Month: July 2019

Squire mining provides update to shareholders on its transaction to acquire cloud computing companies and notification of postponement of special meeting

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Vancouver, British Columbia; July 30, 2019 – Squire Mining Ltd. (CSE:SQR | FWB:9SQ | OTCQB:SQRMF) (the “Company”) wishes to provide an update on its transaction announced on May 30, 2019 (the “Transaction Announcement”) to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of certain companies which own and operate a fleet of cloud computing assets representing approximately 2,985 petahash (the “Transaction”) and timing for the special meeting of shareholders of the Company (the “Shareholders Meeting”) previously scheduled for July 31, 2019.

Since the announcement of the Transaction, the Company has been working towards the completion of a revised Form 2A Listing Statement (the “Listing Statement”) as required pursuant to the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”), a draft of which was filed by the Company for review by the CSE. Trading in the common shares of the Company is expected to remain halted until such time as the Company receives acceptance by the CSE of the Listing Statement.

The Shareholders Meeting which has been called to approve an amendment to the articles and notice of  articles of the Company to create non‐voting participating shares to be issued in connection with the Transaction (the “Amendment”) and the change of business (and fundamental change) pursuant to the Transaction (the “Shareholder Approvals”) has been postponed. The Company will announce the new date for the Shareholders Meeting in due course.

Clarification

As previously announced, the Transaction is subject to conditions to closing including receipt of CSE approvals and Shareholder Approvals. The Transaction Announcement erroneously stated the Amendment required approval by at least 66 2/3% of the votes cast by the shareholders of the Company at the Shareholders Meeting. The Company would like to clarify that the Amendment will require approval by a simple majority of the votes cast by the shareholders of Squire at the Meeting.

About Squire Mining Ltd.

Squire is a Canadian based technology company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in the business of operating, managing and developing cloud computing data infrastructure and system technology to support global blockchain applications related to Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Core and other SHA‐256 based digital assets.

For further information contact:
Angela Holowaychuk
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: +1 800‐371‐2809

The CSE accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD‐LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes “forward‐looking information” as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward‐looking information and statements include, but are not limited to, disclosure regarding possible events, that are based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action.
Forward‐looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward‐looking information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, uncertain and volatile equity and capital markets, lack of available capital, future demand for Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Core and other cryptocurrencies and risks related to the mining thereof, integration issues, personnel and staffing requirements and technological change and obsolescence and risks that the conditions to closing in respect of the Transaction will not be satisfied. There are no assurances with respect to: whether the Transaction will be completed or completed on the same terms or in the anticipated time provided or that conditions to closing in respect of the Transaction will be satisfied including without limitation: obtaining approval and acceptance by the CSE of the revised Listing Statement; the timing for release of the halt of trading of the common shares on the CSE; the timing of the Shareholders’ Meeting; obtaining the required shareholder approval at the Shareholders’ Meeting; and the timing and completion of the Transaction (on the terms presently contemplated or otherwise). Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward‐looking information. All forward looking information in this news release is made as of the date hereof and qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Squire disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such forward‐looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Squire mining files amended business acquisition report

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Vancouver, British Columbia; July 29, 2019 – Squire Mining Ltd. (CSE:SQR | FWB:9SQ | OTCQB:SQRMF) (“Squire”) today announced that it has filed an amended business acquisition report dated July 26, 2019 (the “Amended BAR”), relating to Squire’s acquisition of Freschette Limited that closed on May 2, 2019. The Amended BAR replaces and supersedes the previous business acquisition report of Squire filed on July 15, 2019.

The Amended BAR includes notice indicating that no auditor has reviewed the condensed interim financial  statements pursuant to National Instrument 51‐102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations, and the  condensed interim financial statements for Freschette Limited have been amended to include comparatives as at December 31, 2018 and a revised statement of cash flows for the period from January 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019.

The Amended BAR can be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Squire Mining Ltd.

Squire is a Canadian based technology company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in the business of  developing and operating cloud computing data infrastructure and system technology to support global blockchain applications related to Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Core and other associated SHA‐256 derived digital assets.

For further information contact:
Angela Holowaychuk
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: +1 800‐371‐2809

The CSE accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Understanding Bitcoin mining hardware

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The hardware used to mine Bitcoin has changed quite a bit since the digital currency was first introduced in 2009. As the difficulty to mine a block has gone up, the hardware used to stay profitable has gotten more specialized and efficient.

Mining hardware has to do a couple of things to be successful. It needs to perform calculations fast enough to mine the next block and award it to the rig’s owner, and it needs to do so efficiently enough to turn a profit.

The reward of each block is 12.5 Bitcoin in 2019, and the price of the coin determines how much that will be. The cost to mine that block depends on the efficiency of the hardware in performing its calculations, which can be determined by the amount of power it needs to run, and how much that
power costs.

In 2009, the difficulty to mine a block was fairly low, and just about anyone could mine Bitcoin using the multi-core processor in their personal computer. The price of Bitcoin was low, but so was the cost of running a consumer grade computer.

As the difficulty of mining Bitcoin steadily increased over time, the hardware needed to evolve to meet the task. In the early 2010s, Bitcoin miners discovered they could use graphical processing units (GPUs), typically used for video processing and computer games, to mine Bitcoin. Multiple GPUs could be installed in a machine, and they would mine Bitcoin faster than CPUs had.

As Bitcoin got more popular and mining got more difficult, GPU mining eventually gave way to ASIC (Application specific integrated circuits) mining. ASIC rigs are purpose built to mine Bitcoin, and provide the fastest computational power possible for the lowest consumption of energy.

Now, the difficulty of mining has far surpassed the capabilities of CPUs and GPUs. Although they can technically do it, the speed at which they operate is too slow, meaning someone else will mine the next block first, and the energy cost to do so would be prohibitive. To mine Bitcoin, an operation needs ASIC miners, and plenty of them.

ASIC technology is progressing all the time, with hardware getting faster, more efficient, and less energy intensive to run. Modern mining operations run top of the line ASIC rigs, which can be a big investment up front, but gives them the most powerful systems to mine blocks with for the most efficient energy usage.

It’s a huge step forward when compared to the early days of Bitcoin when anyone could mine from their dorm room, but the Bitcoin industry has demanded that level of progress from miners and mining equipment.

Squire Mining announces appointment of Kevin Turner to advisory board

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Vancouver, British Columbia; July 25, 2019 – Squire Mining Ltd. (CSE:SQR | FWB:9SQ | OTCQB:SQRMF) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of B. Kevin Turner to the Company’s Advisory Board.

Mr. Turner has over 30 years of business experience. He is currently the President and CEO of Core Scientific, Inc., a leader in infrastructure and software solutions for artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, the Vice Chairman of Albertsons/Safeway and a member of the board of directors of Nordstrom. Mr. Turner was previously the Vice Chairman of Citadel LLC and the Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Securities. He served as Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer from 2005 to 2016, where he led the company’s global sales, marketing and services and support organization of 55,000+ employees in more than 190 countries. Under his leadership, the sales and marketing group grew the company from US$35 billion to over US$91.9 billion in revenue in fiscal 2016.

Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Turner spent nearly 20 years at Wal‐Mart Stores, where he rose through the ranks and was named the youngest corporate officer ever at Wal‐Mart at age 29. He held various leadership positions at Wal‐Mart including becoming the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Wal‐Mart Stores, Inc.

Mr. Turner stated, “I am delighted to be joining the advisory board of Squire Mining and I am excited to work with Stefan Matthews and the Squire management team in this exciting space.” Stefan Matthews, Chairman of the Company, commented, “We are grateful for the addition of Mr. Turner to our advisory board and believe that his experience, expertise and advice will assist Squire in developing strategy for long term growth and expansion. Core Scientific will be a key partner in platform development and hosting solutions and Mr. Turner’s knowledge in these areas and leadership at Core Scientific will be very important to Squire.”

Mr. Turner joins fellow advisory board members, Jimmy Nguyen (Founding President, Bitcoin Association) and Dr. Craig S. Wright (Chief Scientist at nChain, the advisory, research & development firm for blockchain technologies).

About Squire Mining Ltd.

The Company is a Canadian based technology company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in the business of operating, managing and developing cloud computing data infrastructure and system technology to support global blockchain applications related to Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Core and other SHA‐256 based digital assets.

For further information contact:

Angela Holowaychuk
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: +1 800‐371‐2809

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD‐LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes “forward‐looking = information” as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward‐looking information and statements include, but are not limited to, disclosure regarding possible events, that are based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. Forward‐looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward‐looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward‐looking information. All forward looking information in this news release is made as of the date hereof and qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Squire disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such forward‐looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

No, Bitcoin Mining is not a threat to the environment

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Type Bitcoin Mining on any search bar and among the first things that will pop up are how it’s “power-hungry,” an “energy hog,” and essentially a threat to the environment.

But is it really?

Although mainstream media has been quick to pass judgment that cryptocurrency mining is detrimental to the environment, there have studies and research papers that contradict these FUDs. A paper in the Joule journal estimated that Bitcoin’s annual electricity consumption adds up to 45.8TWh as of November 2018, accounting for 0.2% of global electricity use.

A CoinShares study, however, pointed out that majority of the energy consumed by mining cryptocurrencies—as much as 74.1%—comes from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower, which makes Bitcoin mining is “more renewables-driven than almost every other large-scale industry in the world.”

CoinShares isn’t the first to dismiss the doom-and-gloom scenario painted by groups castigating cryptocurrency for its perceived environmental wastefulness. Dr. Katrina Kelly-Pitou, a research associate in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, wrote an article for non-profit academic media outlet The Conversation in which she noted that the general narrative that portrayed cryptocurrency as an environmental risk is an oversimplification that leads to factual inaccuracies among mainstream readers.

As Kelly-Pitou pointed out, “I am a researcher who studies clean energy technology, specifically the transition toward decarbonized energy systems…New technologies—such as data centers, computers and before them trains, planes and automobiles—are often energy-intensive. Over time, all of these
have become more efficient, a natural progression of any technology: Saving energy equates to saving costs.”

In Bitcoin’s case, the systems get more efficient as usage grows. This means that the more people uses the network to transact, the more energy efficient Bitcoin system mining gets.

By restricting the discussion to Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption alone, the larger truth about energy and environmental concerns remain unaddressed. Kelly-Pitou noted: ““Like many other aspects of the energy industry, Bitcoin is not necessarily a ‘bad guy.’ It’s simply a new, and vaguely understood, industry. The discussion about energy consumption and bitcoin is, I believe, unfair without discussing the energy intensity of new technologies overall, specifically in data centers.”

Bitcoin Mining during the highs and lows of a turbulent market

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If your new to Bitcoin mining, and the market is doing very well, it can feel like you’ve acquired a license to print money. The real test comes when the price of Bitcoin turns sour, which it can very quickly, and a mining operation has to do everything it possibly can to keep making a profit.
Managing all the variables of the chaotic Bitcoin mining industry can be tricky.

The basics don’t change very much either way, so streamlining an operation to work regardless of the price of digital currencies is key. That starts with keeping costs low.

An operation wants to start with the most energy efficient equipment it can get its hands on to keep the demand for energy as low as possible. After that, it will also want to find the cheapest, most reliable sources of energy. Canada makes a great option for cheap renewable energy, and it has the added benefit of being a cold weather country, keeping cooling costs low. Finally, different governments might be offering tax incentives or energy discounts to attract mining operations, and this kind of bonus is hard to walk away from.

Once a mining operation has these basics down, it then becomes a question of how does it handle the fluctuations of the marketplace. The price of Bitcoin can vary wildly, and energy costs are rarely guaranteed to stay consistent.

The key here is the ability to scale and stay flexible. If the price of Bitcoin suddenly falls off a cliff, having an operation that can quickly shift to other SHA‐256 derived digital assets could mean the difference between running a deficit or turning a profit. Having a few rigs in reserve that can be turned on when the market starts climbing or turned off when it takes a dive, could help pad the budget for when the price levels off later on.

The uptime of those rigs is important to maintain overall as well. If the market suddenly surges, and only 900 of 1000 miners are operating, 10% of the hash power at an operator’s disposal is being wasted. The key to maintaining an efficient, profitable operation is getting the most uptime out of all the hardware, and avoiding situations when it needs maintenance at the worst possible time.

Having flexible energy options can make a huge difference here as well. If a mining site is entirely dependent on one external supplier of energy, sudden changes in prices, perhaps because of a change in seasons, could be disastrous to the bottom line. Having internal solutions, if local government allows it, such as solar panels of wind turbines, can both stabilize energy costs and provide an additional source of revenue.

Bitcoin mining can be extremely profitable, but if an operation doesn’t take control of as many variables as possible, it can also be very risky. By taking all of these factors into account, a Bitcoin miner will find much more long success and survive the next rollercoaster ride of the marketplace.