Warden imposes year-long stop on cryptocurrency mining

WARDEN — The Warden City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a year-long stop on cryptocurrency development to give the city time to develop better rules governing the power-hungry operations.

“We have had a couple of people talk to us,” said City Administrator Kris Shuler.

Shuler told the city council, which is still accepting application to fill two vacant council seats, that cities across the region are imposing temporary bans on cryptocurrency development as they consider the costs.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are “mined” by computers the run mathematical formulas to “create” currency units. It’s a power intensive operation that provides few new jobs, and with its very cheap electricity, Grant County has seen a lot of application from aspiring cryptocurrency miners who want to set up shop in the county.

Shuler said a moratorium on cryptocurrency is similar to the moratorium many cities imposed on commercial marijuana operations after the crop was legalized.

“So there can be a better planning process,” she said. “It gives the city some time to make sure everything is in order.”

However, the power grid in and to Warden currently cannot carry the amount of power needed to effectively run any kind of cryptocurrency operation.

“We’ve had two requests in the last year,” said Pat Millard, manager of the Port of Warden. “But the (Grant County) PUD is not giving us any power.”

Millard said it would be another 18 months or so before Warden had the kind of power capable of supporting cryptocurrency miners.

So ordinance or no ordinance, it is unlikely Bitcoin miners will decamp to Warden any time soon.

“We’re running out of power!” said Council Member Byron Starkey.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.