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On 26 March 2024, the environmental group Save Carbon County filed a lawsuit against Stronghold Digital Mining and the state of Pennsylvania in the US, accusing the bitcoin mining company of polluting local communities in northeastern Pennsylvania with dangerous chemicals by burning waste coal. The company denied any wrongdoing. The lawsuit is ongoing.

Factual background

Research has highlighted that crypto-mining requires a lot of computing power and thus consumes an intense amount of electricity to operate. Regardless of the energy source, producing and transmitting electricity for cryptocurrency mining has numerous environmental impacts. Environmental critics of the process highlight that people who engage in this activity often rely on fossil fuel which can heavily pollute the environment. This makes the growing digital currency market a potentially polluting sector with a higher environmental footprint level than conventional methods of digital transactions.

Legal argument

Save Carbon County sued Stronghold Digital Mining alleging the company’s bitcoin mining operations cause environmental harm by burning waste coal, leading to the release of harmful chemicals and have therefore created a public and private nuisance by releasing mercury and sulfur dioxide, causing harm to local communities’ waterways and air.

The state of Pennsylvania is also named as a defendant for allegedly failing to protect the environment.

Stronghold denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement that its operations actually clean up land and water in the area by using waste coal left behind by historic coal production in the region.

Legal Proceedings

On 26 March 2024, Save Carbon County  filed a lawsuit against Stronghold Digital Mining and the state of Pennsylvania in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County in the US over allegations of polluting local communities.

The case is ongoing.

News items

Crypto miner, Pennsylvania hit with lawsuit over pollution from bitcoin mine, Reuters, 26 March 2024

Stronghold Digital Mining 

Letter to Senators and Representatives on company’s operations and impacts, 8 February 2022

Court documents

Complaint, March 2024