Crypto
B.C.'s cryptocurrency pause upheld in court ruling against forestry company | CBC News
A cryptocurrency mining company has lost a bid to force B.C. Hydro to provide the vast amounts of power needed for its operations, upholding the provincial government’s right to pause power connections for new crypto miners.
Conifex Timber Inc., a forestry company that branched out into cryptocurrency mining, had gone to the B.C. Supreme Court to have the policy declared invalid.
But Justice Michael Tammen says in a ruling issued Friday that the government’s move in December 2022 to pause new connections for cryptocurrency mining for 18 months was “reasonable” and not “unduly discriminatory.”
B.C. Hydro CEO Christopher O’Riley had told the court in an affidavit that the data centres proposed by Conifex would have consumed 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year.
That’s enough to power and heat more than 570,000 apartments, according to data on the power provider’s website.
Company wanted 2 new B.C. mines
In a statement released Monday, Conifex said it’s “disappointed” with the court’s ruling and is considering an appeal.
The company, which already operates a sawmill and bio-energy plant in Mackenzie, B.C. — about 160 kilometres north of Prince George — argued in its notice of civil claim that by pausing negotiations for its new cryptocurrency projects, the B.C. government and B.C. Hydro had caused ongoing losses and damages to the company.
The company had wanted to open new crypto mining companies in Salmon Valley, just north of Prince George, and Ashton Creek, north of Kelowna.
It had already started talks with B.C. Hydro and, according to its notice of civil claim, paid $252,000 to move the projects forward in the proposal process.
But in December 2022, the B.C. government stopped taking new requests to hook up cryptocurrency mining operations to the electrical grid for 18 months, pending a study on how the industry is impacting the province’s economic and environmental goals.
CBC News: The House20:20The power of cryptocurrency mining and its uncertain future
Several Canadian provinces have moved to put limits on new cryptocurrency mining operations, putting into question Canada’s place in the emerging sector. In a special report, freelance journalist Bob Keating speaks with entrepreneurs who are pushing for more mining operations in Canada and B.C. Energy Minister Josie Osborne speaks with host Catherine Cullen about why her province has hit the brakes on new operations.
“Cryptocurrency mining consumes massive amounts of electricity to run and cool banks of high-powered computers 24/7/365, while creating very few jobs in the local economy,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne said in a written statement at the time.
Crypto operations present ‘conundrum’: B.C. Hydro
Before the provincial government paused new power connections for cryptocurrency miners, B.C. Hydro released a report outlining the “conundrum” they represent to the utility provider.
The report said power demand from cryptocurrency mining operations would challenge clean energy and electrification goals as adoption of things such as electric vehicles and heat pumps increase.
The report said bitcoin mining requires enough energy to power “a small country,” and moratoriums on crypto mining in China, Algeria and some U.S. states “created a significant increase in demand for power in B.C. by cryptocurrency mining operations.”
The court ruling said connection requests over the last few years from cryptocurrency miners in B.C. “far exceeded” B.C. Hydro’s projections.
It said the pause ordered by the government was in response to “the very real prospect that devoting such a large proportion of the available electrical power supply to one industry would leave less energy for other uses, which might result in increased costs to all other residential and industry customers in B.C.”
The province is already working to convert more households toward electrical heating, as well as pushing for an increase in the use of electric cars.
It is also projecting increased demand for electricity from industrial projects ranging from hydrogen power projects to new mines.
B.C. Premier David Eby recently announced a $36-billion plan to expand electricity production in the province.
Osborne told CBC in an interview last year that the moratorium on new crypto-mine projects was meant to give the province time to consult with industry to make sure energy is being put to good use.
“We don’t want to put that electricity at risk. It’s why we have to take this pause right now and instead use the electricity for the best opportunities in the future,” she said.
In its statement Monday, Conifex said it believes crypto-mining is part of that future.
“Conifex continues to believe that the provincial government is missing out on several opportunities available to it to improve energy affordability, accelerate technological innovation, strengthen the reliability and resiliency of the power distribution grid in British Columbia, and achieve more inclusive economic growth,” the statement said.
Crypto
Trust Wallet Adds AI Transaction Layer to Self-Custody Wallet Infrastructure
Trust Wallet Agent Kit: AI Can Now Act on Your Crypto — With Your Permission
The kit ships in two configurations. In the first, developers set up a dedicated wallet built specifically for AI agent activity, where users define permissions upfront, and the agent can run automated strategies like dollar-cost averaging, limit orders, and price alerts, without asking for approval on every transaction.
In the second configuration, an AI agent connects to a user’s existing Trust Wallet through Walletconnect, proposes transactions, and waits for the user to approve them before anything moves. The firm notes that the user’s custody stays intact throughout.
The release follows Trust Wallet’s Developer Portal, which opened last week with read-only access to crypto data across more than 100 blockchains, including live prices, token metadata, and onchain risk signals. The Agent Kit extends that foundation by adding the ability to act, not just observe.
At launch, supported networks include Ethereum-compatible chains, Solana, Bitcoin, BNB Chain, Cosmos, TON, Aptos, Tron, NEAR, and Sui. Trust Wallet says that coverage makes it the broadest chain-compatible AI wallet infrastructure currently available.
The kit integrates with Model Context Protocol (MCP), the standard developers use to connect AI systems to external platforms, and is available through a command line interface. According to the company’s announcement, a developer can go from account creation to a working AI agent in under 15 minutes.
Out-of-the-box features include token swaps, limit orders, automated strategies, ENS resolution, ERC-20 approvals, message signing, portfolio tracking, wallet auto-lock, and a REST API for deeper integrations.
Felix Fan, CEO of Trust Wallet, remarked in a statement that AI agents need a trusted layer before they can safely act on a user’s finances. The Agent Kit, he said, gives developers the tools to build agents that execute on real wallets within rules the user sets.
Trust Wallet, which reports more than 220 million downloads, describes its broader goal as becoming the self-custody infrastructure for AI-powered finance, a foundational layer that lets AI participate in crypto workflows without users surrendering ownership of their assets.
The company plans to bring AI features directly to end users inside the Trust Wallet app over the coming months, with in-wallet insights, automated strategies, and personalized alerts. A separate Agent Marketplace is also on the roadmap, where developers can publish reusable agent strategies and trading bots for users to deploy directly from their wallets.
Trust Wallet’s development arrives as a growing number of crypto firms roll out services and features tailored to the emerging agentic economy. Since the debut of Openclaw, interest in AI agents has accelerated profoundly, with companies such as Circle, Binance, Coinbase, and a myriad of others unveiling tools and infrastructure focused squarely on this evolving segment.
FAQ 🔎
- What is the Trust Wallet Agent Kit? It is a developer tool that allows AI agents to execute real crypto transactions on a user’s wallet across more than 25 supported blockchains.
- How does Trust Wallet keep users in control of AI transactions? Users can require per-transaction approval through WalletConnect or configure preset permissions on a dedicated agent wallet before any automation runs.
- What blockchains does the Trust Wallet Agent Kit support? At launch it supports Ethereum-compatible chains, Bitcoin, Solana, BNB Chain, Cosmos, TON, Aptos, Tron, NEAR, and Sui.
- Where can developers access the Trust Wallet Agent Kit? The kit is available now via the Trust Wallet Developer Portal at portal.trustwallet.com.
Crypto
Cedar Falls delays public hearing on crypto mining operation, power plant
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) – Cedar Falls city officials postponed a public hearing on zoning and code changes needed for a proposed power plant and cryptocurrency mining operation.
The hearing was pushed back to April 22 amid concerns from residents about environmental impacts and utility costs.
Cedar Falls Utility and Simple Mining, the company behind the cryptocurrency operation, say their projects will not negatively impact the public or the environment. Residents at Tuesday night’s meeting showed skepticism about those claims.
People are concerned about noise levels and water and electricity usage. Simple Mining says its crypto mining will use a closed loop water cooling system, which will allow the operation to use very little water. The company also says it can be shut down quickly when energy rates are higher.
Matt Hein, Simple Mining Director of Energy Infrastructure, said the company’s energy usage is a benefit to Cedar Falls.
“Our large consumption of electricity is an economic benefit to the city of Cedar Falls,” Hein said. “We help pay for schools, we help pay for roads.”
People worry high energy usage will push their utility bills up.
Cedar Falls Utility says the power plant was planned for years before the crypto operation became part of the picture.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Crypto
US 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 8-Month High Above 4.4%, Pulls Back on Middle East Ceasefire Reports
Bond Market Selloff Pushes 10-Year Yield
The move reflected a sharp repricing of inflation and fiscal risk. Bond prices fell as investors demanded higher returns on longer-dated government debt, pushing the 10-year yield to close at approximately 4.39% on Tuesday, according to data tracked by Ycharts and the St. Louis Fed’s FRED database.
Three overlapping pressures drove the climb. The ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict — including airstrikes and troop deployments, raised fears of oil supply disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz. Crude prices spiked, embedding higher energy costs into inflation expectations and pulling bond prices lower, particularly at the long end of the curve.
Fiscal concerns compounded the move. Increased military spending added to already elevated deficit projections, deepening term-premium pressure on Treasuries. Weak recent bond auctions further signaled reduced demand from investors, questioning long-term fiscal sustainability.
The Federal Reserve provided no offset. At its March 18 meeting, the Fed held the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%–3.75% in an 11-1 vote, citing sticky inflation, solid economic activity, and uncertainty tied to the Iran conflict. The Fed’s dot plot still projected one rate cut in 2026, but futures markets largely priced out meaningful easing this year — with some traders pushing rate-cut expectations into 2027.
That hawkish stance steepened the yield curve. Short-term rates stayed anchored while long-end yields rose on persistent inflation bets — a classic “higher for longer” repricing that forced an unwind of leveraged bond positions.
Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, flagged the technical significance of the move. “While the 10-year yield broke out of a short-term range, the weekly chart still shows bonds holding within a long triangle in place since 2022,” Timmer wrote Wednesday. “If it breaks, it will be a problem not only for bonds but equities and other assets as well.” He added that yields are rising globally: “This is a global reset.”
Keith McCullough, CEO of Hedgeye Risk Management, pointed to the trend’s staying power. “10-Year Yield Holds Uptrend as Inflation Nowcast Accelerates during Quad3,” McCullough posted Wednesday. “The bond market isn’t buying the narrative. 10Y still making higher highs and lows. Range: 4.20–4.43%.”
Wednesday’s partial reversal showed how sensitive yields remain to geopolitical headlines. As ceasefire reports circulated, the 10-year traded near 4.32%–4.33%, giving back a portion of the prior day’s advance.
Timmer’s earlier note captured the line markets are watching: “Nothing good happens above 4.5% when the risk-free rate is competitive with risky assets.” That level sits roughly 17 basis points above Tuesday’s close.
Whether yields resume their climb depends on two variables: sustained inflation data and any re-escalation in the Middle East. Markets are positioned for both. For now, the 10-year yield remains a live stress indicator, not just for bonds, but for equities, credit, and rate-sensitive sectors across the U.S. economy.
FAQ 🔎
- Why did the 10-year Treasury yield rise above 4.4% in March 2026? The yield climbed due to overlapping pressures from U.S.-Iran conflict oil fears, elevated federal deficit spending, and a Federal Reserve holding rates steady with few cuts expected in 2026.
- What does a higher 10-year Treasury yield mean for the U.S. economy? Rising long-term yields increase borrowing costs for mortgages, corporate debt, and government financing, putting pressure on equities and rate-sensitive sectors.
- When did the 10-year yield last trade this high? The March 24, 2026 close near 4.39% marked the highest level in approximately eight months, dating back to around July 2025.
- Will U.S. Treasury yields continue rising in 2026? Analysts say the path depends on incoming inflation data and whether the Middle East conflict escalates further or moves toward a sustained ceasefire.
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