After China introduced strict anti-crypto regulations in recent months, the crackdown forced not only crypto exchange operators but also miners to leave the country. Many are now seeking safer havens overseas to continue their operations.
The three commissioners unanimously granted Bitmain, the Chinese crypto-mining giant, permission to continue its mining operations in Western Walla Walla County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The local news publication Union-Bulletin reported the decision.
Bitmain’s subsidiary Ant Greek will now be setting a mining infrastructure at the blockchain facility over the 10 acres of land. Moreover, Bitmain will also be given an option to make purchases in the next one year for the additional land.
As per the initially proposed deal, Bitmain had asked for 40 acres of land for leasing which would result in 15-20 full-time jobs. The authorities have made some changes, and under the newly constructed offer, the lease will continue until the end of 2018. After that, the company will have the option to buy the land. The monthly rent for the land amounts to approximately $4,700.
Many residents opposed the idea of foreign players coming for crypto-mining operations and using the land’s electricity after the officials made the decision in a public hearing.
A local resident of the Walla wall county, Robb Lincoln said:
“It extracts electricity and creates wealth for the owner with no trickle down.”
Another community member, Peter Fretheim, criticized digital currencies saying:
“It’s not used in legitimate business. It’s used for two things: transactions you want to hide from the law and speculation.”
On the contrary, one of the Reddit users showed optimism on this move saying: “This is actually really good news because they can lobby the US Govt to be pro-crypto.”