Bonner bitcoin company ceases operations

HyperBlock also announced that its electricity provider, Energy Keepers Inc., indicated that it would terminate a long-term contract with HyperBlock effective on May 14. In the May 13 press release, the company said it would explore power supply alternatives and said an “inability to secure power would require it to pause or cease mining operations.”

A manager at the Bonner HyperBlock facility could not be reached for comment, nor could a company spokesperson at the headquarters in Canada.

Steve Nelson, a co-owner of the Bonner mill site, declined to comment on the situation. Missoula County officials have confirmed that they’re aware the company has ceased operations.

Energy Keepers Inc. is owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and distributes hydroelectric power from the Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ dam on Flathead Lake. A request for comment from the company was not returned on Monday.

On May 14, HyperBlock confirmed it was shutting down.

“The Company’s electricity provider terminated its long-term power contract with the Company effective May 14, 2020,” another press release said. “This termination, combined with the impact of the recent Bitcoin algorithm halving, which cut the Company’s mining rewards in half, and the Company’s generally deteriorating working capital position, have made it unable and uneconomical to continue operations.”