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Nelson council bans Bitcoin mining and computing

An aerial shot of Nelson BC on a sunny, summer day with Kootenay Lake and the Orange Bridge featured.
The City of Nelson in Interior BC has all but banned Bitcoin mining within city limits. Photo courtesy of the City of Nelson.
Darren Davidson - CJLY - Kootenay • BC | 20-03-2021
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Bitcoin, the 21st century digital legal tender, has attracted the attention and concern of Nelson city council.

In fact, Mayor John Dooley and his councillors have all but banned bitcoin mining, data centres and industrial scale computing within the city.

The main concern is the amount of hydro electricity the digital processes consume.

According to Investopedia, Bitcoin is a digital currency created, quite mysteriously, in January 2009. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and, unlike government-issued currencies, it is operated by a decentralized authority.

Nelson City Coun. Keith Page sat in with Kootenay Co-op Radio’s Kootenay Morning current affairs program to show us the money:

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