“Judge Reed O’Connor rejected MARA Holdings’ request in the federal Northern District of Texas for a temporary restraining order on an election for Mitchell Bend to incorporate as Texas’ newest city and regulate the company’s nearby Bitcoin mine… The Bitcoin mine, which MARA has owned for almost two years, has been a source of noise pollution that residents say has been the cause of a range of health issues including lack of sleep, vertigo, nausea and motion sickness.”

  • mcv@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    9 hours ago

    This sounds like they’re mining the bitcoin from the ground. This is just a datacenter churning pointless calculations for no real value, right? It’s not a mine. And if it produces noise, they’re doing it wrong.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    6 hours ago

    The Bitcoin mine, which MARA has owned for almost two years, has been a source of noise pollution that residents say has been the cause of a range of health issues including lack of sleep, vertigo, nausea and motion sickness.”

    Fucking what? What do people think happens in a “bitcoin mine”??

      • mcv@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        9 hours ago

        Many mines are destructive. But most at least dig up something physical. Bitcoin mining is just pointless busy work to prove you did the most pointless busy work in order to get awarded the bitcoin. There’s nothing of actual value whatsoever.

    • AlternatePersonMan@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      34
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      22 hours ago

      The amount of energy and pollution wasted on creating nothing is mind boggling.

      The very limited regulation makes for great pump and dump schemes, bribery, political corruption, etc.

      A wildly unstable currency not backed by any government and can easily be stolen in vast sums. What could go wrong?

      • DomeGuy@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        22 hours ago

        Remember that Bitcoin is still using the inherently wasteful “proof of work” pattern to incentive the necessary hash computations.

        And that it’s less of a currency than it is a speculative security. Kind of like in-game currency for a MMO that allows real-money exchange, but without the game and somehow with even less stability or efficiency.

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    27
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    19 hours ago

    You shouldn’t be allowed to do such environmentally destructive nonsense as running a “bitcoin mine”.