During the annual conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2023, I had the opportunity to sit down for a fireside chat with Jaime Leverton, the CEO of Hut 8, a publicly traded crypto mining entity. We discussed the recent shakeout in the cryptocurrency market and how the Bitcoin mining industry is faring during this turbulent period.
Leverton, who took on the role of CEO at Hut 8 over two years ago, reflected on the ups and downs that the crypto industry has experienced in the past couple of years. “Obviously, all of us in crypto have experienced the volatility,” she acknowledged. “I think the mining industry, in particular, has gone through some pretty big swings in the last two years,” she added, emphasizing that “2022 was really the perfect storm from a Bitcoin mining industry perspective.”
As one of the pioneering public entities in the Bitcoin mining sector, Hut 8 entered the Canadian market in 2018 and later joined the Nasdaq in 2022. Leverton pointed out that the 2021 bull run in the crypto market attracted significant capital inflows to digital asset mining, leading to increased leverage. However, when combined with the challenges of 2022, the industry was shaken up, and those who had taken on excessive leverage faced difficulties. Leverton noted that the industry is now in a phase of consolidation, with more companies diversifying their portfolios, a strategy that Hut 8 also adopted during the bull market.
Leverton’s leadership in the crypto industry earned her a spot on Cointelegraph’s annual Top 100 list of the most impactful players in 2023, ranking 73rd.
During our conversation, Leverton also discussed the potential of Bitcoin mining. She highlighted the importance of focusing on the promise of mining rather than just its current state. Leverton mentioned a report from the Bitcoin Mining Council, released in January 2023, which revealed that 58.9% of Bitcoin mining is powered by renewable energy sources. She pointed out that energy usage in the crypto space has been a topic of debate, with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, expressing interest in the subject. Leverton countered this argument by stating that the mainstream banking world consumes much more energy than Bitcoin.
Leverton believes that the most exciting aspect of Bitcoin mining lies in its potential to drive innovation and investment in renewables. She explained that Bitcoin mines can be set up in areas with excess energy, bypassing the need for transmission lines. She mentioned the development of mining operations in rural communities in Africa and highlighted the self-funding aspect of these projects as the most exciting development in the mining space in 2023 and 2024.