Hut 8's Alberta Bitcoin Mine Running at 15% Installed Hashrate Due to Electrical Issues

The firm has been facing operational issues as it tries to complete a merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp.

AccessTimeIconMay 9, 2023 at 11:28 a.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 7:43 p.m. UTC
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Hut 8 Mining's (HUT) site in Drumheller, Alberta is currently running at 15% of its installed hashrate due to electrical issues, with a restoration expected in 10-12 weeks, the firm said on Tuesday.

The miner, which is undergoing one of the most significant mergers in the industry with U.S. Bitcoin Corp, first announced the issues in March.

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  • "High energy input levels" into the machines has been causing "equipment failures" at Drumheller, while spikes in energy prices have created "additional headwinds," the firm said. Hut 8 has implemented firmware to decrease the voltage of the power supply, while it is trying to repair machines and hire more staff.

    Hut 8 did not respond to CoinDesk's request for additional details on the Drumheller mine.

    The Drumheller site likely accounts for as much as 0.9 exahash/second (EH/s) of Hut 8's computing power. Total installed hashrate across its two Alberta sites was at 2.6 EH/s at the end of April. The Medicine Hat site in the Canadian state "hit an all-time operational high" of 1.72 EH/s in March, the firm previously said.

    Hut 8 also had to stop running 8,000 miners at its third site in North Bay, Ontario due to a dispute with its power provider, in mid-November, and move them to Medicine Hat. Hut 8 hasn't found a way to operationalize all of them as of the end of April.

    CORRECTION (May 9, 19:43 UTC): A previous version of this story said that Hut 8 also had to stop running 7,000 miners at its third site, instead of 8,000 miners.

    Edited by Parikshit Mishra.


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    Eliza Gkritsi

    Eliza Gkritsi is a CoinDesk contributor focused on the intersection of crypto and AI.


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