Texas, after blackouts, seeks to be the capital of cryptocurrencies

Texas, which now houses the most vulnerable electricity grid in USA, it would be on the verge of being affected by an increase in electricity demand that would be twice that of Austin.

Due to its low energy rates and economic liberalism an army of cryptocurrency miners plans to head to the state, which would see demand soar by as much as 5,000 megawatts in the next two years. Crypto migration to Texas has been building up for months, but the sheer volume of power those miners will need – twice as much as the capital city’s consumption of nearly 1 million people in all of 2020 – has so far become clearer.

The boom comes just when the power system is under pressure from population growth and a more robust economy. Even before the new lawsuit goes live, the state’s network has proven to be deadly unreliable. The catastrophic blackouts in February left millions of people in the dark for days, killing at least 210 people.

Some pro representatives like Senator Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans, say that ultimately, crypto miners would be good for the grid, while they say miners could soak up excess power. clean and, when needed, voluntarily release in seconds to help prevent blackouts. However, the question arises as to what these miners will do when the state’s demand for electricity inevitably exceeds supply: will they adhere to an honor system of reducing their energy use, especially when the price of electricity? bitcóin is it that high, or will this ultimately translate into even more pressure on an already overwhelmed network?

“No one is really considering the scale of the potential investment in crypto and its demand for energy over the next several years,” said Adrian Shelley, director of the Texas consumer advocacy office and lobby group Public Citizen, which has criticized harshly the vulnerabilities of the state’s unregulated energy market.