Alberta Premier Danielle smith is vowing to use all the resources of her government to support the emerging financial tech industry.So-called ‘fin-tech’ — also known as blockchain — focuses on crypto curriences and encompasses everything from mining bitcoins and other digital currencies to managing them as financial assets.Smith hosted roundtable discussions with more than 70 delegates from across North America as part of a trade mission hosted by the Canadian Blockchain Consortium to promote Alberta as the premiere destination for the emerging sector.“We are always looking for ways to improve regulations and policies that are holding you back. We're ready to be as creative as we need to be. But most importantly, this is where we come in with advice is critical to helping us make further adjustments to empowering projects, your industry and your province,” she said on Twitter (‘X’)..According to CBC president and executive director Koleya Karringten, it was exactly the message delegates wanted to hear.At least seven senior cabinet ministers were in attendance and Smith has devoted Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally to developing a policy roadmap to inform future regulatory policies.“It was huge, absolutely huge,” Karringten said. “It shows how committed the Alberta government and the premier is to our industry… she gets it.”And the general consensus among financial professionals at a special session in Calgary on Thursday is that Alberta is far and away the leader in Canada — if not North America — in coming up with regulatory policies governing everything from crypto-mining to securities and exchange rules.For those who don’t know, crypto-mining is essentially an energy play, converting unused electricity into digital currency that can be traded, held as a financial asset or even used to pay for goods and services..In that sense, a modern bitcoin mine is akin to a massive data centre that can run off anything from stranded oil and gas wells to renewable energy. The economics of crypto mining are enhanced by abundant supplies of cheap energy and regulatory policies that recognize — and reward — innovation. Successive speakers complained governments, regulators and even financial institutions are reluctant to embrace an idea they clearly don’t understand.In that regard, Alberta leads even the federal government in formulating policies meant to attract and promote investment in what many, including Karringten, expect will be the next trillion dollar industry.According to US-based Spherical Insights, the worldwide global blockchain industry is expected to be worth USD$1.34 trillion by 2033, compared to just $17 billion in 2023..The only other comparable jurisdiction to Alberta at this time is Texas, which is home to more than 20 large scale bitcoin mining operations including five of the ten largest mines in the US. Collectively they employ about 2,000 full-time workers and 20,000 contractors.And it’s just beginning.The gold rush — so to speak — began in 2021 after China, which was one of the largest crypto mining hubs in the world, banned crypto mining over concerns about virtual currencies being used for criminal activity and disrupting financial systems. Namely, theirs.Crypto miners essentially compete to solve complex mathematical problems that when verified produce one Bitcoin or other currency that be held as an asset, or sold. The more computers they have and the longer they run, the better chance they have of solving the problem the fastest.As of Thursday, one Bitcoin was worth about USD$57,000. They can also make money selling power back to the grid or generating clean energy credits.
