Fort Worth in Texas has become the first country-wide municipality to enter the mining sector at the governmental level. It is a pilot program that will run for six months and aims at making the area a hub of blockchain technology.

On Tuesday, Fort Worth’s City Hall Council unanimously voted to approve a resolution to accept a donation of three Bitcoin mining rigs.

These donations were made in support of Texas Blockchain Council. They are worth $2,100 each. The models are called ‘Bitmain Antminer S9’, and will be set to mine Bitcoin for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for six months. The miners will be returned by Texas Blockchain after six months. A complete re-evaluation of the entire project will determine if a large investment is necessary for construction of a mining facility.

Mayor Mattie Parker was responsible for the setting up of this project. These rigs will reside in City Hall’s climate-controlled technology wing. They will also work through a private network to minimize security risk.

Fort Worth is a place where many people aren’t aware of who they are. We want to change that conversation, and we believe that tech innovation including cryptocurrency is the way we’re going to do that,”
Mayor Parker spoke to CNBC.

Energy consumption is an important aspect of the pilot that will be examined. City Hall claims that each rig consumes the same amount of energy as a vacuum cleaner. However, this is a step that even Miami, one of the country’s most crypto-friendly cities, whose mayor even receives their salary in Bitcoin, hasn’t taken yet.

At the moment, there will be no profit margin, and the primary focus is on initiating the Bitcoin mining movement in cities.

Lee Bratcher (Texas Blockchain Council) stated:

Fort Worth is the perfect location for miners, and has a strong leadership team that makes it the best choice to become the Bitcoin mining capital in Texas.

Flipside

• Bitcoin mining is a potential solution for cities or states that have highly unstable power grids.

Continue reading on DailyCoin