U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said in a Monday interview that Tennessee is poised to become a top “energy hub” for the United States, making it an ideal destination for Bitcoin mining, after the U.S. Senate passes his landmark cryptocurrency bill.
Hagerty made the remarks during an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, telling correspondent Frank Corva that Tennessee stands to tangibly benefit from the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which would establish congressional regulations for the issuance of digital currencies tied to the American dollar.
“We have the opportunity before us,” said Hagerty, before adding that the Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and recent investments into Memphis by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI, could position Tennessee “in the very lead” of energy production and cryptocurrency.
The senator first highlighted the Tennessee Valley Authority’s potential, noting it is “the largest utility in the world,” and that its location creates “a unique opportunity here to move forward and become the energy hub of America, to see more and more not only mining operations.”
Hagerty referred to cryptocurrency mining, where individuals or companies use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles that validate crypto transactions, allowing them to earn rewards in new coins.
He continued, “if you think about what Elon Musk is doing in Memphis with xAI, the data centers, the opportunities with artificial intelligence, there are many, many things that are going to happen in Tennessee.”
The senator also referred to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright compared artificial intelligence (AI) to a second Manhattan Project, as “a great hub of innovation.”
He told Corva, “All the way across the state, we have huge opportunity, from an advanced technology standpoint, to really see Tennessee thrive in the nation.”
The GENIUS Act cleared a procedural Senate hurdle last week, with German-owned Politico reporting that 18 Democrats broke with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and cryptocurrency skeptics in the party to vote with Hagerty and Republicans.
Members of the cryptocurrency community donated more than $25 million to President Donald Trump’s campaign last year, following his speech at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville. The event’s organizer noted that it was the Trump campaign’s second-largest fundraising haul to date.
“I will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in the USA, not driven overseas,” Trump told the Bitcoin 2024 audience. “If Bitcoin is going to the Moon – as we say – I want America to be the nation that leads the way.”
Watch Hagerty’s full interview:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Financial scams and credit card thefts are at historic highs. Bank accounts are hijacked, online wallets emptied. ISPs trace your location, activities, behavior, and more. There is at least some recourse for these thefts.
Now imagine, the same government that gave us COVID, climate change and sustainable development; that monitors our moves and censors our words, that gave us ‘operation choke point’, de-platformed and de-banked its opposition, now wants digital access and therefore control to all of your financial transactions, purchases, savings, and retirement.
Now understand, if by design, or through government incompetence the codes to your bitcoin account are stolen or compromised, every dime in your account can be wiped out in seconds and is unrecoverable. Welcome to the world of government sponsored bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency move is a disaster looking for a place to happen. Nothing like having your finances “managed” digitally by some unknown operation. Typical government BS.
Anyone that thinks this is a good thing 1. is not paying attention 2. needs to do research on this subject. This may be a great thing for the mega-rich control sociopaths but I can tell you it won’t be good for Tennesseans or any human on earth.