The city of Plattsburgh came under national and international scrutiny recently when city officials decided to place an 18-month moratorium on cryptocurrency operations. The Bitcoin miners were using so much of the city’s cheap electricity that its quota was breached and residents’ rates went up. Mayor Colin Read says a couple subcommittees are looking at various aspects related to the new industry.

“I’m asking the various groups to report back to me in the next week or two so we can actually get some code developed and move this thing forward.”

Bradley: “Do you think it will last a full 18 months?”

Mayor Read: “I’d be surprised if it lasts 6 months. Our promise was to try to do this as expeditiously as possible. What we need to be careful about is we really want to do this right. We recognize that communities all around the world are trying are looking at what we come up with. It’s not simply in taking care of some of the nuisances like sound and noise and etc but also proper fire standards for an operation that concentrates so much electricity all in one location and so much heat all in one location as well. But the most the novel thing we really want to look at is how to encourage this industry to reclaim heat.”

Late Thursday, the village of Rouses Point, north of Plattsburgh on the Canadian border, announced that village trustees approved a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency and blockchain or similar data mining operations in the village. Rouses Point also has low electric rates and officials say dozens of cryptocurrency miners have requested permits to operate in the village.