British Columbia to ban all new crypto mining operations!

[thewayne]

This is an old article from October '25, I'm clearing out old tabs.

It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!

There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid

Comments

[warriorsavant]

Ah yes, "my capitalism" when things are up "our problem" when things are down.

[ndrosen]

I’m in favor of letting people make risky investments if they choose, but the taxpayers should not bail them out if things go sour.

[dewline]

We're gonna need to work on Evan Solomon in particular. He's the federal AI minister.

Not joking. Mark Carney gave him that job.

[disneydream06]

Stands and Applauds British Columbia. :) :) :)
Hugs, Jon

[ionelv]

This whole pressure on energy prices due to trillions/shitloads of $$$ thrown at AI companies that have not made a dime (and most never will) can only lead to heartache and increased pauperization of the vaunted middle class (i.e. the 98%). I was reading an article on BBC just the other day about the first dark clouds of the incoming category 5 shitstorm of skyrocketing energy prices (and I recall reading about other communities getting railroaded to build new power-hungry data centers and AI farms and the big power suck that's coming, e.g. almost half of all power in the world will be gobbled by AI by 1030 compared to 20% in 2025 according to Gartner).

[thewayne]

It's absolutely insane.  There is a JET ENGINE SHORTAGE because of the AI data centers, and we thought that crypto mining was bad!  I'm going to be contacting my investment guy to see that my funds are decidedly not in anything tied to AI.