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By Scott Roblin

Hut 8

Hut 8 taking control over Medicine Hat bitcoin mining operations

Aug 4, 2020 | 5:38 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A change in operations at the Hut 8 cryptocurrency mining site north of Medicine Hat is underway this week.

Hut 8 has announced that they have been transferred management and operations of the bitcoin mining facility from Bitfury, who have been operating the site since its opening in 2018.

“The idea since the beginning was once everything was streamlined and Hut 8 was more than comfortable, which we’re at a point now, it was the intention for Hut 8 to take over the operations and have full autonomy over the site,” said Hut 8 interim CEO Jimmy Vaiopoulos.

Hut 8 will now manage all operations on-site, however Bitfury will continue to provide the company with mining management software and IT assistance.

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There are not expected to be any changes to staffing levels with 12 employees remaining on site.

“On-site nothing is changing, it’s the same people doing the same jobs,” said Vaiopoulos. “All we’re doing is streamlining the operations. So, instead of Bitfury acting as an intermediary, these are employees of Hut 8 directly.”

The move is estimated to save Hut 8 around $500,000 per year in fees paid to Bitfury.

Vaiopoulos added that the cryptocurrency industry has been rebounding in recent months after taking a sharp dip due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is confident this is the right time to transfer control of operations.

“We saw a quick rebound and Hut 8 fortunately is in a strong position where we were able to push through that,” he said. “But, we also saw favourable energy prices, which is a big component to our business.”

Hut 8 is also expected to undertake a number of upgrades to the Medicine Hat facility to modernize the site with the latest bitcoin mining technologies.

“We have a good long-term view of our site in Medicine Hat,” said Vaiopoulos. “With that long-term view, we want to take full ownership of everything going on at the site.”