Trendy Brooklyn Bathhouse Fueled by Bitcoin Mining Draws Backlash

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Metro

By Deirdre Bardolf

June 24, 2023 | 6:33 p.m.

A Brooklyn spa has announced on social media that it uses cryptocurrency mining to hear its pools. Public bath/Instagram

A hip Brooklyn bathhouse gained momentum this week when it bragged about using Bitcoin mining to generate heat for its swimming pools.

Did you know that our pools are heated with by-products from Bitcoin mining? Williamsburgs Bathhouse posted on Instagram, attracting hundreds more comments than usual.

A video explains in a few steps how the futuristic process of mining virtual currency takes place.

First step: mine Bitcoin. Mining uses electricity for computing power and generates heat as a byproduct, the narrator says.

According to financial services company Bankrate, bitcoin mining involves solving complex mathematical problems with specialized software that verifies transactions in the currency.

Second step: send the heat generated by the miners to heat exchangers and heat our swimming pools. Third step: take advantage of the hot pool while supporting the Bitcoin network, the video continues. The pools absorb the heat and circulate the cool liquid to the miners.

Bitcoin mining is energy-intensive and critics say it’s bad for the environment.

This makes me like Bathhouse less, one user commented. Now I wonder who is mining this cryptocurrency, who is profiting from it, and if I support this.

I can’t stand this shit, said another.

Others applauded the innovation.

This is awesome, wrote one person. I hardly ever leave Manhattan but I just booked a massage.

A Brooklyn spa has announced on social media that it uses cryptocurrency mining to hear its pools. Bathhouse/InstagramThe pools at Bathhouse in Williamsburg are heated through cryptocurrency mining, the company shared.

The company remains passionate about its business model.

Instead of using electricity for an electric pool heater, we use electricity to run miners, Bathhouse co-founder Jason Goodman told Yahoos In The Know.

The net result is that we’re essentially energy neutral because we’re powering miners with the energy we already needed to buy to heat our pools, Goodman continued. Therefore, we are able to use this electricity twice in a certain sense. We are able to recoup much of our energy costs while supporting the Bitcoin network and participating in a fun engineering project.

Critics say cryptocurrency mining has a negative impact on the environment. Bathhouse/Instagram

The company has created a new Frequently Asked Questions section on its website to provide more information.

From our point of view, if Bitcoin is able to have even a small percentage of positive impact that we think it could have, it would be important to have an open mind about it, explains Bathhouse.

The former factory-turned-massage house opened in 2021 and offers spa treatments such as massages like scrubs and has a restaurant and bar.

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