The crypto craze helps many rake in a number of cash, however it’s also placing strain on {the electrical} infrastructure of a small county in Washington state.
“Our infrastructure is actually being put to the test. We’re full,” Ron Cridlebaugh, the Port of Douglas County financial improvement supervisor, instructed CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera on Thursday.
Electricity in Washington state is significantly cheaper than in most locations within the U.S. The common electrical energy worth per kilowatt within the state is four cents. By comparability, the nationwide common is 7 cents.
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ripple have skyrocketed in worth not too long ago. Last yr, each digital currencies surged 1,500 p.c and 35,000 p.c, respectively.
People have been attempting to get in on the motion by buying these digital property or by “mining,” or creating them. But the mining course of requires a number of electrical energy as computer systems course of gargantuan quantities of information to provide digital currencies.
Cridlebaugh stated the county is constructing out 100 megawatts (100,000 kilowatts) of infrastructure simply in information facilities to maintain up with demand. “It’s going to take some time to catch up because growth has been so quick.”
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