Community members continue fight against crypto-mining in Vilonia | What to know
Nearly a year after conversations arose regarding a proposed crypto-mine in Vilonia, community members have once again voted against having one in their town.
VILONIA, Ark. — After community members having previously expressed disinterest in crypto-mining in years past, the planning commission for the City of Vilonia voted unanimously against the proposed conditional use permit for the proposed crypto mine in the city limits.
“Please, please, please, listen,” a Vilonia community member said.
While this time around, some still showed disinterest, there were others who were advocating that having a crypto mine in Vilonia would not cause concerns for the community.
“That will not be an issue in terms of sound, water, energy usage, internet, none of that
will be an issue,” described Steve Landers Jr., the CEO of Interstate Holdings Blockchain.
The main concern from community members was the impacts on the power, internet, and, maybe most importantly, the noise.
Some of the people who live in Vilonia explained how they moved there for the peace and beauty that surrounds the town and their homes.
“I just want to ask, like, did we make a mistake moving here? We’re not asking these people to come here. I grew up here. I graduated from Vilonia, and we [are] Arkansas, the Natural State, not Arkansas, the Bitcoin state,” said another community member.
Interstate Holdings Blockchain works with the Arkansas Blockchain Council to operate the proposed crypto mine. While the mining centers get a bad reputation, Ben Smith, the president of the trade group, explained how that’s not the full story.
“A project like this, if you own the miners, the building, everything, would probably be in the range of about $14 million invested money into the community,” Smith described.
Meanwhile, Landers says the proposed mine would not have been a problem with the power or internet.
“It will exist, and no one will know it’s there unless you knew it was there,” he added.
There are currently 19 crypto mines running in the state, with many of them having faced similar resistance.
That resistance is coming from both the state capitol and the courtrooms.
Lawmakers reversed themselves last year and rejected a law that they passed in 2023 which had encouraged data mining in the state.