Feb 21, 2023
Jaime Leverton Outlines Views on Crypto Market Turbulence at Davos Crypto Summit
At the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual conference in Davos, Switzerland in January 2023, Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8, a public crypto mining entity, offered her insights on the recent turbulent period for the industry. Leverton has been at the helm of Hut 8 since 2021 and has seen the industry experience significant growth, followed by bear market struggles, bankruptcies and job cuts.
During a fireside chat at the Crypto Summit on the Promenade, Leverton reflected on the past two years in the cryptocurrency market. “Obviously, all of us in crypto have experienced the volatility,” she said. “I think the mining industry, in particular, has gone through some pretty big swings in the last two years.”
Leverton noted that 2022 was a particularly difficult year for the crypto mining industry, with record-high hash rate, a languishing Bitcoin price, and an energy crisis. This led to more than 20 new mining companies going public and, at the peak, there were close to 40 publicly-traded Bitcoin mining companies in North America.
In 2021, the crypto bull run attracted a lot of capital to digital asset mining, which increased leverage. Leverton pointed out that this was followed by a period of consolidation and diversification in the space, which Hut 8 had already started to do during the bull market.
Leverton is one of Cointelegraph’s Top 100 most impactful players in the crypto industry, ranking 73rd in the 2023 edition. She believes that the most exciting conversation to be had around Bitcoin mining is the promise it holds.
The Bitcoin Mining Council released a report in January 2023 detailing 2022 Q4 survey results, which showed that the energy use by the blockchain was 58.9% renewably sourced. This figure has been increasing quarter over quarter.
Leverton also discussed how Bitcoin mining can push the envelope around innovation and investment in renewables. Bitcoin miners are starting to use waste methane, flare gas, and landfills to generate energy, and they can mine Bitcoin directly where waste energy is being created without needing to be connected to transmission lines.
This self-funding approach is what Leverton believes is the most exciting thing happening in the mining space in 2023 and 2024. NFTs have also become increasingly popular and Leverton sees a lot of potential in NFT marketing. She believes that NFTs can be used to promote digital assets and create more engagement with the crypto community.
As such, Leverton has set up Hut 8 as a web3 agency that specializes in NFT promotion and marketing. Leverton is confident that NFTs can help the crypto industry reach new heights, and she is excited to be part of this industry and to help it grow.
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