  The use of energy by cryptocurrency mining comes not just with an
environmental cost but also an economic one through increases in electricity
prices for other consumers. Here we investigate the increase in wholesale price
on Texas ERCOT grid due to energy consumption from cryptocurrency mining. For
every GW of cryptocurrency mining load on the grid, we find that the wholesale
price of electricity on the ERCOT grid increases by 2 per Cent. Given that
todays cryptocurrency mining load on the ERCOT grid is around 1 GW, it suggests
that wholesale prices have already risen this amount. There are 27 GW of mining
load waiting to be hooked up to the ERCOT grid. If cryptocurrency mining
increases rapidly, the price of energy in Texas could skyrocket.
