© Reuters
Investing.com – With the winter storm expected to hit parts of Texas this week, major cryptocurrency mining firms are shutting down operations in anticipation of high demands on the state’s power grid.
Riot Blockchain said that the company’s data center in Rockdale already had “99% of its electricity currently out”. Electricity supply is difficult at the moment. Network requests are expected to peak Thursday evening.
Additionally, mining companies represented on the Texas Blockchain Council have sent a letter to the Governor of Texas informing him that they plan to shut down or scale back their operations.
“As Texans, we want you to know that we are actively monitoring the incoming cold front, as we would any seasonal weather event,” the Texas Blockchain Council vice president said in the letter to the governor. “Similarly, we are taking proactive steps to shut down operations, reduce load and build additional capacity if needed.”
Along these lines, forecasts show a more than 42% increase in demand over the next 24 hours when temperatures drop to their lowest point: around -8 C in Dallas.
In 2021, millions of Texans experienced days without power as a one-of-a-kind winter storm not only increased demand on the grid, but also caused many power plants to shut down, disrupting the flow of electricity. to many residents in need of heating.
Although many cryptocurrency mining operations have taken up residence in Texas, some experts have argued that operations in this state are unlikely to have contributed to the blackouts.
Texas strives to be a welcoming ground for crypto. In this sense, the governor described himself as a “supporter of the proposed crypto law”, encouraging mining companies to set up shop in the state. Lawmakers also passed a law recognizing cryptocurrencies in Texas commercial law and establishing a blockchain task force.
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