For the next 18 months, new electricity connection requests from crypto miners will be put on hold and projects in the early stages of connection will be halted while the province develops a permanent framework for the sector. (The Logic)

Talking point: B.C. follows Manitoba and Quebec, which both made similar announcements in November. All three provinces have cited massive, unprecedented demand for electricity from the crypto-mining sector. B.C.’s release claims that if it granted all the requests for connection to the grid from crypto miners, there would be “little remaining to electrify projects that have greater jobs, economic development and greenhouse gas reduction benefits.” Quebec has a particularly turbulent history with the crypto-mining sector: in 2018 it issued a moratorium on new projects that it later lifted. The Canadian provinces’ suspensions come at a difficult time for crypto mining—Austin, Texas-based Core Scientific, one of the largest Bitcoin miners, has filed for bankruptcy.