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    How the U.S. benefits when China turns its back on Bitcoin

    Until the middle of last year, most cryptocurrency mining took place in China. Then authorities pulled the plug. So Chinese bitcoin miners began moving their gear to U.S. towns like Kearney, Nebraska.
    by John Ruwitch Feb 24, 2022 5 minutes
    Workers install cryptocurrency mining computers inside a converted shipping container at the Compute North facility in Nebraska.

    In the farmland on the outskirts of Kearney, Nebraska, there's a field full of modified 40-foot shipping containers lined up in rows. It's off the main road and easy to miss; there are no signs and no big buildings.

    But as you approach, you notice one thing: it makes a lot of noise.

    Each container is lined with huge industrial fans, and filled with specialized computers. Inside, it's windy, and humming at about 85 decibels.

    "Our technicians always have some sort of hearing protection when they enter," says Dave Perrill, CEO and cofounder of Compute North, which runs the facility.

    Welcome to one of America's biggest data centers for cryptocurrency mining.

    Here, thousands of computers are dedicated to solving a set of complex math problems that verify blockchain transactions and, in doing so, create bitcoins and

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