Japan approves Sustainable Mining

In Brief

• One of Japan’s largest utility providers is teaming up with crypto miners to power mining using excess electricity on its grid.
• The project will establish and power data centers around the country.
• Meanwhile, crypto miners Bitfarms was warned by NASDAQ for its stock price falling under its listing requirement for 30 days.

Japan’s policy choices are fostering sustainable cooperation with the country’s cryptocurrency miners, as others around the world struggle.

Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) is partnering with mining equipment manufacturer TRIPLE-1 to power cryptocurrency mining with excess electricity on its grid.

Japan’s distributed data centers
The project involves the deployment of “distributed data centers” throughout Japan “that hybridize surplus electricity from renewable energy.” The concept of distributing these data centers around the country is heavily influenced by blockchain technology. In a country such as Japan, where natural disasters are relatively common, such a distributed system could be more flexible.

However, energy conservation around data centers themselves has also become a major issue. Consequently, Japanese authorities believe it became necessary to optimize the power system to utilize renewable energy for data centers. The project makes effective use of “surplus electricity” generated from renewable energy sources throughout Japan.

According to authorities, the amount of output for such renewable energy has been increasing nationwide. Additionally, there are places where it is difficult to connect renewable energy due to grid congestion. For this reason, there are estimates for the potential of up to twice the amount of power currently being generated. Rather than wasting surplus electricity that congests the grid, this project aims to create new demand for data centers.

Bitfarms warned by NASDAQ
Meanwhile, as Japan’s reorientation towards crypto has enabled this collaboration with crypto miners, others around the world are having different experiences. For instance, Canadian crypto miners Bitfarms received a warning from NASDAQ, the stock exchange its shares are on. According to NASDAQ, the bid price of Bitfarms’ common stock had fallen under its listing requirement of $1 for the past thirty days.
The exchange said it would give Bitfarms another 180 days to raise its share price above the listing requirement. While the warning does not state that a delisting will occur after that time, it said that the company may be eligible for an additional 180 calendar day compliance period.