Crypto is going nuclear in the not so distant future, as US company Talen Energy revealed plans to construct a cryptomining data center in the immediate vicinity of the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Pennsylvania. Initial power consumption of the installation is expected to settle around 164 MW, with that figure climbing up to 300 MW once the infrastructure is complete - powered by dual 1+GW nuclear units and two independent substations. Talen Energy estimates maximum on-site power in the order of 1 GW.


The idea is to begin a narrative reversal around the environmental cost of cryptocurrency mining - if power is provided by cleaner technology, cryptocurrency mining's carbon footprint is bound to be reduced, in turn increasing attractiveness for environmentally-conscious businesses. Elon Musk, for one, made waves in both news outlets and cryptocurrency markets (and value) when he announced the decision for Tesla to cancel acceptance of Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles, citing environmental concerns regarding power sources keeping Bitcoin's blockchain secure. Another company, Energy Harbor Corp, announced a five-year collaboration with Standard Power to power its Bitcoin blockchain mining center in Coshocton, Ohio, starting December this year.Love it or hate it, blockchain technology is going nowhere - it's one of the most important, fundamental and transformational technologies in recent decades. much like nuclear power (and nuclear weapons, for that matter) weren't loved by everyone at the technologies' introduction (and still aren't loved by everyone), so does the future contemplate blockchain technology irrespective of our own personal opinion on the matter. It was only a matter of time before crypto went nuclear - and for a technology that consumes more power than several countries combined, the change to more sustainable, less carbon-.intensive technologies surely is a welcome one.