A tech company plans to bring a large-scale cryptocurrency mining facility to Mountain City, Tennessee, but residents are pushing back against the proposed "round-the-clock operation," even though it would create jobs and spark economic growth, according to WCYB.
What is cryptocurrency mining?
In short, cryptocurrency mining uses powerful computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and generate more cryptocurrency. Miners are essentially in a race to solve the puzzles the fastest and receive a reward.
Why are Mountain City residents worried about the cryptocurrency mining facility?
Bitcoin mining facilities, like the one Nevada-based company CleanSpark intends to build in Mountain City, require massive amounts of energy to operate. In fact, cryptocurrency mining can gobble up more energy than entire countries.
Mountain City residents are upset that they didn't have any say in whether they wanted the facility in their rural haven, and they are worried about the potential impact on the environment, their utility bills, and their quality of life, as WCYB reported.
"No one asked us what we thought. We just heard about it after the fact," Amelia Lopez Saltarelli said. Based on incidents elsewhere, their fears aren't unfounded, either.
In Texas, for instance, a 24/7 Bitcoin mining facility led to a lawsuit after residents complained of permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo as a result of its operations.
Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie also found that non-mining residents of the Lone Star State — a cryptocurrency mining magnet because of its abundance of cheap electricity — are paying around 4.7% more for energy due to bitcoin mining. While that percentage may sound minuscule, it amounts to an additional $1.8 billion each year.
How could cryptocurrency contribute to a more prosperous future?
As Investopedia explains, cryptocurrency has its pros and cons. On the plus side, it can facilitate cheaper, faster, and more secure transactions that are less likely to collapse at a single point of failure because of their decentralized nature.
On the other hand, in addition to cryptocurrency's potential to wreak havoc on our ecosystems, its pricing can be more volatile.
Mining can strain electrical grids, too, leading to blackouts. That's true even if a mining facility relies on renewable energy rather than dirty fuels — which still power the majority of cryptocurrency operations, even though clean-energy initiatives from developers like Soluna are helping to clean up the highly polluting industry.
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Definitely 🙁 Some companies are also using or developing crypto to fund green innovation and other planet-friendly initiatives, such as reforestation and ocean cleanups.
As for Mountain City, Mayor Jerry Jordan told WCYB that he and town leaders would tour CleanSpark's facilities in Norcross, Georgia, to determine whether to proceed with the proposal.
"This is probably the most critical decisions I've ever made; I'm taking this seriously," Jordan said.
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