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Cryptocurrency mining and the environment

Crypto miners use natural gas "stranded" in wells to power energy-hungry rigs

by Andy Uhler

Mar 25, 2022

Usually the gas is burned off at the well. Environmentalists say using it for mining incentivizes more drilling.

If natural gas from oil wells can't be used or sold, it's sometimes flared, as above, or vented into the air. Some cryptocurrency miners see it as a potential energy source.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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