New Brunswick Crypto Mining Moratorium: What It Means for Bitcoin Miners

Oct, 3 2025

TL;DR

• New Brunswick’s Crown utility, NB Power, has blocked every new electricity request from crypto miners since November2023.
• The ban covers both fresh projects and expansion plans for existing PoW operations like Bitcoin mining.
• Unlike Manitoba or British Columbia, the moratorium has no set end date - it’s open‑ended.
• Miners are moving to Alberta or U.S. jurisdictions with fewer energy restrictions.
• Future changes will depend on grid capacity upgrades, advances in low‑energy mining tech, and provincial politics.

Why Provinces Are Targeting Crypto Mining

Energy‑intensive cryptocurrency mining is a process that turns electricity into digital coins. The most common type, Bitcoin mining, relies on a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism that solves cryptographic puzzles using massive amounts of power. When dozens of miners line up in a region, the local grid can see a sudden jump of several thousand megawatts - enough to power a small city.

Governments across Canada have started to ask: can the grid handle that surge without raising residential rates? The answer has been “not without consequences,” prompting a wave of moratoriums, caps, and rate hikes.

New Brunswick’s Moratorium - The Basics

On New Brunswick, the provincial cabinet issued an order on 1March2022 that instructed its Crown utility, NB Power, to stop processing any new electricity service requests from crypto miners. The interim pause became permanent in November2023 when the cabinet announced a comprehensive moratorium.

The policy applies to:

• New mining facilities that have never been connected to the grid.
• Existing miners that request additional capacity to expand their rigs.
• All PoW operations, with Bitcoin being the primary target.

NB Power is mandated to refuse any connection request indefinitely, unless the province issues a future order that explicitly lifts the ban. No timeline for review has been published.

How the Ban Is Enforced

When a company files an electricity connection application, NB Power’s engineering team runs a load‑forecast model. Under the moratorium, any application flagged as “crypto‑related” receives an automatic rejection notice. The utility also audits existing contracts to ensure no hidden expansion clauses exist. Violations can trigger penalties under the provincial Energy Act.

Because the restriction is written into the utility’s operating procedures, it bypasses the need for courts or lengthy public hearings. In practice, the moratorium functions as a hard stop for any large‑scale PoW project.

Impact on Existing Operations

Before the ban, New Brunswick attracted several mid‑size Bitcoin farms because of its relatively cheap hydroelectric power. Those farms can continue operating at their approved capacity, but they cannot add new hash‑rate or install additional cooling systems that would require more electricity.

Industry insiders estimate that the province’s total mining load caps at roughly 300MW, far below the 1GW that would strain the grid during peak winter months. The moratorium therefore caps growth, locks in current employment levels, and sends a clear signal to investors: New Brunswick is not a long‑term mining hub.

How New Brunswick Stacks Up Against Other Provinces

Other Canadian jurisdictions have taken a similar but less absolute approach. The table below summarizes the key features of each region’s policy as of October2025.

Economic and Grid Implications

The numbers speak for themselves. In Manitoba, former CEO Jay Grewal warned that adding every interested miner in a 16‑month window would have consumed 4,600MW of the province’s 6,100MW capacity - a 75% jump. New Brunswick’s grid is smaller, roughly 1,200MW total, so even a single 300MW mine would represent 25% of the load.

When large miners connect, utilities often have to purchase extra generating capacity or import power at higher market rates. Those costs are ultimately passed to residential customers via higher tariffs. In British Columbia, the court‑ordered limit on BC Hydro helped keep the average residential rate increase below 1% despite a surge in mining applications.

From a fiscal perspective, the moratorium also cuts potential tax revenue from mining businesses. However, provincial officials argue that protecting grid reliability and keeping consumer electricity affordable outweighs those short‑term gains.

Industry Reaction - Where Are Miners Going?

Crypto mining firms looking for cheap, abundant electricity have redirected their capital to Alberta, where the deregulated market still offers bulk power contracts at competitive prices. Some have also eyed the northern United States - North Dakota and Texas - where the regulatory environment is more permissive.

In response to the New Brunswick ban, a handful of operators announced plans to retrofit their hardware to less energy‑hungry consensus algorithms (e.g., moving from PoW to Proof of Stake). While technically possible, the transition requires completely new hardware stacks and is not a quick fix.

Overall, the moratorium has accelerated a geographic reshuffling of hash‑rate across North America, concentrating mining power in regions with fewer grid constraints.

Future Outlook - Will the Ban Ever Lift?

The province has not set a formal review date, but three factors could trigger a policy shift:

1. Grid upgrades: If NB Power invests in additional hydro or wind capacity, the spare margin might increase enough to reconsider the ban.
2. Technological change: Emerging low‑energy mining ASICs that consume 30% less power could make PoW operations less of a grid risk.
3. Political pressure: Lobbying from mining firms and local municipalities that see job creation benefits could sway the next provincial cabinet.

Until one of those conditions materializes, the moratorium will likely remain in place, serving as a case study for other jurisdictions weighing the trade‑off between renewable‑energy‑rich regions and the strain of crypto mining.

Key Takeaways

• New Brunswick’s crypto mining moratorium is the most restrictive in Canada, with no end date.
• Only existing Bitcoin farms can operate at previously approved capacity; no expansions or new projects are allowed.
• Other provinces apply temporary caps or rate hikes, while Alberta stays open.
• Miners are relocating to more permissive jurisdictions, reshaping the North American hash‑rate map.
• Future policy changes hinge on grid capacity, low‑energy hardware, and political lobbying.