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. It pointed to a sound study prepared for Hood County government that showed readings of noise well under the 85-decibel limit set in the state's disorderly conduct law.
• "We are committed to maintaining our health and safety standards at the Granbury data center and being good neighbors," the statement added.

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, 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.

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.

I 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 during my visit, as a low whishing sound in the background, something like air coming out of a blow dryer, set on low.
• Even just speaking to Shirley was enough to drown it out. I could not hear it inside my car with the engine off.

The big picture: However, Shirley and other local community members told Axios the sound is highly variable.

• He said that many times when he first began taking readings, the noise would be quite intense, loud enough to be annoying.
• Cheryl Shadden, one of the leaders of the effort to incorporate, whose property has signs painted on sheet metal along the road protesting the noise, said if I came back Sunday after dark I would have heard it much more clearly.

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.

Setting the scene: The town has a small gas station, convenience store, and a Baptist church. Right next to the bitcoin mine is a number of small homes.

• Just off the road that runs outside the mine and power plants, there are bunches of trailer-style homes arranged close together.
• Further out, there are small ranch-like homes and even a couple small resorts, built to take advantage of the Brazos.

MARA Holdings declined my 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 sees it a bit differently. He 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 noise often goes on 24/7, as the Bitcoin network never stops running.

State of play: Noise laws in Texas, Shadden contends, are out of date, designed more for noisy neighbors than industrial operations. "Laws certainly haven't caught up with all of the industry coming into the state of Texas," she said.

• It remains to be seen whether the facility would comply with the new rules or if they would end up being tested in court.

What we're watching: Whether or not more similar local tensions arise while AI data centers go up in small communities across the country.

🤝 Crypto.com and Trump Media launched a digital asset treasury company for the CRO token. (Axios Pro)

⛏️ Gryphon Digital, a bitcoin miner, will be absorbed by the Trump family's American Bitcoin company. (The Miner Mag)

😰 The fee market on the Bitcoin network has been crushed, and it doesn't look like it will get better any time soon. (DL News)

👯‍♂️ The Winklevoss twins bet against bipartisanship. (Brogan Law)