фото показано с : invezz.com

Peter Wall, the CEO of leading cryptocurrency mining firm Argo, believes Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and the altcoin market had a good year despite the current bearish sentiment. He aired his opinions during an interview on December 21, asserting that he would never want to bet against BTC. Wall pointed out that despite plunging significantly over the past, the coin always made a comeback.

According to him, BTC has repeatedly proven its worth and importance. He acknowledged that the BTC market has been volatile this year. However, he quoted Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s CEO, who once remarked that volatility is equal to vitality. To this end, he said BTC is doing what it has always done and that he would never count the flagship crypto out.

Sharing insights on what will drive BTC’s price higher in 2022, Wall said the same factors that helped the coin soar in 2021 would extend into the coming year. He gave an example of the mining industry at the start of the year, saying it primarily comprised uncertain teenagers. However, this uncertainty turned into confidence, which saw the same teenagers become professionals in their early 20s.

Heading into 2022, Wall believes the mining industry will become well established and credible. He also noted that the sector would have access to many forms of capital that were not available before.

As the crypto market continues maturing rapidly, Wall said regulators are also beginning to take the industry more seriously. He gave an example of how crypto executives went to Congress earlier this month.

According to him, Washington giving the crypto officials a chance to discuss the burgeoning asset class shows regulators are increasingly becoming interested in crypto.

Speaking about Argo’s mining business, Wall said the company registered record margins for pretty much the whole of 2021. Even after factoring in the operational costs of the business, Wall said the company is on the extreme end of profitability. Wall added that he expects to see more hashrate come online in 2022 as mining companies continue adding more rigs to their setups.

With China banning BTC mining earlier this year, half of the network’s hashrate went offline pushing BTC’s price down. However, mining companies like Argo continued registering strong margins despite the poor price performance.

To this end, Wall believes BTC mining will continue being a profitable business. Nonetheless, he does not think the business will be as profitable in 2022 as it was in 2021.

Addressing ESG concerns in crypto mining, Wall said it is imperative to avoid using fossil fuels. He added that Argo has been at the forefront of advocating for and using renewable energy for BTC mining.

Apart from setting up a mining farm that uses hydroelectric power in Quebec, Wall said Argo is setting up a facility that would tap into the wind and solar energy in West Texas.

He added that mining companies understand the ESG issues and are working to embrace renewable power. According to him, some are emulating Argo in trying to be carbon-neutral or carbon-negative. Due to these efforts, he believes BTC mining uses more renewable power than any other industry.

The post Argo CEO says crypto had a good year despite the current bear market appeared first on Invezz.

146 +