It
isn’t
always
clear
how
crypto
is
changing
lives.
The
incorporality
of
blockchain
ledgers,
the
fact
that
crypto
wallets
are
online
(not
made
of
leather)
and
the
limited
number
of
real
world
use
cases
all
contribute
to
the
common
view
that
crypto,
at
most,
is
silly
internet
money.
But
for
as
ethereal
as
Ethereum
is,
crypto
does
have
an
actual
footprint.
That
idea
is
at
the
center
of
a
new
documentary
about
Bitcoin
mining
by
Will
Foxley,
ex-CoinDesker
turned
independent
crypto
media
mogul.
Released
today,
“The
Big
Empty,”
tells
the
story
of
when
digital
asset
heavyweight
Galaxy
Digital
descends
on
the
small,
rural
and
nearly
hollowed
out
city
of
Spur
(population:
863).
Unlike
many
stories
about
bitcoin
mining,
which
tend
to
focus
on
the
industry’s
intense
energy
footprint
(and
whether
that
is
good
or
bad),
“The
Big
Empty”
is
first
and
foremost
about
people.
About
the
former
East
Coast
Galaxy
employees
who
moved
to
West
Texas
and
learned
to
adjust,
about
the
locals
whose
families
settled
in
the
area
generations
ago
and
about
the
lives
changed
by
a
new
industry.
In
a
way,
Bitcoin
mining
was
destined
to
become
a
controversial
topic
by
the
way
the
network
was
designed.
The
proof-of-work
algorithm
that
keeps
Bitcoin
humming
burns
through
energy
without
limit.
Every
year,
it
seems,
more
mines
open
—
often
using
carbon-intensive
sources
of
energy,
sometimes
even
firing
up
defunct
coal
power
plants.
But
on
the
ground
that
debate
seems
muted,
at
least
as
the
documentary
presents
it.
The
energy
mix
of
miners
and
looming
threat
of
climate
change
are
as
incorporeal
and
distant
as
Bitcoin
itself.
To
the
extent
that
Spur’s
residents
seem
concerned
about
the
giant
Helios
mine
opening
a
few
miles
down
the
road,
it’s
often
just
because
of
the
jobs
it
has
been
providing.
“The
small
towns
[bitcoin
mines]
inhabit
often
don’t
have
many
high
paying
or
stable
jobs,”
Foxley
told
CoinDesk
in
an
interview.
“There
may
be
a
few
retail
shops,
convenience
stores,
things
like
that,
but
it’s
not
a
lot.”
To
say
that
Galaxy
is
single
handedly
revitalizing
the
town
of
Spur
might
be
overstating
the
case
,
but
it
seems
incontrovertible
that
it
has
a
presence.
But
as
much
as
the
doc
highlights
Galaxy’s
good
deeds
(like
reopening
a
beloved
public
pool),
it
is
also
a
story
about,
as
Foxley
says,
keeping
that
up
and
learning
to
be
“a
good
neighbor,”
which
isn’t
necessarily
assured
in
the
long
haul.
CoinDesk
caught
up
with
Foxley
to
talk
about
his
latest
documentary,
what
attracted
him
to
the
story
of
Spur
in
particular
and
why
it
is
that
a
massive
bitcoin
mine
might
be
a
good
fit
for
a
city
that
was
previously
best
known
as
a
magnet
for
tiny
homes.
Just
wanted
to
say
it
was
a
great
doc,
really
well
done.
Are
you
planning
to
submit
it
to
any
festivals?
It
was
definitely
a
very
strong
team,
so
I
can’t
take
all
the
credit.
This
would
be
my
third
mining
specific
film
and
fourth
bitcoin
doc.
It’s
my
longest
by
far
—
I
personally
call
it
my
first
short
film.
I
don’t
know
the
difference
between
a
short
film
or
a
documentary
or
mini
doc.
I’ll
probably
submit
it
to
some
film
festivals
to
try
to
get
some
more
traction.
Will
definitely
screen
it
at
some
bitcoin
meetups
and
events
If
we
try
to
do
any
sort
of
streaming
services,
we
can’t
go
the
social
media
route.
But
if
someone
likes
it,
we
might
be
able
to
place
it
somewhere
cool.
In
some
sense
the
story
of
bitcoin
mining
in
the
U.S.
is
the
story
of
revitalization.
Could
you
speak
to
what
you’ve
seen
when
touring
bitcoin
mines
around
the
country?
Bitcoin
miners
are
flocking
to
small
towns
because
that’s
often
where
there’s
excess
energy
from
industries
that
have
left
or
cheaper
power
from
overbuilt
substations
and
power
stations.
It’s
a
natural
place
for
bitcoin
miners
to
go
because
they
have
to
chase
cheap
energy.
The
small
towns
they
inhabit
often
don’t
have
many
high
paying
or
stable
jobs.
They
don’t
have
any
sort
of
industry
at
this
point.
There
may
be
a
few
retail
shops,
convenience
stores,
things
like
that,
but
it’s
not
a
lot.
To
really
revitalize
a
town
you
need
some
sort
of
industry.
Bitcoin
mining
is
interesting
because
there
might
not
be
that
many
jobs
per
bitcoin
mine.
But
you
create
a
lot
of
external
jobs
around
that.
In
the
film,
you’ll
see
there’s
tons
of
people
who
work
in
contracting
and
are
in
and
out
of
the
facility,
truck
drivers,
repair
technicians,
people
pouring
concrete,
security
guards.
Even
just
thinking
about
the
facility,
they
plan
on
opening
up
a
kitchen
to
feed
the
40
workers
there.
That’s
going
to
be
like
five
to
10
new
jobs.
Do
you
have
a
sense
of
what
technicians
are
generally
paid?
Often
it’s
double
minimum
wage,
$20-$30
bucks
an
hour
for
an
intro
technician.
It
scales
up
from
there.
One
of
the
great
pieces
we
didn’t
even
get
to
fit
in
the
doc
is
that
Galaxy
pays
20%
above
the
rate
for
the
town.
Bitcoin
mining
is
a
slightly
more
lucrative
industry.
So
they
raised
a
lot
of
people’s
standards
of
living
even
doing
a
sort
of
blue
collar
level
job.
Was
there
something
specific
about
Galaxy
or
Helios
that
attracted
you
to
the
story?
Mostly
just
access.
Galaxy
was
interested
in
opening
up
the
doors.
Corporations
have
to
be
mindful
of
their
public
image,
(Galaxy
is
publicly
traded),
but
I
was
impressed
by
how
willing
they
were
to
work
with
a
documentary
film
crew,
because
that’s
not
always
a
very
comfortable
experience.
The
second
thing
—
there’s
a
lot
of
these
Texas
bitcoin
mining
stories
that
I’m
not
very
interested
in
because
people
tend
to
focus
on
the
energy
or
bitcoin
side
of
things.
I
was
really
interested
in
the
small
town
story,
and
participating
in
town
life.
Most
people
we
talked
to
were
immediately
open
to
having
a
conversation
or
dialogue,
which
made
it
more
attractive
when
we
scoped
it
out
last
year.
There
was
actually
a
tornado
the
day
we
landed
that
took
out
a
large
chunk
of
the
neighboring
town.
One
thing
that
was
really
interesting
to
see
was
how
many
people
from
all
the
surrounding
towns
drove
out
to
help
them
out.
There
were
miles
of
cars
with
supplies
trying
to
get
into
that
small
town.
It
became
pretty
clear
that
the
people
who
live
in
these
towns
in
West
Texas
are
just
a
different
breed.
They
care
about
each
other.
They’re
good
neighbors.
You
definitely
get
that
sense
watching
the
movie.
Especially
the
scene
with
the
tiny
home
community.
What
were
you
trying
to
say
by
including
those
scenes?
So
the
initial
name
for
the
film
actually
was
“Tiny
Home
Kingdom.”
We
were
trying
to
riff
on,
like,
tiny
homes
versus
a
mega
bitcoin
mine.
It
sounded
good
on
paper.
But
you
probably
have
to
make
the
doc
a
little
more
silly
to
go
that
route.
You
know,
live
with
someone
in
their
tiny
home
for
a
week.
The
tiny
homes
showed
how
open
Spur
was
in
working
and
talking
with
other
communities
outside
of
what
you’d
find
normally
in
the
Texas
panhandle.
They
opened
their
doors
around
2015
to
become
a
location
for
tiny
homes.
Many
cities
are
zoned
to
block
tiny
homes,
because
they
find
it
annoying
or
think
it
lowers
property
valuations.
Spur
was
trying
to
find
an
angle
to
bring
people
back.
It
shows
that
they’re
interested
in
having
new
neighbors
—
it’s
just
that
the
next
neighbor
to
move
in
happened
to
be
an
800
megawatt
bitcoin
mine.
Galaxy
also
struck
a
deal
to
reopen
the
town
pool.
Are
these
types
of
investments
common
for
bitcoin
mines?
It’s
pretty
common
to
have
bitcoin
mines
do
this.
I’ve
heard
other
stories
where
it’s
also
been
a
town
pool.
I’ve
heard
about
companies
fixing
the
community
rec
center.
The
Riot
team
in
Rockdale
funds
the
local
softball
team.
It’s
because,
again,
when
you
move
into
a
small
town
like
this
you
have
to
become
a
good
neighbor.
You
have
to
learn
what
that
looks
like,
and
as
a
corporation
that
can
be
kind
of
hard.
It’s
not
like
a
lot
of
other
tech
or
finance
jobs;
the
business
really
runs
out
of
one
small
rural
town
that
has
been
the
same
way
for
generations.
The
easiest
way
to
ingratiate
yourself
into
the
community
is
often
by
doing
something
practical.
Another
thing
we
didn’t
get
to
touch
on
is
that
Spur
is
a
hotspot
for
drug
issues,
like
a
lot
of
low
income
places.
We
often
think
of
drugs
as
being
an
urban
problem.
But
it’s
very
much
a
rural
problem.
There’s
not
a
lot
of
hope
and
opportunity.
A
lot
of
people
are
born
in
Spur
and
move
away
to
Lubbock
or
Austin
or
Dallas.
And
the
people
who
are
there
sometimes
can
feel
left
behind.
In
some
sense,
the
pool
is
a
symbol:
this
big
tech
company
cares
about
the
local
people.
Did
you
talk
to
anyone
concerned
about
noise
pollution?
Not
for
this
site.
That
could
be
a
challenge
going
forward
because
they
are
deploying
some
air
units.
But
right
now,
the
facility
is
all
immersion
—
it’s
the
largest
immersion
bitcoin
mine
to
my
knowledge
in
North
America.
The
nice
thing
about
immersion
mining
is
it’s
basically
silent.
And
the
mine
itself
is
on
its
own
little
spot
pretty
far
away
from
any
housing
development.
About
10
miles
away
from
the
city
Spur.
And
everything
out
there
is
at
least
a
20
minute
drive.
So
there
shouldn’t
be
any
noise
complaints
to
my
knowledge.
Any
closing
thoughts?
I
would
like
this
film
and
other
work
we
do
to
encourage
people
to
think
outside
the
box
—
about
how
towns
can
bring
in
businesses
and
about
how
these
companies
can
add
to
communities.
I
think
Galaxy
did
a
really
good
job
with
that.
They
fulfilled
their
promise
with
this
pool
everyone’s
gonna
be
jumping
and
splashing
around
in.
They
even
said
that
in
the
film,
right?
Like,
if
you’re
not
splashing
in
the
pool
this
summer,
then
Galaxy
failed.
I
do
think
bitcoin
mining
is
going
to
become
a
more
important
conversation
for
local
communities.
If
bitcoin
miners
don’t
find
a
good
way
of
balancing
their
businesses
within
small
towns,
there’s
going
to
be
more
problems.
It’s
OK
for
small
towns
to
say
they
don’t
like
things.
