MISSOULA – Missoula County commissioners are declaring an emergency and enacting interim zoning regulations which will put the lid on any cryptocurrency “mining” operations in the county.
For more than a year, commissioners have been looking into the growing trend for company’s to locate massive “server farms” in smaller communities, taking advantage of cheap power to run computers required to produce cryptocurrency.
That interest was sparked by Hyperblock, which opened a cryptocurrency mining operation at the old Stimson lumber plant in Bonner. That’s led to some residents to complain about around the clock noise.
Now, commissioners approved the interim zoning rules this week, expressing concern over the amount of energy the big server farms use. The move is bringing criticism from Hyperblock, which has complained it’s being “singled out” by the county.
Click here to read more about the decision, and the dispute, from the Missoula Current.
