By Rick Karlin

PLATTSBURGH — Colin Read knows he’s at Ground Zero in the growing debate
over cryptocurrency mining. As mayor of Plattsburgh, he pushed through an
18-month moratorium on crypto mining after city residents complained of
jumps in their electric bills. Crypto miners were swallowing up
Plattsburgh’s low-cost hydroelectric power allocations, meaning the
city-owned utility had to go to the costlier open market to meet its
electrical needs.