Texas paid this company to mine bitcoin during an ongoing energy crisis

Riot Blockchain Facility
(Image credit: Riot BlockChain)

Riot Blockchain, a bitcoin mining company based in Texas, was able to completely offset the cost of a month's worth of electricity thanks to a state subsidy. It did so by voluntarily turning off some of its miners during the month of July, thus earning millions in power credits for "contributing to power grid stability in Texas."

The company was able to mine about 318 BTC during the month of July, down 30% from last year, and valued at around $6.88 million. This was in addition to the $9.5 million in power credits awarded to them for not drawing power away from an already strained ERCOT power grid. This means the company was able to mine almost $7 million in bitcoin for essentially free for an entire month (via Web3isgoinggreat).

In a press release, Riot Blockchain CEO Jason Les claims that "when applied to anticipated power costs for the month, the power credits and other benefits are expected to eliminate Riot’s power costs for July." 

This means Riot was still able to mine millions in bitcoin and have the energy bill for July paid for by Texan tax dollars. 

In case you're wondering how much power usage was saved by Riot turning off just some of its miners, the company "curtailed a total of 11,717-megawatt hours in July, enough to power 13,121 average homes for one month."

Your next machine

(Image credit: Future)

Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines from the pros
Best gaming laptop: Perfect notebooks for mobile gaming

Meanwhile, according to this report in the Texas Tribune, Texans are paying at least 50% more in electricity costs this summer as record-breaking temperatures increase demands on the state's energy grid. 

"By providing power back into the ERCOT grid during periods of peak demand, the Company estimates that power credits and other benefits from curtailment activities totaled an estimated $9.5 million, significantly outweighing the reduction in BTC mined."

As of 2022, 35% of all bitcoin mining happens in the US, generating about 40 billion pounds of carbon emissions. Estimates say that mining one bitcoin uses the same amount of power consumption as an American household over 50 days

In April, the company announced plans to upgrade its Corsicana facility into a 1-gigawatt operation in Navarro County. Riot also has a massive 750MW facility in Rockdale, Texas. 

TOPICS
Jorge Jimenez
Hardware writer, Human Pop-Tart

Jorge is a hardware writer from the enchanted lands of New Jersey. When he's not filling the office with the smell of Pop-Tarts, he's reviewing all sorts of gaming hardware, from laptops with the latest mobile GPUs to gaming chairs with built-in back massagers. He's been covering games and tech for over ten years and has written for Dualshockers, WCCFtech, Tom's Guide, and a bunch of other places on the world wide web. 

Read more
A rendered concept image of an imaginary real Bitcoin against a stylized digital/electronic background
Bitcoin hits a new all-time high, $Trump is stymied by $Melania, and I'm over here having a full-blown existential crisis
AMD Epyc 4th gen server processor on motherboard
AMD sees record revenue of $25.8 billion in 2024 thanks to data center growth—gaming last seen tumbling into a ditch
Radeon RX 9070 XT cards all X'd out, out of stock
We all deserve better than this
Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks while holding the company's new GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards and a Thor Blackwell robotics processor during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. Huang announced a raft of new chips, software and services, aiming to stay at the forefront of artificial intelligence computing. Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Group allegedly trying to smuggle Nvidia Blackwell chips stare down bail set at over $1 million
Hacker
$1.5 billion crypto heist could be the biggest yet, more than doubling the previous record, but don't worry: The affected firm says it can take the hit
Nvidia headquarters
Nvidia CEO sets sights on making 'several hundred billion' dollars worth of electronics in the USA over the next four years, increasing the chance of your next GPU being made in America
Latest in Hardware
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
The NES themed 8BitDo Retro mechanical gaming keyboard on a blue background
I love the 8BitDo Retro C64 keyboard but I'd pick its cheaper NES-themed model near its lowest price ever during Amazon's Big Spring Sale
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node
Amazon box
Don't panic! The 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' option Amazon just removed was only used by 0.03% of customers and they can still have it
Digital generated image of people surrounded by interactive transparent and glowing panels with data. Visualising smart technology, blockchain and artificial intelligence
Now I shall demand the cookies! Proposed new browsing agreement turns the tables and lets users dictate terms to websites
Latest in News
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway