A new town comes for the Bitcoin mine
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Over 90% of all bitcoins in existence are worth more today than when their owner bought them, but there's one group that complains that they've only incurred costs, not benefits: the neighbors of Bitcoin mines.
Why it matters: One Texas community has sought to pull a bitcoin mine into a new local municipality, which should give its neighbors the leverage to impose restrictions on noise.
- It's likely to turn out to be a fight from there, but it's what community leaders see as their best shot to exercise some leverage over the giant facility.
Driving the news: In early November, registered voters in the unincorporated area near the MARA Holdings data center 10 miles south of Granbury, Texas, (southwest of Fort Worth) will get a chance to vote on whether or not to form a town government.
- Under Texas law, only municipalities can write rules around noise, County Commissioner Nannette Samuelson told Axios. The commission she sits on cannot.
- If the vote succeeds and the community moves swiftly enough to establish local leadership, they will be able to start writing noise rules.
What they're saying: "MARA is aware that a few residents are trying to create a new town in what appears to be an attempt to negatively impact its Granbury facility," a company statement says.
- The company noted that it acquired the site in 2024 and has spent heavily on improvements.
- "We are committed to maintaining our health and safety standards at the Granbury data center and being good neighbors," the statement added.
- MARA is one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin operators in the United States, with $238 million in revenue for the second quarter and a $5.9 billion market cap.
Flashback: The tension went national a year ago after receiving coverage in Time magazine. Locals claimed they have suffered significant health effects from living under the constant drone of machines attempting to mine new bitcoins.
The other side: As the elected county constable, John Shirley, collected eggs from chickens he keeps on a small patch of land he's developing near the site, he told Axios that MARA Holdings has "given the community every indication they're going to continue to be adversaries."
- "Instead of doing what they claimed to be when they first came here, which is, they were going to be a partner with the community."
- Shirley said he took dozens of measurements with a sound meter outside the mine at various different times and under various conditions.
- He ultimately began to write disorderly conduct tickets to the mine operator over the noise, which came with small fines.
- These tickets were recently thrown out in a proceeding before a justice of the peace court, a county-level court that rules on certain misdemeanors.
What's next: Whether locals vote in favor of creating the government for a town called Mitchell Bend.
- Mitchell Bend would cover just under 2 square miles and include about 600 citizens, of which about half are registered to vote, according to the leaders pushing the initiative.
- Establishing a municipality would enable the town to set specific, granular rules around noise levels.
On the ground: Axios visited the Mitchell Bend area twice recently, on Sunday, August 24, in the late afternoon, and Monday, August 25, in the late morning.
- The mining operation was audible all around the area, as a low whishing sound in the background, something like air coming out of a blow dryer, set on low, heard from one room over.
- Even just speaking to Shirley was enough to drown it out.
What they're saying: "Independent professional sound studies, including one conducted on behalf of the Hood County government, have confirmed that MARA's facility operates well below state and county law noise limits," the company said in its statement.
- The state disorderly conduct law sets a limit of 85 decibels.
MARA Holdings declined a request to go into the site on Monday, citing short notice.
The latest: MARA has built several walls to control sound on the site since taking over. According to Shadden and the county's Samuelson, the walls haven't helped, possibly because they have just added more miners.
- MARA said it has installed more immersion miners on the site, which produce less noise, but immersion miners still require cooling systems.
The other side: Constable Shirley thinks the sound has gotten better in recent months, but he always caveats that by saying he isn't there all the time, like the future residents of Mitchell Bend.
- "It's not like your neighbor mowing their lawn by your window, and you know that in a 30 minutes or an hour, they're going to be done," Samuelson explained.
The bottom line: "These people are on fire and they're not going to stop until they get some way to put the brakes on what's going on or have a say," Shirley said.
