Over the course of several months in 2024, TIME spoke to more than 40 people in the Granbury area who reported a medical ailment that they believe is connected to the arrival of the Bitcoin mine: hypertension, heart palpitations, chest pain, vertigo, tinnitus, migraines, panic attacks. At least 10 people went to urgent care or the emergency room with these symptoms. The development of large-scale Bitcoin mines and data centers is quite new, and most of them are housed in extremely remote places. There have been no major medical studies on the impacts of living near one. But there is an increasing body of scientific studies linking prolonged exposure to noise pollution with cardiovascular damage.
While this is easy to dismiss as “crypto bros being themselves” it’s worth mentioning that this is run by Marathon Energy who owns the power plant that the mining boxes were built to surround. This isn’t just “crypto bros” but a multinational oil and energy company that opted to skip a data center building and used conex boxes with turbo fans. The fans output jet engine 90+ decibels.
The real story is that Marathon used their fossil fuel lobby to push through Bitcoin laws that limit any restrictions, so even if the town wanted to they would need to compete with a leading fossil fuel provider, and no municipality has that kind of money. Major corporate interests are jumping on this opportunity and limiting their opposition early.