East Wenatchee Washington Became a Crypto Miner Hub

East Wenatchee Washington has become a hub for crypto miners due to the cheap energy produced by the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.^[1]

You see, the main problem with crypto mining is that it costs a lot of energy to run the computing hardware that crunches the code needed to confirm cryptocurrency transactions (i.e., cryptocurrency “mining” takes a lot of energy, and that is costly).

If one can get their hands on cheap energy, then all of a sudden one of the major costs of mining is cut and one of the major problems of being able to mine at a profit is solved. East Wenatchee’s power source solves this problem. Thus miners have moved there to set up shop in droves.

The energy produced from the Columbia River can be as cheap as 2.5 – 3 cents a kilowatt hour. This is opposed to the national average of about 12 cents.

Meanwhile, in most of the country cheap energy is around 5 – 6 cents a kilowatt hour (about half the average).

Thus, the 2 – 3 cents paid in Wenatchee, about 1/4th the average, is remarkable given that mining equipment must run on full blast 24/7.

For data on energy costs, see eia.gov and electricitylocal.com.

That is the gist; you can learn more by reading Politico’s mostly non-political article: This Is What Happens When Bitcoin Miners Take Over Your Town Eastern Washington had cheap power and tons of space. Then the suitcases of cash started arriving. By PAUL ROBERTS March/April 2018. You can also check out the video below to get a glimpse at what these mining operations look like.

1. Politicio’s mostly non-political article: This Is What Happens When Bitcoin Miners Take Over Your Town Eastern Washington had cheap power and tons of space. Then the suitcases of cash started arriving. By PAUL ROBERTS March/April 2018.