Crypto miners are shaking Texans down like they’re the Mafia (Opinion)

About "Megacartoon: How Crypto Miners Raised Texans' Electric Bills (Opinion)”(December 30): Crypto miners are getting a good deal from the state of Texas. They can help drive the network into a crisis and then receive a generous payment from the State to shut down and avoid the crisis they helped create. In any other field, this would look like mafia extortion: give me money or I'll shut you down. This simply reinforces the idea that the Texas Republican Party cares more about large business corporations than the people of Texas.

Further cryptocurrency mining should be stopped immediately, and those that remain should not be rewarded as generously as Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick want. They should not be rewarded at all for creating a crisis on the network. Please don't tell me the network is secure. That nonsense doesn't sell anymore.

Gonzalo Martinez, La Porte

"Well done!" to the Chronicle and cartoonist Nick Anderson for the crypto mining mega cartoon. Many probably would not have read an extensive article on the topic and related electricity use and its impact on the electricity prices we consumers pay. Anderson tells the sordid story very effectively with his 13 interesting panels and, as expected, in the middle of it we find the two most sordid and selfish Texas politicians of all: Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz.

One possible way to eliminate absolutely unnecessary cryptocurrency mining in Texas is to simply ban it, starting in three (or maybe five) years. That is, unless your energy is supplied entirely by some form of renewable energy and backed up by some form of stored energy. If enacted, this solution would emulate the ban on the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs. After many cries that it couldn't be done, that ban is now in effect nationwide.

Milton D. Rosenau Jr., Bellaire

Thank you, Houston Chronicle and Nick Anderson, for a full-page, easily digestible explanation of why crypto mining is not only bad for our budget with rising electricity bills, but also bad for our health when the network is compromised. due to the greed of crypto miners. .

Do you want to know who is using it? Read Andy Greenberg’s 2022 book, “Tracers in the Dark: The global hunt for cryptocurrency crime lords.”Yes, cryptocurrencies are what fuel dark web criminal activities. I hope the Houston Chronicle continues to cover this issue and ask the tough questions: Why are Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz so supportive of this industry? What exactly do they get in return?

Thank you for shedding light on the crypto mining scam going on under the collective noses of our elected officials. Now all we need to do is find someone with the time and resources to sue Abbott and end this legal dispossession of Texas ratepayers and energy consumers.

Crypto is a fraud. Their tokens are inherently worthless, but they want fools to treat them like money. For the sake of your financial well-being, stay away from cryptocurrencies.

Patricia Roberts

About "Shame on the size of Texas,(January 5): I would like to complement Gary Thies' note about the trash on our Texas roads by reminding the multitude of truck owners like me that when you put cans, bags, cups and other trash in the bed of your truck, and it's gone when you get home, it's not magic. It's rubbish.

I disagree with Nick Anderson's opinion expressed in his January 5 print cartoon. In my opinion, voters in Colorado, Maine and all states should have the opportunity to vote for the candidate they want. Donald Trump has not been accused of insurrection, much less convicted.

Larry Roland, Lagos Weston

About "American democracy has passed major stress tests since the 2020 election. More challenges lie ahead”(December 31): The irony of it all. Every time a Democrat says there is a threat to democracy, what he is really saying is that there is a threat to his staying in power. Democrats seem to want a one-party country where they can dictate what appliances we can have, what types of cars we can drive, and, to some extent, what foods we can eat (not meat). Friends, that is not democracy. That's called fascism.