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Central Texas Bitcoin mining companies halt major energy use to help state power grid in storm

Riot Blockchain says it has decreased its power consumption by 98-99%.
Bitcoin facilities are slowing down mining operations to ease the strain on the Texas power grid as the state battles freezing temperatures.
CEOs for Riot Blockchain Inc. and Whinstone—the data center that’s a subsidiary of Riot and located in nearby Rockdale, east of Taylor—told Gov. Greg Abbott this week plans to “shut down” mining operations ahead of the storm. They also signed a Texas Blockchain Council letter to Abbott communicating a similar commitment.
In an email to Austonia, Riot spokesperson Trystine Payfer said the company is currently using 1-2% of power and will continue to do so until “there is no extreme stress on the ERCOT grid.”
Its center began preparing energy curtailments on Tuesday at 9 a.m., continuing to decrease power consumption as the storm has progressed. “We value our relationship with our surrounding community in Rockdale, and Texas as a whole, so we are prepared to support this event with the resources we have,” Payfer said.
Texas Blockchain Council has not responded to a request from Austonia to verify the letter’s contents, but Crypto news site Cointelegraph reports obtaining the letter, which says:
“As Texans, we want you to know that we are actively monitoring the incoming cold front, as we would any seasonal weather event,” Reed Clay, vice president of TBC wrote to Abbott. “Likewise, we are taking proactive measures to shut down operations, shed load and create additional capacity in response to ERCOT’s needs should it be necessary.”
This proactive measure comes as blockchain operations are motivated to avoid regulation and heightened scrutiny over energy use.
Mining bitcoin—the most popular cryptocurrency—requires mammoth amounts of energy. Analysis by University of Cambridge scientists has also found that in a year, mining consumes more energy than Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft combined.
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Popular
(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said. It is now being investigated as a suspicious death. No further information on the suspect or motive behind the killing are available at this time.
Wilson recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.