How Bitcoin Mining Devastated This New York Town

upstart writes:

How Bitcoin mining devastated this New York town:

When specialized ASICs optimized for crypto mining went on the market, a processor arms race began. Plattsburgh, in upstate New York, had some of the cheapest electricity rates in the country and crypto miners beat a path to their town to set up shop. In 2018 the town was receiving a major crypto mining application every week.

In January 2018, there was a cold snap. People turned up their heat and plugged in space heaters. The city quickly exceeded its quota of hydropower, forcing it to buy power elsewhere at much higher rates. McMahon says his Plattsburgh home's energy bill jumped by $30 to $40 a month. "People felt there was a problem but didn't know what to attribute it to," he says.

Once the town realized the energy burden of this new industry and the fact that it brought in very little in the way of jobs or tax revenue, they started regulating the industry by requiring funds up front, and they updated their building codes and noise ordinances. Mining farms now have little interest in their town and new applications have moved on to other locations.

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