Bitcoin mining is a noise pollution menace across the US

The area of Niagara is home to over 300 bird species, 53 mammals, and 36 species of reptiles, and there’s no telling how growing noise pollution may be impacting the natural order of habitation, mating, and hunting cycles.

An anonymous local who lives more than 1.5km from the nearest Bitcoin plant likens the processing noise to a 747 jet. The once audible running of Niagara Falls 3km from his garden is now just a distant memory.

Faced with constant complaints – mainly regarding US Bitcoin – the mayor of Niagara Falls announced an embargo on any new mining activity in December 2021, and then brought a noise limit of 50 decibels within residential areas into effect for 2022.

‘The noise pollution of this industry is like nothing else that has been there,’ said Robert Restaino, who ordered the closure of two crypto farms last month until they’re able to comply with local limits.

For context, the average Bitcoin mining machine produces between 70 and 90 decibels as a by-product, which explains why grievances continue flooding in for City Hall officials nationwide. Not all of these instances are easily resolved, either, with noise pollution regulated at local level by states and ignored by federal governments.

In the rare instances that crypto companies attempt to proactively stifle their own noise, further building permissions are difficult to attain. In Niagara, for instance, one facility had planned to erect a ‘noise abatement wall’ but the idea was rejected.

At some stage, this burgeoning issue will come to a fever pitch – but in the present, the US crypto boom isn’t going anywhere.