Thread by @gladstein

Hello from one of the biggest Bitcoin mines in Norway! 🇳🇴 ✌️

It was a pleasure to visit KryptoVault's Hønesfoss site today to see the impact that CEO Kjetil Hove Pettersen and team are making by harnessing running water to help defend open-source money for people worldwide

One thing I learned from Kjetil is that in addition to helping to secure the global Bitcoin network--which tens of millions of people rely on everywhere from Cuba to Iran to Palestine--they are also assisting local communities in Norway, like our friend here, a local lumberjack

Norway's sustainable forestry industry (Norwegian forests grow by about 25 million cubic meters of timber per year) often dries lumber in the summer sun, taking 2-3 months.

But here, using excess heat from Bitcoin mining, wood takes as little as 4 days to dry

This is just one example of BTC mining's unexpected positive externalities.

Soon, the site will act as a drying site for the Norwegian seaweed industry.

The vision that Kjetil and team have for supporting local business is fresh and inspiring

One thing that amazed me about this mine is how quiet it was.

When I pulled up to the exterior of the warehouse, I couldn't hear a thing.

Which was surprising, as a few years ago this particular site was in the news for being hugely loud and causing noise pollution.

But Kjetil and team figured how how to noise-proof the operation, eliminating this negative externality from the community.

Inside, the equipment is still plenty loud 😅

This current mine is outfitted with S19 ASICs, which are about three times as efficient as the older S9 units, which you see here.

They still work perfectly fine and will be deployed shortly to a new site up North where the remote and stranded electricity is much cheaper

It's quite the experience to sit next to the hum of these peaceful, water-powered machines and realize that they are part of the infrastructure of a growing, open-source, decentralized, unstoppable monetary network that is acting as a lifeline for millions of people worldwide

I also appreciate how Kjetil and team are thinking about how to give back to their community, something I think will eventually spread to many more mining sites across the world.

Talk about tech for good, and about doing well by doing good!

And in case you are interested, this company between its three hydro sites in Norway constitutes around three tenths of a percent of the global hashrate.

Their ambition is to get to 1%… it will be a challenge but godspeed!