Canada's North Vancouver to become the first city to be heated by Bitcoin mining

The city of North Vancouver, Canada, will be partly heated by the energy produced by cryptocurrency mining. The city of North Vancouver, Canada, will be partly heated by the energy produced by cryptocurrency mining. Photography Chris Howey / Shutterstock

North Vancouver is the very first city in the world able to boast of being partially heated thanks to cryptocurrency. This is being achieved through a partnership between local energy provider Lonsdale Energy Corporation and a bitcoin mining startup called MintGreen.

This partnership will make way for the development of an innovative and low-carbon heating solution. North Vancouver, British Columbia, will be testing this new service. Here, the energy created by Bitcoin mining—which consists of validating and securing transactions related to the cryptocurrency—is no longer released into the air, but recycled, for a good cause. And this is probably just one use among many to follow.

In this case, MintGreen is expected to recycle some 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases, which will be transformed into heat instead of entering the atmosphere. The company claims to be able to recover more than 96% of the electricity used for Bitcoin mining in the form of thermal energy, in order to heat several buildings sustainably, or even more, as in the case of North Vancouver.

Note that since Bitcoin miners operate continuously, at full capacity, 365 days a year, the set-up creates a unique opportunity to provide a reliable and clean heating baseload for the city's district energy system.