Here's something that was announced late last week that has flown a bit under the radar outside of a mention in CoinDesk; Equinor, a publicly traded multinational energy company that is majority owned by the Norwegian government, has engaged with Crusoe Energy Solutions to mitigate flare waste on some of their well pads in the Bakken using Bitcoin mining. Arcane Research seems to have acquired an internal memo from Equinor that confirms the partnership and explains why they have decided to engage Crusoe.

If you read this rag and are aware of my day job at Great American Mining, you know that I am extremely bullish on this particular part of the industry. The opportunity that exists in the United States alone for miners to consume cheap natural gas that is being burnt off instead of used productively is massive. It is only a matter of time before every oil and gas producer in the country seriously considers mining Bitcoin to eek out as much value as they possibly can from the gas they're wasting. Especially as the price of Natural Gas continues to struggle in comparison to its historical highs. The allure created by the ability to convert that wasted energy into the hardest money the world has ever encountered will become too strong to ignore. Especially as more of the big boys announce that they are doing it.

What's even more interesting about this particular engagement is the fact that Equinor is a state-owned entity and drives a lot of the money that flows into Norway's sovereign wealth fund. Even though Equinor won't be holding the bitcoin mined on their balance sheet (yet), it isn't outlandish to say that Bitcoin is directly contributing to the bottom line of a nation-state. In fact, it is a factual statement. Again, this news hasn't gotten as much fanfare as it should be getting in my eyes.

The symbiotic relationship between Bitcoin mining and the Oil and Gas industry in the United States is a no-brainer. Bitcoin miners need cheap + abundant energy, further geographic distribution of hash rate to ensure the long-term survivability of the network, and a shift away from the narrative that miners "boil the oceans". The oil and gas industry in the United States desperately to better inoculate itself from the whims of Saudi Arabia and Russia. On top of this, it needs to solve its waste gas problem that is drawing unwanted attention from regulators. Killing two birds with one stone by mining bitcoin is a no brainer. You sure up revenue streams that make you less worried about what OPEC and Russia are doing while getting the pollution police off your back.

Expect more of this moving forward.

Final thought...

This virus is making people weird.