She is not a skeptic because she has lived it. In October 2000, an enormous coal slurry leak from a mine upstream poisoned Coldwater Fork, the stream that runs behind her home. For months, Inez residents were unable to drink the water that came out of their taps.
“Those of us living downstream didn’t hear about it for a while, but the school system had to close down for about a week until they got an alternate water source,” She says
In Inez, there are still many people who don’t believe in the water from their tap.
McCoy, on the other hand, hears a different message when she hears about AI: namely that it is a promise with hefty costs. “We’ve allowed these people to be called job creators,” “She said” “And I don’t care if it’s AI or crypto or whatever, we bow down to them and let them tell us what they are going to do to our community because they are job creators. They’re not job creators, they’re profit makers.”
The profit also leaves an impression.
AI data centers demand staggering amounts of energy—a ChatGPT search uses up to 10 times more energy than a regular Google one—and they run hot. They use billions gallons of fresh water a year to cool them. The majority of this water evaporates. However, residents have been concerned about the impact that these facilities may have on fish or the environment in the past. Kentucky residents are trying to protect the very things they hope to save.
Some locals still see progress and potential.
“AI is in everything that we do,” Wes Hamilton is a local businessman who has done his share of cryptocurrency mining in Kentucky during its golden age. “Siri, ChatGPT, robotics—everything you can imagine has to have AI,” He said. “Bitcoin is a one-trick pony. You create it. The only person that gets paid is the owner of the machines.”
Hamilton suggests that there are ways to move forward. Data centers can attract engineers, investors and even firms willing stay. Hamilton claims that all the AI experts in the world will be rushing to Kentucky. Hamilton admits that he has lost a lot of money in previous crypto-related ventures, but he says this time is different.
The first time Bitcoin arrived, the lawmakers gave generous tax incentives to miners. Sales taxes were waived for companies investing over $1 million. Then, Andy Beshear, the Kentucky governor, went one step further in March 2025 by signing an agreement that would exempt companies investing more than $1 million from paying sales taxes on hardware and electricity. “Bitcoin Rights” The bill becomes law
Kentucky is set to adopt a law that will protect the personal right to financial freedom. An earlier draft went further, aiming to bar local governments from using zoning laws to restrict crypto mining operations—a provision that drew resistance from environmental groups. The language used was ultimately tempered but the intention remains to show that digital mining can continue in Kentucky.
We were astonished to see this half-circle of metal structures nestled among the trees outside this Campton facility. All mines operate 24/7, including Sundays. Some are now asking the same question, as bitcoin is hovering at $100,000. big miners talking about pivoting to AIThe question is whether Kentucky’s bitcoin mining industry gets a fresh wind.
Mohawk’s mining of bitcoin may make a return. Anna Whites stated that the parties were supposed to enter arbitration on May 12th. “I’m hopeful,” She told us. “I’m very hopeful that they sit down and say, ‘Mighty nice plant you have there. Let’s just go ahead and turn it on.'”
