Hut 8 CEO weighs in on the bull and bear markets from a mining perspective

In January 2023, during the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) yearly league successful Davos, Switzerland, Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8, a crypto mining entity that trades arsenic a nationalist company, sat down with maine for a fireside chat astatine the Crypto Summit connected the Promenade. Leverton outlined immoderate of her views connected the caller shakeout successful the cryptocurrency marketplace and reflected connected however Bitcoin (BTC) mining fares during the existent turbulent play for the industry.

Throughout 2021 and 2022, the crypto manufacture experienced important growth, followed by bear marketplace struggles, bankruptcies and occupation cuts. Leverton took connected the presumption of starring Hut 8 Mining arsenic CEO a small implicit 2 years agone and experienced those ups and downs from the beforehand line.

Jaime Leverton CEO of Hut 8 (left) and Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr (right) during Crypto Summit 2023 successful Davos

“Obviously, each of america successful crypto person experienced the volatility,” Leverton said erstwhile asked astir her thoughts connected the past mates of years portion starring Hut 8 done the crypto industry’s ups and downs. “I deliberation the mining industry, successful particular, has gone done immoderate beauteous large swings successful the past 2 years,” she added, noting that “2022 was truly the cleanable tempest from a Bitcoin mining manufacture perspective.” She continued:

“We had record-high hash rate, languishing Bitcoin terms and vigor crisis, which came rapidly connected the backmost of 1 of the biggest bull markets we’ve seen for the crypto mining manufacture successful particular. We saw much than 20 caller mining companies spell public. At the peak, we had adjacent to 40 publicly-traded Bitcoin mining companies successful North America alone.”

A pioneer successful the Bitcoin mining assemblage arsenic acold arsenic nationalist entities go, Hut 8 deed the Canadian marketplace successful 2018 and subsequently the Nasdaq successful 2022, Leverton noted. The 2021 crypto bull tally attracted sizable superior inflows to integer plus mining, which accrued leverage, according to the Hut 8 CEO.

“Then you mates that with the cleanable tempest that I referenced happened successful 2022 — the manufacture has truly been shaken up, and radical that took connected a batch of leverage we’ve seen struggle, and truthful we’re present successful a play of starting to spot immoderate consolidation successful the space, we’re starting to spot much companies conscionable commencement to diversify their portfolios, thing that we astatine Hut did — we started to bash successful the bull marketplace arsenic well.”

Leverton made it onto Cointelegraph’s yearly Top 100 database of the crypto industry’s astir impactful players. She ranks 73rd successful the 2023 edition.

Later successful the interview, Leverton discussed what Bitcoin mining aims to deliver. “I deliberation the astir fascinating speech that we request to beryllium having astir Bitcoin mining is really the committedness of it,” adding:

“The beauteous happening astir Bitcoin mining — I was a founding subordinate of the Bitcoin Mining Council, and we really released our latest study earlier this week, which shows the vigor usage by the Bitcoin manufacture by the blockchain is 58.9% renewably sourced present and that continues to amended 4th implicit quarter.”

The 58.9% fig comes from a study detailing 2022 Q4 survey results from the Bitcoin Mining Council, released successful January 2023. Energy usage has been a debated taxable successful the crypto space, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressing interest successful the subject. One statement from cybersecurity technologist Michel Khazzaka is that the mainstream banking satellite dwarfs Bitcoin successful presumption of vigor usage, arsenic per a antithetic Cointelegraph interview.

Related: Hut 8 merger would’ve happened adjacent without FTX oregon crypto turmoil, says CEO

“Where the excitement comes for maine and for our abstraction is however Bitcoin mining tin truly propulsion the envelope astir innovation and concern successful renewables successful a genuinely important way,” Leverton said, adding:

“We saw conscionable an detonation of Bitcoin miners starting to usage discarded methane, flare gas, landfills to make vigor and to support that c from being released into the atmosphere.”

According to Leverton: “The quality of a Bitcoin excavation is it doesn’t request to beryllium connected to transmission lines, truthful you tin really excavation Bitcoin straight wherever discarded vigor is being created.” She noted that miners are starting to make successful agrarian communities successful Africa and added that they resolved to self-funding, which is “the astir breathtaking happening that’s happening successful the mining abstraction successful 2023 and 2024.”