British Columbia Closes the Door on New Bitcoin Mining Projects

Key Takeaways:

• The Canadian province of British Columbia has permanently banned new Bitcoin mining to protect its electrical power network.
• The proposed mining projects threatened to consume vast amounts of clean hydroelectric power.
• British Columbia will now prioritize power for high-value AI and data centres.

On October 20, provincial officials of British Columbia (BC) made permanent its restriction on new Bitcoin mining projects. This effectively extends a previous two-year temporary moratorium established in December 2022. 

The provincial government stated this decision stems from its desire to preserve its clean hydroelectric resources and prevent undue strain on the electrical grid.

Government Says Bitcoin Mining’s Drawbacks Outweigh Benefits

Under the new policy, BC Hydro, the province's primary utility, will cease to accept new electricity connection requests from cryptocurrency mining operations effective in the fall of 2025. 

British Columbia has made its crypto mining ban permanent, stopping new grid connections to save hydropower for jobs in manufacturing, hydrogen, and AI/data centers. Pending projects would've used 11,700 GWh/year—power for hundreds of thousands of homes. #Crypto #AI pic.twitter.com/ytwllg4gxf

— Vincent Bu Lu (@VincentBuLu1) October 21, 2025

This action follows a provincial report which found that proposed Bitcoin mining projects could potentially consume about 11,700 gigawatt-hours of power yearly. On the flip side, that same power output could supply electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes across the province.

After deliberation, provincial officials concluded that the trade-off was not sustainable. They argue that the amount of energy required to power cryptocurrency mining farms was far greater than their potential returns to the local economy.

A foreign-owned corporation wants to siphon off B.C. hydro power and sell it to the U.S. for profit—with zero benefit to local families, workers, or our province.

Brookfield’s export scheme out of Powell River is a disgrace.

Our resources belong to Canadians, not multinational… https://t.co/z9kVjOfuUg

— Harman Bhangu (@HarmanBhanguBC) October 19, 2025

The core objective of the ban is to reallocate finite electricity toward industries that promise broader economic and social benefits.

Traditional industries such as natural mining, natural gas, and LNG have remained important economic pillars to the region. At the same time, these sectors are also evolving. They provide opportunities for new job creation, innovation, and community growth.

B.C. produces or has the potential to produce 19 of Canada’s 34 critical minerals (like #nickel, #copper, rare earth elements #REEs and #antimony) pic.twitter.com/jddEGrGdxT

— Kutcho Copper Corp. (@Kutchocopper) October 16, 2025

Concurrently, the province has formally designated data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) as priority industries for future growth and this aligns with rising global demand for computational power. According to recent data in 2025, the AI data centre market is valued at $17.7 billion, with projections to grow to $93.6 billion by 2032.

To manage this allocation, BC Hydro will launch a competitive bidding process in 2026. The goal is to allocate 400 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity to these high-tech sectors. 

Of that total, about 300 MW will go specifically to AI projects, while 100 MW will be set aside for general data centre operations.

This process will allow qualified companies to submit proposals showing how they plan to use the power efficiently and contribute to the province’s economic goals.

Shift in Energy Policy 

British Columbia prioritizes AI and data centres amid intensifying global competition for power and computing capacity. 

$WULF $GOOGL | TeraWulf plans $3 billion data center expansion with Google support – Bloomberg

TeraWulf Inc. is planning to raise approximately $3 billion to fund the expansion of its data centers through a structure backed by Google Inc., according to TeraWulf’s Chief Financial… pic.twitter.com/r7egBVoFX5

— Hardik Shah (@AIStockSavvy) September 26, 2025

This trend is illustrated by recent industry movements in the sector. For instance, crypto miner TeraWulf recently partnered with Morgan Stanley and Google to secure funding for new data centres.

In the same vein, Cipher Mining has also struck a colocation deal with Fluidstack and Google. The mining firm will provide data centre capacity, while Google backs the deal with $1.4 billion.