A Chinese-owned crypto-mining facility may be under construction in the rural town of Vilonia, Arkansas, and residents aren't happy about it.
Will Vilonia Be the New Crypto Mining Hub?
Ironically, the mining facility is owned and operated by China, a country that recently outlawed crypto-mining due to environmental concerns. The country has announced that all cryptocurrency mining on Chinese soil is banned due to new "green" regulations issued by Beijing, and miners will have to shut down or find a new place to operate.
It shows his disdain for America, basically, China thinks mining is bad for the air, but ours can be poisoned and destroyed. Basically, the country says... as long as the mining is not done within its borders, it is fine.
Gladys Anderson currently lives in Bono, Arkansas. He said there was a cracktop facility near his home for a while and it caused a lot of trouble for him and his family. He said in an interview.
It gave me a lot of headaches... I got a headache and went to the doctor. My son is melting down in the yard... They won't tell you the truth. They don't do what they say.
Vilonia Councilman Mike Matos said the high energy use rate is a concern for him. he said:
At the planning meeting, it was discussed that they would use electricity equivalent to 30 schools, and one of the questions raised was whether this was due to the increased energy consumption.
Vilonia Mayor Preston Scroggins isn't a fan of what's happening either. He noted:
I think that foreign ownership of agricultural land and things...at least the federal government and the state government are doing something good. They passed a law prohibiting it. I wish we could do more in our country.
Tile area for business
The mine has not yet been fully approved, but it can be given thanks to Law No. 851 of Vilona:
Data centers create jobs, pay taxes, and provide general economic benefits to local communities and this state... [] A local government may not adopt a regulation, policy, or action that limits the decibels of noise generated by local digital use. . [or] imposes a different standard on digital asset mining than any other data center standard, except for pollution limits.