Presentation long abstract

Industrial-scale bitcoin mining first took root in upstate New York in the late 2010s. As the sector grew and bitcoin’s valuation reached all-time highs, capitalists rushed to retrofit old factories, warehouses and power plants throughout the state. This put new pressures on the electrical grid, leading to community backlash and environmental activism. Some municipal and state governments placed moratoriums on the industry’s expansion. What does this mean for ordinary people and the environments in which they live and work? This paper examines the populist political ecologies of bitcoin mining in upstate New York. Bitcoin mines are layered on top of previous sites of extraction, often located in rural and suburban areas on the periphery where workers have not reaped the benefits of globalization. An economic right populism, promising resurgence through jobs and investment, has resonated in these communities. The proliferation of high-performance computing centres is one example of this populism crystallizing in the physical environment (Atkins 2022; Bosworth 2022). This also has repercussions for the climate movement, and there is an emergent left populism rejecting bitcoin in favour of a green transition. Both factions struggle to influence municipal, state and federal governments to implement their agenda. This paper draws on semistructured interviews with workers, business executives, state officials and community activists carried out from September 2024 – December 2025. Based on qualitative data derived from this fieldwork, I will demonstrate how this extractive industry is reshaping the economic landscape of upstate New York.