Arkansas lawmakers discuss crypto mines, regulation

Members of the Arkansas House Information Technology and Energy Committee met to discuss crypto mining on Tuesday.

Crypto mines are large groups of computers tasked with harvesting cryptocurrency. Residents who live near them complain the sound is too loud.

Tuesday’s committee meeting was chaired by Rep. Stephen Meeks, R-Greenbrier, who said the group planned to “explore the Bitcoin mining industry.” He reminded the other legislators and members of the public that the meeting could not result in any laws.

The meeting lasted over four hours with experts testifying on international contracts, the blockchain and energy policy.

A spokesman for the Arkansas Blockchain Council, Tom Hartford, said in order to fix noise complaints he “supports very strongly” capping sound at 60 decibels. He distinguished bad actors as people who “don’t engage with the community and have connections with governments direct or indirect, that do not share the values of the United States.”

John Bethel with Entergy Arkansas spoke on serving crypto mining customers, explaining he had a “legal obligation” to provide electricity to crypto mines. He didn’t know the answers to questions posed by Rep. Rick Beck, R-Center Ridge, over whether Entergy could shut down crypto mines in an emergency.

Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, has talked about calling a special session to repeal a bill deregulating crypto mines.

“No one looks three, four, ten years down the road,” he said about energy usage in the state. “Because we are going to hit a ceiling at some point.”

One concern among the public detractors of crypto mines is that they are often built by companies based in China, where crypto mining is illegal. Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald says the state does extensive research on crypto mining companies before they allow them to build in Arkansas.

“We do not recruit businesses from China,” he said. “We have a very thorough vetting process.”

Several members of the public expressed derision about crypto mines during public testimony.