Texas Data Center Moratorium Fails to Bite Bitcoin Miners
Bitcoin miners in Texas will likely remain unaffected by Governor Greg Abbott's moratorium on data center projects connected to the state's grid operator, ERCOT, according to Bernstein analysts.
The order, announced Monday, directs the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to audit all data centers seeking to connect to the state's power grid. The duration of the audit was not specified.
However, most Bitcoin miners in Texas are under contract for approved electric capacity, making them less likely to be impacted by the moratorium, said Gautam Chhugani and team at Bernstein.
The analysts noted that the audit will throttle speculative data center pipelines and make genuine sites with development history more valuable. They highlighted Cipher Digital (CIFR), Core Scientific (CORZ), and CleanSpark (CLSK) as miners most exposed to potential public opposition during ERCOT's approval process.