The revenge of the pecuniary externalities on cryptocurrencies

The town of Plattsburgh, New York, has become the first in the US to place a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining. It’s not an outright ban, at least not yet — it doesn’t affect miners currently operating in the city, just new ones looking to set up shop, and it’s only in place for 18 months.

Why Plattsburgh, New York? It’s simple: the small town has the “cheapest electricity in the world,” as Mayor Colin Read told Motherboard. Mining involves using high powered computers to solve complex problems, and thus be rewarded with cryptocurrency. It generates a lot of heat and uses an inordinate amount of electricity. It makes sense that these mining enterprises would look for places with inexpensive electricity. The problem is that it’s resulted in higher electric bills for everyone else in the town.

Here is the full story, via the excellent Samir Varma.

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