Israeli-Canadian Bitcoin Outfit Set to Complete Merger by End of Month

Canadian cryptocurrency mining firm Backbone Hosting Solutions Inc., also known as Bitfarms, said in a statement on Sunday that its merger with the Tel Aviv-listed shelf company turned crypto mining company Blockchain Mining Ltd. (formerly Natural Resources Holdings) is set to close at the end of the month.

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The company announced that the Israeli Securities Authority had completed its investigation into the merger deal, first announced in December 2017. Back in December, Blockchain Mining and Backbone Hosting’s announced plan to list on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as a crypto-focused company resulted in a backlash from the local regulator.

Roy Sebag, CEO of Blockchain Mining, and Emiliano Grodzki, Chief Strategy Officer at Bitfarms. Photo: Orel Cohen

The merger is set to be finalized following a shareholder vote in Tel Aviv on March 29, the companies said.

“Bitfarms will soon officially embark on life as a public company, accessing the capital markets and furthering their mission to power global blockchains with sustainable energy,” Roy Sebag, CEO of Blockchain Mining, said in a statement. Mr. Sebag also said he would leave the board of the merged company following the completion of the deal.

Bitfarms earns crypto tokens by contributing computing power to blockchain networks like bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, litecoin, and dash. The company already operates four facilities in the Québec province and is currently building a fifth computing center.

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.”

Emiliano Grodzki, Chief Strategy Officer at Bitfarms, said in a statement that the company intends to open three to four new computing facilities in 2018.