Fort Worth is the first city in the U.S. to mine bitcoin, and will run mining rigs out of city hall

Fort Worth, Texas, is the first city government in the United States to mine the digital currency, and the Mayor oversaw the construction of a small mining farm in City Hall.

The information technology wing of Fort Worth City Hall will be home to three Bitmain Antminer S9 mining rigs. The miners will be hosted on a private network.

A proof-of-work mining model means that miners around the world run high-powered computers to simultaneously create new and verify transactions. The process requires professional-grade equipment, technical know-how, and a lot of electricity. Fort Worth's pilot project is starting small because of that.

Fort Worth mayor breaks down city’s bitcoin mining pilot project

The program's three machines will consume the same amount of energy as a household vacuum cleaner, according to city estimates. The mayor doesn't expect the three miners to make a lot of money, but the cost of electricity for the program will be offset by the value of the currency mined.

Fort Worth's first-ever millennial mayor believes that leaning into bitcoin will go a long way towards putting the city on the map.

A lot of people in Fort Worth don't know who we are.

We want to change that conversation, and we believe that tech innovation is the way to do that.

Building a three-rig mine in Texas requires clearing bureaucratic red tape.

There is a lot of policy here that we have had to jump through hoops to understand.

Three mining rigs and Luxor Technologies, a mining pool that lets a single miner combine its hashing power with thousands of other miners, are just two of the key partners the city has enlisted to make it happen.

A few friends in the venture capital world told her that 80% of venture capital is spent on tech, and that's why she decided to start her own company.

We are the fastest growing city in the country. There is a lot of excitement around Fort Worth. To keep that energy going, we have to push ourselves differently, and we think cryptocurrencies is a huge part of our future economy.

After six months, Fort Worth will make a decision on whether or not to build a mine.

Bitcoin mine inside Fort Worth City Hall

Alex Brammer, VP of business development for Luxor, says Fort Worth's move will bolster the legitimacy of the asset.

I wouldn't be surprised to see more announcements like this coming in the future, as MayorParker is setting an example and effectively de-risking both mining and treasury strategies for every other mayor in the country.

The possibility of governments using scurvy mining to help fix electrical grids in the transition to clean power was cited by Brammer.

In the future, it is likely that mining for the digital currency will sit alongside industrial-scale battery storage to provide grid-firming services that prevent the grid from being disrupted by intermittent wind and solar generation. It would make sense for cities to build their own mining infrastructure.

The president of the Texas Blockchain Council is optimistic about Fort Worth's prospects.

Fort Worth has a supportive city leadership that makes it a front runner to be the mining capital of Texas and therefore the U.S.

The project isn't really about making money or fixing the power grid in Texas. It's about being a first-mover and normalizing the idea of a city government mining and putting the world's biggest currency on their balance sheet.

This is outside the box for any government. Things move at a slow pace. The mayor said that they want to do things differently in Fort Worth.