The City of Corpus Christi is facing intense scrutiny over its decision to withhold water usage data of a controversial cryptocurrency mine. As the region grapples with a severe drought, the city’s actions have raised concerns about transparency and the prioritization of industrial needs over residential water supply.
From May to August last year, the Bitcoin mine consumed a staggering 11,563,000 gallons of water, according to records obtained through a public information request. This average daily consumption of approximately 127,500 gallons far exceeds the city’s threshold for a high-volume userwhich is set at 100,000 gallons per day.
City’s Refusal to Disclose Water Usage Data
Despite providing water usage records in the past, the city is now appealing a request for the latest 2026 records to the Texas Office of the Attorney General. The city cites a section of the Texas Utilities Code that allows nondisclosure of individual customer accounts. This change in stance has sparked outrage among city officials and residents alike.
city council member Sylvia Campos expressed her frustration, stating, “Oh my God, that pisses me off. This is public information. This is water.” The city’s crisis has garnered state and national attention, with predictions that water demand could exceed supply as early as next summer without additional rainfall or alternative water sources.
Water Restrictions and Industrial Impact
Residents have been living under water restrictions since, with curtailments on activities like lawn watering and car washes. The next phase of restrictions, which could come as early as December, would enforce a mandatory 25-percent reduction for residents, businesses, and large industrial users, including petrochemical refineries and the cryptocurrency mine.
The mine, located on 75 acres just outside the city’s northwest limits, was originally developed by Dallas-based Bootstrap Energy. The project was scaled back after the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange in 2026, ultimately resulting in the development of just one Bitcoin mine. The mine was later sold to Virginia-based Peak Mining in.
Financial Implications and Shifting Ownership
The city had initially promised millions of dollars in tax revenue from the project. However, a renegotiation in 2026 removed the biggest source of revenue: a personal property tax on the mine’s computer servers and related hardware. From February 7, 2026, to January 8, 2026, mine operators paid the city just $2,639 in Payments in Lieu of Taxes fees.
The project’s ownership has seen multiple shifts. Elektron Energy was set to buy Peak Mining in, but the deal collapsed in November. The company was instead sold to three companies tied to Tethera firm with a majority stake in Northern Data, Peak Mining’s original parent company. In, European authorities raided Northern Data’s offices in Germany and Sweden as part of an ongoing tax fraud investigation.
Representatives from Tether and Northern Data did not respond to requests for comment. The most recent records indicate that the city invoiced mine operators in for $1,631.65and that operators paid $1,647.97 on March 6, well after the due date. Operators paid just $16.48 in April.
City Director of Communications Elisa Olsen stated that members of the city’s finance team met with Peak Mining representatives on June 5 to review property improvements and the amount owed to the city under a separate Industrial District Agreement (IDA) that governs a battery-storage operation on the same property. According to emails, the firm owes another $100,000.
Nueces County tax records show that mine operators paid the county nearly $1 million in property taxes in January. As the city faces a potential Level 1 Water Emergency, City Council member Roland Barrera is considering asking the council to terminate the mine’s 2026 IDA prior to its end date in 2039 due to the lack of promised revenues.
Campos also expressed the need to review the project’s IDA, stating, “We need to just do our due diligence. We know that these types of companies use a lot of water, and we should have been more mindful of that instead of just listening to what they had to say.”
In response to growing local opposition to cryptomines and artificial intelligence data centers, Governor Greg Abbott outlined several regulatory proposals to rein in the state’s rapidly proliferating data centers and cryptomines. Among his recommendations for the upcoming legislative session in 2027 are the repeal of sales tax exemptions for data centers and cryptomines and requirements that would force the facilities to use more efficient closed-loop water systems and annually report their water and electricity usage.
Eli McKaya volunteer for the Sierra Club Coastal Bend Group, urged the Corpus Christi City Council to vote against the original IDA for the local cryptomine as early as 2026. McKay wants to see the council move to reannex the mine’s property, stating, “It seems like there’s just no accountability whatsoever, and it’s so frustrating to see these things happen, and then [the city] inviting more entities in, be it data centers or chemical plants.”