How voracious Bitcoin mining is messing with Texans

Texas has declared itself open for Bitcoin mining. The state's energy grid — and its customers — are feeling the strain.

An illustrated collage of the state of Texas, Bitcoins, and power grid imagery
(Image credit: Illustrated/Getty Images)

Texas has declared itself open for Bitcoin mining, an energy-intensive endeavor that involves warehouses of powerful computers trying to solve complex mathematical problems to unlock valuable cryptocurrency tokens. Texas also has an increasingly strained power grid that serves only Texas and keeps failing or threatening to overload during winter storms and summer heatwaves.

This combination of Bitcoin miners' voracious appetite for energy and the finite and capricious quantity of power produced in Texas has led to massive cryptocurrency mines earning money for agreeing to shut down in emergencies, raking in more money for shutting down for brief periods, and leaving Texas residents to foot the bill, The New York Times reports. Here's what you need to know about how Bitcoin mining is hurting — or helping — Texas energy customers.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.