On Tuesday, the council of Fort Worth unanimously approved a small-scale program to mine bitcoin in a new pilot program making it the first city in the U.S. to hold such a position.
The program will join a pool run by Luxor, a Bitcoin mining pool and analytics company. NYDIG, a bitcoin subsidiary of Stone Ridge Asset Management, will be the custodian for the city’s program as it acquires bitcoin.
In a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said, “With blockchain technology and cryptocurrency revolutionizing the financial landscape, we want to transform Fort Worth into a tech-friendly city. “Today, with the support and partnership of Texas Blockchain Council, we’re stepping into that world on a small scale while sending a big message – Fort Worth is where the future begins.”
Three Bitmain S-9 Bitcoin mining machines donated by the Texas Blockchain Council began running immediately Parker plugged in the machines on Tuesday afternoon in a live Twitter feed joined by Texas Blockchain Council chief Lee Bratcher. The event happened in the city hall’s climate-controlled IT Solutions Department Data Center. “These small but powerful machines mark Fort Worth’s larger commitment to becoming a leading hub for technology and innovation,” added Parker.
The program consolidates the country’s overall dominance in the space as further support from the government is also bestowed. In the live feed, Bratcher underscored how important political support has been for crypto in the region. “Of course, Governor Abbott signed these pieces of legislation into law, and the most important was House Bill 4474,” Bratcher added.
Alongside Georgia, Newyork and Kentucky, Texas is among the leading spots in bitcoin mining due to cheap power prices. However, late last month, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. said crypto miners and other large power users would first need to get approval from the grid operator before receiving “approval to energize.”
In a report published by the Bitcoin Mining Council, the council conducted a survey looking at three major metrics: electricity consumption, technological efficiency and sustainable power mix and found that there were year-on-year improvements in sustainable power mix and technological efficiency. Bitcoin mining electricity mix remained 58% sustainable in Q1 2022 according to the survey.