Calgary is world renowned for the annual Stampede, but if Canadian Blockchain Consortium executive director Koleya Karringten has her way, it’ll soon be known for the annual Alberta Trade Mission from July 8-12.It’s part of an inbound trade mission which will see more than 70 executives in the digital asset industry meet with government officials and regulators to work on expanding the industry in Alberta, essentially from the ground up.The delegations growth is impressive, it’s up almost three times more than the number that turned out for last year’s event and 10 times more than the inaugural event in where the trade mission went to Texas in 2021 led by Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally.The week-long mission will feature speakers from organizations such as Bitdeer, Marathon, Coinbase, among others.It’s not all business; guests will take in a series of local Stampede-themed events.Exponential growth is exactly what the executive member and co-founder of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium has in mind. In an interview, she confidently spoke of creating Canada’s next trillion dollar industry..And Alberta is precisely the place to do it, with an abundance of natural and financial resources and business-friendly tax and fiscal policies that enjoy the full support of the UCP government.And in fact, Alberta is the only jurisdiction in Canada with a full-time cabinet minister — Minister Nally — with the mandate to support this industry and is dedicated to drafting a long-term policy ‘roadmap’ to grow the sector in Alberta .The Canadian Blockchain Consortium will be leading a roundtable discussion with Nally and Premier Danielle Smith engaging in policy discussions with the delegation to lay a path forward to help the industry exponentially grow in the province.That’s because Bitcoin mining is basically a massive energy play that captures the value of various power sources and transforms them into a liquid digital financial asset.In that regard, it brings together the worlds of energy production and merges it with tech and finance..Karringten compares Bitcoin mining to building and maintaining data centres and AI — they potentially use gigawatts of power and need similar infrastructure. Bitcoin mines are somewhat more flexible because they can be sited off grid and integrated with renewable energy projects or even adjacent to old oil and gas wells in marginal fields that would otherwise be uneconomic."Understanding the potential within the energy sector involves transforming low-producing oil and gas operations by utilizing excess natural gas for Bitcoin mining. This not only minimizes carbon emissions by repurposing the gas but also generates additional revenue streams. Moreover, diversifying assets through Bitcoin mining can provide financial benefits and improve access to valuable underground resources, ultimately facilitating joint venture partnerships to enhance energy production efficiency,” she said.It’s for those same reasons Texas is considered a Bitcoin leader in North America and even the world, which brought in more than USD$4 billion in GDP within five years.
