Denizens Keep Fighting Against Crypto Mines Despite Losing

The battle against crypto mining noise in Arkansas continues. A local newspaper, Arkansas Business, reports that people are still fighting despite Bitcoin (BTC) miner Jones Digital LLC winning a preliminary court hearing. Crypto mining uses an algorithm dubbed Proof-of-Work (PoW) that requires crypto miners to use advanced and energy-consuming equipment to mine.

Local Businesses Are Better Than Crypto Mines

A businesswoman, Tammy Hornbeck, told Arkansas Business, “We have rice mills and other industries in our area that do produce a lot of noise, but all these facilities … are regulated so that they can’t operate at night if there’s a sound above a certain level.” Given that there are no such regulations for these mines, they can operate night and day.

The constant buzz or drone sound coming from cooling fans can reach up to 90 decibels. Medically, the sound of such propensity can damage hearing. In Waynesville, North Carolina, the planning board decided to ban a crypto mine over complaints regarding noise pollution from citizens.

Olga Grooman, the county’s land-use administrator, told The Mountaineer, a local newspaper, that “Cryptocurrency mining operations are housed in big warehouses. They are noisy, they don’t create jobs, they are usually based offshore, and they consume a lot of energy.”

A similar sentiment was shared by Hornbeck. She said, “This particular industry [crypto mining] does not employ anyone from our community.” Arkansas Act 851 was signed into law to overlook data centers operating in the State. Since the law was passed, Chinese crypto miners have entered the region to set up their shops to mine the largest cryptocurrency.

The Arkansas Business reports that the sound limit in the county is set for 55 decibels during the day and 65 decibels at night. In October, the numbers came down to 45 decibels and 55 decibels for day and night respectively. Thomas Best, a county judge, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that “even at night, was too much; at least that’s what the judge said so that’s what we’ll go with.”

Apart from noise pollution, Bitcoin mining is alleged to have a devastating impact on the environment. A study dubbed “Bitcoin’s growing water footprint” highlights that it uses fresh water for cooling the machines involved in mining. Its water footprint reached nearly 1,600 gigaliters in 2021.

Furthermore, a United Nations’ study points out that Bitcoin mining is taking up land equalling 1.4 the mass of Los Angeles (LA) and water footprint reaching 1.65 KM³. Moreover, BTC is estimated to use 127 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy annually, more than nations like Norway.

Crypto miners are entering rural regions in the US where the constant drone is stirring chaos in their peaceful lives. Brenda Campbell from Wolfe County, Kentucky, shared her experience with a local newspaper Kentucky Lantern.

“It’s all night long. It’s all day,” she said. “It has to be like brainwashing, you know because it’s consistent. There’s no variation.” However, the news did not confirm if the facility was involved in crypto mining.

Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.