VIDEO: Council candidate wants the City of Kelowna to mine for Bitcoin

Zach Sawatzky has invested in Bitcoin mining and believes the city should get into it too.

The six-year Kelowna resident has thrown his hat into the crowded ring of candidates seeking a spot on council in the upcoming election.

"The important thing is generating new revenue for the city," said Sawatzky.

He differentiates himself from the other candidates.

"Everyone has a lot of reasons or a lot of things, they want to do, a lot of initiatives," he said, "not a lot of ideas on how they're going to fund it."

And that's where Bitcoin comes in.

He said there is already Bitcoin mining going on in the city, profitably.

"There's no reason why Kelowna can't step in and do the same kind of initiative on their own behalf."

Sawatzky said the city could even power the computer power needed for the enterprise by using the methane released at Kelowna's landfill and converting it into electricity.

Bitcoin mining operations tend to use large banks of computers which use a lot of electricity to function.

That's drawn criticism.

"It's far from clean and simple," he admits, "but again, it just starts at a grass-roots level."

Sawatzky points out that Kelowna's new official community plan talks about utilizing technology and he believes this would fit right in.

Whether or not he's elected, he sees the campaign as a chance to make a point.

"If you're not going to vote for me that's fine," said Sawatzky, "but ask your candidate: 'what is it that you're going to do to generate additional revenue without pulling a million more tourists into this town or raising our taxes?'."

If you aren't sure exactly what Bitcoin mining is, Sawatzky said he would be happy to explain it to you.

"I understand it's new," he said, "but it doesn't mean we shouldn't utilize it."

To check out all of the candidates, visit KelownaVotes 2022.

Voting day is October 15.