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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.
Crypto mining has become a trending buzzword over the years thanks to the surge in cryptocurrency prices, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. New cryptocurrency tokens are released into the blockchain system through a process called mining. Crypto miners get rewarded with tokens after solving complex cryptographic equations with the use of special, power-intensive computer hardware.
In just 10 years, global revenues generated from mining have moved from $1,000 per day in March 2011 to $63 million in March 2021. However, the major concern with mining is that it is an intensive process that requires a huge amount of electricity. Warehouses keeping crypto mining rigs have to run 24 hours, in total consuming more electricity than the entire nation of Argentina.
Environmentalists criticize crypto mining for significantly contributing to carbon emissions, adding to the growing climate crisis. Kazakhstan, which passed a law to legalize crypto mining in 2020, may be regretting its decision as the country is now experiencing a power shortage, possibly due to crypto mining.
What’s the Solution?
With climate change being one of the major concerns worldwide, the best solution would be to use carbon-free methods when mining, and that is what Mawson Infrastructure Group (NASDAQ:MIGI) is attempting to do. Mawson’s blockchain mining division relies on mostly carbon-free energy sources in its mining facilities unlike much of the mining industry, which heavily depends on carbon-emitting sources. The company is at the forefront of the push to make crypto mining green.
Mawson and the RIGZ
Mawson became part of Viridi Fund’s Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:RIGZ), which is focused on crypto mining firms that are switching to cleaner, carbon-free sources of producing energy. The fund has 80% of its investment capital going towards publicly traded crypto-miners and 20% in semiconductor companies. RIGZ is expected to attract investors who oppose crypto because of the impact it has on the environment.
Mawson accounts for 3.97% of net assets in the fund, placing it ahead of renowned companies in the crypto space such as DMG Blockchain Solutions (CVE: DMGI), Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT), Galaxy Digital Holdings, Ltd. (TSX:GLXY) and Northern Data AG (ETR: NB2). The stake Mawson accounts for in the fund makes it an overweight member of the ETF.
Bringing over 15 years of experience in capital markets, investment banking, asset management, and cryptocurrency at RIGZ is the founder and CEO of the fund, Wes Fulford. Wes Fulford has a proven track record in the cryptocurrency industry. While working as a CEO at one of the largest crypto mining companies in North America, Bitfarms Ltd. (CVE: BITF), he led the company to 291% operational growth in 2019.
The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.
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