Cryptocurrency has been described by some observers as a “Wild West,” so it’s no surprise that of all Canadian provinces, Alberta is the one that has set its sights on becoming a North American hub for the maverick industry.
The oil-and-gas producing province that prides itself on its entrepreneurial history is now touting its ambition to become a North American hub for companies trading in and offering services related to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and other digital assets.
In the province’s throne speech last month, Alberta’s UCP government declared its intention to table legislation aimed at “promoting innovation” in the financial services sector by allowing companies to test new products and services.
The throne speech also mentioned future legislation that will solidify Alberta’s reputation as a “modern electricity powerhouse and a magnet for investment in emerging technology like data storage and cryptocurrency.”
An established industry
While the details of any forthcoming legislation have yet to be revealed, Jobs Minister Doug Schweitzer said in a recent interview that companies operating in the crypto space have demonstrated “immense interest” in the province in recent months.
“It’s still very much in its infancy in Alberta,” Schweitzer said. “But I think there’s an opportunity for Alberta to play a leadership role in Canada by creating a home for these venture companies.”
Alberta has already established itself as an attractive destination for cryptocurrency miners, who have set up a number of operations at various locations throughout the province.
The supercomputers used to mine for Bitcoin and other crypto tokens require vast amounts of low-priced power to be economical, so miners are often attracted to Alberta’s deregulated electricity system and abundant supply of natural gas.
Beyond mining, the province is also increasingly home to a wide range of other cryptocurrency-related firms, from those that specialize in the custody and storage of digital assets, to manufacturers of crypto mining equipment like immersion cooler containers. An Edmonton-based company, Bitcoin Well, is working to make it easier for regular consumers to use cryptocurrency, with a variety of services including a network of more than 200 Bitcoin ATMs in Canada.
Rolled out the welcome mat
“I would say Alberta is close to unique, from what we’ve seen, in terms of how focused they are on attracting innovative financial technology companies,” said Emile Scheffel, vice-president of Brane Inc., which recently chose Calgary as the headquarters for its new subsidiary, Brane Trust.
Brane Trust will provide secure custody of digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum for institutional clients like banks and asset managers that either manage cryptocurrencies, or are seeking to expand their services to cryptocurrency services.
But setting up the business in Brane’s home base of Ontario proved difficult from a regulatory perspective. Getting the necessary regulatory approvals would have taken up to two years, whereas Alberta rolled out the welcome mat, Scheffel said.
“When we first reached out to regulators in Alberta about our ambitions, they were knowledgeable about cryptocurrency already — they had the necessary expertise to be able to do this,” he said.
Defying definition
Brian Mosoff — CEO of Toronto-based Ether Capital, which helped to launch the world’s first Bitcoin ETF last year alongside Purpose Investments — said cryptocurrency companies face many challenges from a regulatory perspective. In Canada, there isn’t even clarity yet about what type of assets digital currencies really are.
“Are they commodities? Are they securities?” Mosoff said. “We don’t even have an exchange that can compete on an international level.”
What is cryptocurrency?
3 years ago
Duration 2:31
Cryptocurrency is big business, but for many not in the tech sphere, it’s still a big unknown. Here are answers to some questions you might have. 2:31
Globally, cryptocurrency is already a multi-trillion asset class, Mosoff said, so any jurisdiction that can think outside of the box and create a regulatory framework that doesn’t push these types of businesses away stands to benefit.
Schweitzer has indicated Alberta’s desire to develop a “regulatory sandbox” for crypto companies interested in setting up in the province.
“It’s about creating a culture and environment for all of those groups of people who are inspired by (cryptocurrency) to migrate into that jurisdiction,” Mosoff said. “Either because they think it’s favourable in terms of tax or regulation, or because they feel they can experiment with things without having the book thrown at them.”
Modern Mining is an Alberta-headquartered Bitcoin mining company that is currently building its first mining facility near the city of Medicine Hat, in the southeast corner of the province.
Sebastian Elawny, Modern Mining’s chief legal officer, acknowledged that there has been an uptick in interest in the province by crypto companies in the last year, but said that’s largely because of China’s crackdown on the industry.
Modern Mining’s CFO Ryan Chernesky, right, and CLO Sebastian Elawny with some of the company’s bitcoin mining equipment in Calgary. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
“All of a sudden, there were hundreds of thousands of mining rigs that needed to find new homes,” he said.
But Elawny said U.S. destinations like Miami and Texas remain far more attractive to the industry. While he said Alberta’s electricity market is an asset, the province has a long way to go if it truly wants to be a leader in the crypto space.
He names the carbon pricing system in Alberta as one disincentive for the electricity-guzzling crypto industry, as well as the challenges cryptocurrency companies can face securing financing.
“It’s even very difficult to get a bank account if you’re a crypto company in Alberta,” Elawny said.
“We currently face a lot of challenges as a business trying to operate in Alberta, and we as a group are actually exploring our options outside of Alberta, because we’re falling behind already.”
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
