Chief Mining Officer at Bitfarms, joins the show. In this episode we cover:
- Bitfarms' journey to the public markets in the US
- Ben's early efforts in flared gas mining
- How immersion cooling could provide operational efficiencies
- Bitfarms' site selection methodology
- How Bitfarms secures power originally built for now-departed industries
- How Quebec overbuilt electrical infrastructure
- The benefit of miners locating themselves in Quebec and scooping up stranded power
- How Bitfarms took over a shuttered hockey stick factory
- Why Bitfarms is so keen on stranded hydro
- How Bitfarms curtails their power usage – and why curtailment makes sense
- Finding excess power in Argentina and Paraguay
- Does Bitfarms have a low carbon intensity mandate?
- Why being pro-renewable is a good business decision
- Why Bitfarms isn't focusing on Texas right now
- How Bitcoin is the most efficient way to monetize stranded energy assets
- Bitfarms' criteria for compelling energy resources
- The progress of the Bitcoin Mining Council and the bettering of transparency in the mining space
- Where Ben sees room for improvement in the mining sector
- The lack of standardization in reporting and valuation around mining firms
- The flaws in Digiconomist's estimates of Bitcoin's energy consumption
- Issues with academic claims that Bitcoin miners produce significant quantities of e-waste
- Why Bitcoin ASICs are more recyclable and have long lifespans
- The academia and press to policy pipeline
Content mentioned:
- Ben in Bitcoin Magazine: We Need to Talk About the Not Science Behind Digiconomist
- Ben in Bitcoin Magazine: We Need to Talk About the Climate Problem in Bitcoin Mining
Sponsor notes:
- Compass Mining is the world's first and largest online marketplace for bitcoin mining hardware, hosting, and ASIC reselling. Start mining your own bitcoin by visiting compassmining.io