CEO of Hut 8 talks about mining in bear and bull markets
![CEO of Hut 8 talks about mining in bear and bull markets](https://ultramining.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/63f5f929e32fb-860x340.png)
Hut 8 CEO Jamie Leverton, who led the mining company during both the rise in 2021 and the crypto-winter of 2022, spoke about the challenges market participants face during these hard times.
While there have been strong swings in recent years, what happened in 2022 could be called a real perfect storm. We were simultaneously faced with a high hashrate, a low bitcoin price, and a rise in electricity prices. More than 20 BTC miners entered the market during the bull trend, with a total of 40 in the North American region alone.
Hut 8 was one of the pioneers of the mining industry, launching in 2018 and then going public in 2022.
In the hope of greater profits, companies applied for loans secured by equipment, which led to serious difficulties during the crisis period. Now we’ve come to the point where miners need to diversify their portfolios, and that applies to both bull and bear markets.
Jamie Leverton pointed out that according to the Bitcoin Mining Council, 58.9% of the energy for mining coins is renewable. She pointed out that this has been a major topic of discussion lately. However, this is changing every quarter, and there are fewer and fewer arguments to blame bitcoin for environmental damage.
We have been very receptive to the fact that mining can increase investment in green energy. I see more and more miners every day working with waste methane, flaring gas, and helping to keep landfills from becoming a source of pollution.
CEO Hut 8 suggested that one of the most exciting things that await the mining industry in 2023-2024 is the development of cryptocurrency mining in Africa. Miners have come into rural communities, and not just started working there but have even become self-sustaining.