Canadian Bitcoin mining company Link Global faces a fine of $ 5.6 million

Link Global Technologies, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange, may face heavy fines for operating unauthorized power plants in the province of Alberta.

The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the provincial electricity company, filed another enforcement petition against Link Global on Sept. 24, in which law enforcement officers recommended a range of penalties for violating Alberta legal requirements.

According to a document made available to Cointelegraph, law enforcement officials recommended the AUC that Link Global should pay an economic loss of approximately 2 million Canadian dollars (CAD) ($ 1.6 million) in favor of the company.

Regulator is demanding more than CAD 5 million ($ 4 million) from Link Global’s bitcoin mining operations based on AUC calculations of Link Global’s alleged macroeconomic benefit to two factories. In addition, the AUC is demanding an additional $ 81,000 ($ 64,000) in the form of two administrative fines.

According to the document, the AUC estimated Link Global’s economic benefits based on a “more conservative generation rate of 1.2 Bitcoin per day” and “TH95,000 compared to 10 MW of computing capacity”. The agency found that Link Global’s revenue stream is primarily based on storing or selling electricity to outside miners for digital assets, “with a lesser percentage of revenue coming from self-exploitation”.

An AUC spokesperson told Cointelegraph, “The enforcement officer’s reports and recommendations are only part of the information that the AUC commission evaluates and takes into account from members of the commission. Link Global has received an extension until October 14, 2021, the deadline for submitting feedback. “All of this information is reviewed in a hearing before a final decision is made. The date for this hearing has not yet been set, ”said the representative.

Following the AUC filing, Link’s Global CEO Stephen Jenkins released a statement on September 30th saying the company had admitted wrongdoing and was working to correct it.

“Our business works to respect the law, people and the environment and we believe our submission to AUC will make that clear. […] I apologize to our shareholders who do not deserve this. We will work tirelessly to ensure that the results are positive. “

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Link Global did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

If applied, the sanction would be only the second breach penalty AUC has ever suffered after approving a final settlement for $ 56 million for power generation company TransAlta Corporation in 2015.

As previously reported, the AUC initially ordered the closure of Link Global in late August after residents complained about the noise from a nearby power station.