Manchester City Council Discusses Concerns Over New Cryptocurrency Mining Company – Mix 94.7 KMCH

A cryptocurrency mining company is planning to come to Manchester.

The site plan was approved by Manchester City Council in late December, but on Monday night, a few local residents raised concerns about the potential development during a city council meeting.

The Cedar Falls-based company is called Simple Mining. They currently operate six locations across Iowa and are looking to expand their operations. Cryptocurrency mining involves using specialized computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles, verify blocks of data on the blockchain, and add them to a public ledger – essentially serving as a decentralized record-keeper of cryptocurrency transactions in exchange for a reward in the form of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, from which miners earn A portion of the newly generated coins in exchange for their efforts in securing the network.

City Manager Tim Vick says the company will be located in Manchester’s industrial park just north of Stryten Energy.

One concern raised by some residents was the high energy usage used by cryptocurrency mining companies and how this could impact Manchester. But Vick says Simple Mining’s electricity will be on a separate grid.

The second concern was the assumption that cryptocurrency mining uses a lot of water because its servers are cooled by water. Vick says that won’t be the case with this company’s Manchester location.

A third concern was the potential noise level from the fans cooling the facility. Vick says the city council will explore this concern by paying a visit to Simple Mining’s headquarters.

Vick says unless the city finds something the company got the council wrong about its site plan, it will be able to move forward.

Before Simple Mining’s proposal was presented to the Manchester City Council, it was first reviewed and approved by the Manchester Planning and Zoning Board – where city officials saw the many benefits the company could bring to Manchester.

You can learn more about the company at simplemining.io.

Photo courtesy of Janelle Tucker/KMCH