Let’s take a look at what a crypto mine in Limestone, Tennessee looks like.
Hear the story of the cryptocurrency mine in Limestone, Tennessee.
Brianna Pacholka, Knoxville News Observer
We’re all familiar with the concept of mining precious metals, but what is cryptocurrency mining? Crypto mining is how some cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, process transactions and generate new tokens. Cryptocurrency mining is similar in design to digital mining of gold.
Cryptocurrency “mines” are specialized data centers where cryptocurrency miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles using specialized computer hardware and terrifying amounts of energy, equivalent to the electricity usage of many mid-sized countries. The miner who solves the puzzle the fastest will be given the privilege of adding the latest block to the blockchain. It also collects transaction fees and newly minted cryptocurrencies associated with that block.
While cryptocurrencies have so far largely failed to achieve their goal of widespread use by consumers, they have achieved their goal of freedom from severe government regulation to a remarkable extent. As a result, it often becomes a vehicle for fraud and crime.
An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the New York Times, and other media outlets found that “at least $28 billion in illegal activity has flowed into virtual currency exchanges over the past two years.” The most avid users of cryptocurrencies are hackers, thieves, and extortionists, criminal groups that clearly appreciate the opaque nature of cryptocurrencies.
Perhaps the earliest use of cryptocurrencies was money laundering, which continues to this day. For example, suppose a drug dealer can sell illegal goods for virtual currency or use the proceeds of sales in traditional currency to buy virtual currency, but in both cases, he or she is confident that the market is effectively unregulated and transactions are easily hidden under false names and secret accounts. He can then easily sell his cryptocurrencies and earn proceeds that are difficult to trace from underlying drug sales.
President Donald Trump has vowed to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet,” and his administration appears intent on limiting or curtailing even nominal regulatory efforts made so far. Earlier this year, the SEC dismissed the lawsuit and ended its investigation into numerous crypto ventures. In April, the Department of Justice disbanded the unit responsible for investigating virtual currency crimes. Perhaps for the foreseeable future, cryptocurrencies will serve no active purpose in our country other than providing a platform for fraud and crime.
As if this were not bad enough, crypto mining also poses serious environmental sustainability and public health issues, including increased local air quality (due to particulate matter), water and noise pollution, strain on local power grids, higher electricity bills for residents, and increased climate pollution.
A study examining the economic impact of Bitcoin (the major and most well-known cryptocurrency) on the environment found that for every dollar of value created in Bitcoin in 2025, there will be $0.74 in health and climate damage in the United States.
Oklahoma has become ranked third in the nation in creating a cryptocurrency economy thanks to low energy costs, tax incentives, and other business-friendly laws for multi-million dollar cryptocurrency mining companies.
Cryptocurrency mining facilities in Oklahoma benefit from industrial rates that are significantly lower than residential rates. As of July 2025, Oklahoma’s industrial electricity rates were approximately 5.25 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), among the lowest in the nation. During the same period, the average residential rate in Oklahoma was 13.5 cents per kWh.
House Bill 3594, passed in the 2024 legislative session, defends this graduated schedule, protects miners from discriminatory rate setting, and explicitly prohibits the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) from setting separate, higher rates specifically for cryptocurrency miners. The bill is based almost word for word on a model policy from the Satoshi Action Fund, a black-finance 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that advocates for virtual currency legislation. The new law effectively rolls out a welcome mat for crypto miners who roam rural America in search of cheap energy, land, and water for their mining operations.
A second bill, HB 1600, was also passed during this session, providing cryptocurrency miners with a sales tax exemption on electricity (and machinery and equipment).
If we want to ensure that our foreign exchange market remains one of the most open and honest in the world, contributing significantly to attracting investment, strengthening the dollar, and deterring financial crime, the federal government will need to take strong action.
Meanwhile, our Legislature and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission must consider the impact of crypto mining on the environment, public health, the power grid, and electricity rates. Equally important and not to be overlooked is the moral dimension. Cryptocurrency markets are unregulated, making these markets easy targets for criminals and fraudulent financial transactions. Cryptocurrency mines exist solely for the self-enrichment of their owners. Why should citizens give public funds and resources to crypto miners to generate their own (often ill-gotten) wealth in exchange for fewer jobs, environmental degradation, and increased utility bills?
Mike Altshuler is a former educator and environmental activist who lives in Edmond. He can be reached at okczen@yahoo.com.
