Crypto miners are shaking Texans down like they’re the Mafia (Opinion)

Regarding “Mega-cartoon: How crypto miners raised Texans’ electric bill (Opinion),” (Dec. 30): Crypto miners are getting a sweetheart deal from the state of Texas. They can help drive the grid into crisis, and then get paid handsomely by the state to shut down and avert the crisis they helped create. In any other field this would resemble a Mafia shakedown: Give me money or I’ll shut you down. This just reinforces the notion that the Republican Party of Texas cares more for large business corporations than it does for the people of Texas.

More crypto mining should be halted immediately, and those that remain should not be as handsomely rewarded as Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick want them to be. They should not be rewarded at all for creating a crisis with the grid. Please do not tell me the grid is secure. That hogwash no longer sells. 

Gonzalo Martinez, La Porte

“Well done!” to the Chronicle and cartoonist Nick Anderson for the mega-cartoon on crypto mining. A lengthy article on the topic, and the related electricity usage and its impact on the electricity prices we consumers pay, probably wouldn’t have been read by many. Anderson tells the sordid story very effectively with his 13 engaging panels and, not unexpectedly, in the middle of it we find the two sleaziest, most self-dealing Texas politicians of them all: Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz. 

A possible way to remove absolutely unnecessary crypto mining in Texas is to simply ban it, starting in three (or maybe five) years. That is, unless its energy is entirely supplied by some form of renewable energy and backed up by some form of stored energy. If enacted, this solution would emulate the ban on the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs. After a fair amount of screaming that it couldn’t be done, that ban is now in effect nationally. 

Milton D. Rosenau Jr., Bellaire

Thank you, Houston Chronicle and Nick Anderson, for a full-page, easily digestible explanation of why crypto mining is not only bad for our budget with increased electric bills, but also bad for our health when the grid is compromised by crypto miners’ greed.

Want to know who is using it? Read Andy Greenberg’s 2022 book, “Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency.” Yes, cryptocurrency is what fuels the dark web’s criminal activities. I hope the Houston Chronicle will continue to cover this issue and ask the tough questions: Just why are Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz so in favor of this industry? Exactly what are they getting in return? 

Thank you for shining a light on the crypto mining scam going on under the collective noses of our elected officials. Now all we need to do is find someone with the time and resources to sue Abbott and end this legal fleecing of Texas taxpayers and energy consumers.

Crypto is a con. Its tokens are intrinsically worthless, but they want suckers to treat them as money. For the sake of your financial well-being, stay out of crypto.

Patricia Roberts, Bellaire

Regarding “Texas-sized shame,” (Jan. 5): I would like to add to Gary Thies’ note regarding litter on our Texas highways by reminding the multitude of pickup truck owners like myself that when you place cans, bags, cups and other trash in the bed of your truck, and it’s gone by the time you get home, it’s not magic. It’s litter.

I disagree with Nick Anderson’s view as expressed in his Jan. 5 print cartoon. In my opinion, the voters of Colorado, Maine and all states should have the opportunity to vote for whichever candidate they want. Donald Trump has not been charged with insurrection, much less convicted.  

Larry Roland, Weston Lakes 

Regarding “American democracy has overcome big stress tests since the 2020 election. More challenges are ahead,” (Dec. 31): The irony of it all. Every time a Democrat says there is a threat to democracy, what they are really saying is that there is a threat to their staying in power. Democrats seem to want a one-party country where they can dictate what appliances we can have, what types of cars we can drive and — to some extent — what food we can eat (not meat). Folks, that’s not democracy. That is called fascism.