Israeli-Canadian Bitcoin Outfit to Invest $195 million in New Quebec Computing Centers

Tel Aviv-listed shelf company turned crypto mining company Blockchain Mining Ltd. (formerly Natural Resources Holdings) announced on Thursday a plan to establish several computer farms in Sherbrooke, Québec, at an investment of $195 million ($250 million Canadian dollars). Blockchain mining is in the process of merging with Canadian cryptocurrency mining firm Backbone Hosting Solutions Inc., also known as “Bitfarms.” Announced in December 2017, the merger deal is expected to be completed by March 15.

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Blockchain Mining and Backbone Hosting’s announced plan to list on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as a bitcoin-based company resulted in a backlash from the local regulator. Meanwhile, Backbone is also trying to list on the TSX Venture Exchange in Calgary, Alberta, according to a regulatory filing submitted by Blockchain Mining in Israel earlier this month.

Earlier this month, Backbone Hosting Solutions announced it was attempting to raise $38.5 million by issuing convertible bonds. According to the company’s announcement, the funding will finance the expansion of its crypto mining operations in Quebec.

Québec’s low temperatures and low cost of electricity cost make it an attractive region for crypto mining. In December, the company told Calcalist that its server farms consume the same amount of power as “35 (sports) arenas working with all power and lighting 24 hours a day.”

According to Blockchain Mining’s Thursday statement, the Sherbrooke facilities will allow the company to quadruple the computing power of its current operations and hire 250 employees by the end of 2018. Bitfarms earns crypto tokens by contributing computing power to blockchain networks like bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, litecoin, and dash. The company already operates facilities in the Québec province in Saint-Hyacinthe, Farnham, Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge, Cowansville, and Magog.