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Cryptocurrency Miners Are Building Their Own Electricity Infrastructure (vice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the now-we're-talking dept.

ted_pikul shares a report from Motherboard: Access to cheap electricity can make or break a cryptocurrency mining operation. The latest move in the quest for bargain-basement power rates: building out local power grids. Canadian company DMG Blockchain is building what it hopes will be a fully-functioning substation in Southern British Columbia, which is electrified by hydro power. Building the substation is costing millions of dollars and required building an access road to haul equipment. "[...] the utility will test everything as a completed substation and make sure that the town doesn't blow up when we flip the switch," Steven Eliscu of DMG Blockchain said.

3 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Oh Lord by rsilvergun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know this isn't a popular opinion around here, but man, there is something deeply wrong with this much effort being extended for what at the end of the day amounts to little more than a vehicle for money laundering. Folks do know that if crypto ever gets big enough for the big boys to take notice (re: Goldman Sachs) they'll have it under their thumb in no time, right? We're talking about a market that a few guys in China were able to manipulate.

    Heck, just legalizing Pot would be a huge blow to the price of crypto currencies and that's more thank likely coming (assuming we can get "tough on crime" conservatives with ties to private prison lobbies out of the way). If we finished the job by legalizing all drugs and treating the hard stuff as a medical problem like the Scandinavians do then all you'd have left is generic money laundering and a few traders playing games.

    I'm just saying that we as a species have better things to do with the miracle that is electricity than to make it easy for some guy to get his fix or to hide a bit of dirty money...

    --
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  2. FFS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    At what point do people ask themselves "Maybe the fact we have to build extra power stations just so we can verify a few transactions means we've gone full retard?".
    Never go full retard people...never go full retard.

  3. Think of the polar bears. SIGH by Dorianny · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If Climate change wasn't a worry the this topic wouldn't even be worth discussing.

    Unfortunately it is and cryptocurrency mining is just making things slightly worst