What happened
Though Bitcoin (BTC 4.73%) and other cryptocurrencies are moving lower today, shares of China-based cryptocurrency miner The9 Limited (NCTY 4.35%) were soaring more than 31% as of 2 p.m. EDT.
So what
The diversified internet company and cryptocurrency miner announced today that it acquired Canada-based Montcrypto Ltd. to build a 20-megawatt (MW) electricity-generation plant in Calgary, Canada. The facility will support a more carbon-neutral cryptocurrency mining operation.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Miners like The9 often trade with the price of Bitcoin and other currencies. But even with Bitcoin, Ether (ETH 2.80%), and Dogecoin (DOGE 4.11%) all down about 3.5% today, investors are treating this news as a game changer for the company.
Cryptocurrency mining has come under scrutiny recently for the amount of power the servers require. Investors clearly like the fact that The9 is taking the initiative to develop a more sustainable mining operation. The9 will invest a total of 7.6 million Canadian dollars ($6.3 million) in two phases to take a controlling stake in Montcrypto. Once complete, the company said the 20 MW of electricity will be able to power more than 6,000 mining servers.
Montcrypto had signed natural gas procurement contracts with local oil companies and plans to build carbon-neutral cryptocurrency mining facilities by using natural gas, an oil extraction byproduct, as the fuel source.
In addition to the Montcrypto agreement, The9 also announced today it closed an investment in another Canadian cryptocurrency mining facilities company, which will expand capacity in Manitoba from 20 MW to 32 MW. The9 will deploy its mining machines there. Investors are nodding their approval of The9's expansion plans today.
