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Episode Title: Crypto in Kentucky: The Next Extraction
Air Date: January 6, 2026
Host: Dina Temple-Raston, Recorded Future News

Overview

This episode delves into the transformation of Eastern Kentucky’s economy through the lens of digital extraction—namely, the rise and fall of cryptocurrency mining in a region long defined by coal. Host Dina Temple-Raston and her team explore how the promise of jobs and prosperity from crypto has unfolded, drawing parallels to coal's historical influence and its boom-and-bust legacy. The episode also explores the emerging hype around artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and whether Kentucky's cycle of hope and exploitation is set to repeat itself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kentucky’s Emotional Connection to Mining

• Crypto mining arrives in Kentucky, finding a unique resonance in a region defined by generations of coal mining.
  • Anna Weitz (lawyer):
    “Mining. This is a different kind of mining, but that’s a very emotional word for eastern Kentucky because of the generations of coal miners.” [06:56]
  • The culture and historic identity tied to mining primes locals to be receptive to new forms of “extraction.”

2. Coal Legacy and Economic Decline

• The heyday of coal: bustling towns, economic activity, relentless extraction by outside companies often at locals’ expense.
  • Commodore Long (Wolf County News editor):
    “All these companies came in, stripped the coal, stripped the hills, tore them up and by an acre of ground that was probably would produce I don’t know how many tons of coal for a dollar an acre.” [08:40]
  • Trust betrayed, land and communities left damaged post-boom.

3. Crypto Mining as the "Next Big Thing"

• Crypto’s promise: jobs, investment, a reason for young people to stay. The community’s hope gets tied up in the hype.
  • Dina Temple-Raston:
    “Crypto mining swept into eastern Kentucky with the swagger of a tech boom. It promised jobs, investment—a reason for young people to stay.” [03:55]
  • Speculative mania spurred by celebrities and quick-rich stories (Super Bowl ads, rapid money success stories)
• Crypto miners seek places with cheap, abundant power—Kentucky’s coal-powered infrastructure makes it ideal.
  • Explanation of bitcoin mining’s power intensity and the logic behind Kentucky’s appeal.

4. The Gold Rush... and Bust

• Arrival of foreign crypto companies, facilitated by locals like Anna Weitz.
  • Anna Weitz:
    “Some Chinese company called me and said, we’ve seen that you do this…would you help us talk to the county and negotiate?” [12:19]
• Mohawk Energy: a poster-child for the dream turned sour—promoting jobs and training for ex-coal miners and veterans, only to leave people unemployed amidst lawsuits and accusations after a brief period of success.
  • Anna Weitz:
    “The plan with Mohawk was to employ retired coal miners and disabled veterans…28 families did very well for the 18 months it was open.” [14:55, 15:20]
  • “I believe most of them are unemployed again.” [15:27]
• Rate hikes, persistent poverty, and allegations of “false promises” remain as crypto companies move on.

5. Cycles of Extraction and Disappointment

• Economic booms—coal, hemp, crypto—tend to benefit outsiders over the locals, echoing a repeated pattern.
  • Anna Weitz:
    “That land, those hills have a long, deep history of being abused and pillaged. I hate that.” [16:13]

6. AI Data Centers: The Next Promise

• Crypto gives way to the AI boom as the next economic hope.
• Local economic leaders weigh the potential benefits and risks:
  • Colby Kirk (One East Kentucky):
    “Maybe a data center or something is part of the puzzle.” [21:25]
  • AI data centers promise high-paying tech jobs but require massive infrastructure; questions remain about sustainability and long-term benefits.
  • Colby Kirk:
    “Are these data centers going to keep taking up million square feet…or are we going to be left with an abundance of warehouse or industrial-scale buildings that we won’t be able to keep up? …He was honest with me and said, I don’t know.” [22:03]

7. Local Skepticism and Environmental Concerns

• Residents like Nina McCoy express deep skepticism, seeing a pattern of exploitation and environmental degradation.
  • Nina McCoy:
    “If they’re putting it here, then that means it’s bad. You put those things that you don’t want in your neighborhood in a place like this. … You put it in a place where the people are poor, desperate, and they just have to live with it.” [22:53]
    • “We’ve allowed these people to be called job creators... They're not job creators. They're profit makers.” [23:33]
• Environmental worries: AI centers’ voracious appetite for electricity and water, with infrastructure possibly unable to cope.
  • Dina Temple-Raston:
    “AI queries are estimated to require 10 times the electricity of traditional Google ones. … Rural areas with aging infrastructure have seen rate hikes. … And then there’s water.” [24:05]

8. Crypto’s Lingering Ghost

• Ongoing lawsuits and arbitration over failed crypto ventures; hope persists despite setbacks because bitcoin’s price continues to climb.
  • Anna Weitz:
    “Since we talked...the price of bitcoin has gone up. … Some people are hopeful that President Trump’s crypto obsession might be the extra nudge bitcoin mining companies need.” [27:02]
• The sound and presence of mining persist—the Artemis Power facility continues to operate.
  • Zach Hirsch, measuring noise:
    “70 A-weighted decibels. That’s loud, like standing next to a taxiing airplane loud. … Imagine what that’s like, 24/7.” [27:37]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Mining...that's a very emotional word for eastern Kentucky because of the generations of coal miners."
  — Anna Weitz [06:56]

• “We trusted people... We usually trust people till they prove it to us otherwise.”
  — Commodore Long [09:04]

• “Everything that's popular and valuable gets stolen away. That land, those hills have a long, deep history of being abused and pillaged. And I hate that.”
  — Anna Weitz [16:13]

• “If they’re putting it here, then that means it’s bad...You put those things that you don’t want in your neighborhood in a place like this...”
  — Nina McCoy [22:53]

• “They're not job creators. They're profit makers.”
  — Nina McCoy [23:33]

• “We don’t know what the future is going to hold when it comes to this stuff.”
  — Colby Kirk [22:39]

• “The Artemis Powertech miners in Campton never stop. Not at night, not on Sundays...to some, it is the sound of a new digital future. For others, it sounds like history repeating itself.”
  — Dina Temple-Raston [28:08]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Mining & Kentucky’s Identity: 03:49–07:14
• Coal Legacy & Economic Impact: 08:02–09:12
• Crypto Comes to Kentucky — the Hype: 10:02–12:08
• Foreign Crypto Investors & Local Facilitation: 12:08–13:55
• Mohawk Energy & Failed Promises: 14:27–15:30
• Patterns of Exploitation: 16:13–16:34
• AI Data Centers: Kentucky’s New Hype: 16:46–22:03
• Local Skepticism & Environmental Impact: 22:53–25:10
• Ongoing Crypto Legal Disputes & Hope: 26:01–27:02
• Artemis Power Facility — Measuring the Noise: 27:33–28:08

Tone and Style

The episode weaves field reporting with a reflective, empathetic tone. The hosts and interviewees speak candidly and often emotionally about community, loss, hope, and skepticism—eschewing tech jargon for accessible storytelling grounded in place and history.

Conclusion

"Crypto in Kentucky: The Next Extraction" vividly captures a region’s search for relevance and resilience in the face of rapid technological and economic shifts. Drawing stark lines between past and present, the episode questions whether new waves of “extraction”—first coal, then crypto, now AI—will finally bring prosperity to Eastern Kentucky, or merely repeat old cycles of exploitation and disappointment.