“We couldn’t have people over to gather in our front yard because we could hardly hear one another talking,” said Preston Holley, whose home sits across the street from the mine.I think I passed through Limestone, TN on Route 321 maybe once, the time I drove up to the Tri-Cities from K-town via the scenic route. It's not like the setting of Justified or anything; it's just a pleasant wide spot in the road between Greeneville and Johnson City. Not the sort of place I'd look for a server farm, that's for sure.
Appalachia, with its cheap electricity from coal, natural gas and hydro, was already attractive to bitcoin miners when China, which dominated world production, cracked down on such operations last summer, worried about the volatility of digital currencies.
Companies forced out of China began scouting new locations across rural America. Appalachia, more accustomed to coal-caked helmeted workers than tech-savvy blockchain enthusiasts, saw an influx of miners.
But while supporters tout economic benefits such as an expanded tax base and job creation, residents in areas that initially welcomed crypto mining are now experiencing buyer’s remorse.
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