Bitcoin miners with power already secured could have an edge in the race to build AI data centers after voters in several US communities backed limits on new development. The midterms could also bring closer scrutiny from Congress over who pays for the grid upgrades those facilities need, industry experts told Cointelegraph.
Voters in several states weighed in on data center development during the Nov. 3 US midterms, when local measures appeared on the same ballots as congressional races. Amid concerns about rising electricity costs, water use and the impact on nearby communities, voters favored limiting development in 40 of the 41 local contests tracked by Ballotpedia.
The restrictions include citywide bans, limits on larger facilities, temporary pauses on new projects and voter approval requirements for some developments.
The results come as major Bitcoin mining companies continue moving into AI, a transition Jamie Brown, CEO of Global Kiwi Labs, said could become more attractive as local restrictions make it harder to build new data centers.
“If a Bitcoin miner has not yet repurposed their electric contract and physical plant to AI, the case to do so just got more compelling,” said Brown, whose company hosts servers for crypto exchanges and trading firms.
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Local restrictions make expansion harder
Miners’ shift to AI infrastructure is already underway, with publicly listed Bitcoin miners announcing more than $70 billion in AI and advanced computing contracts during 2025 and early 2026, according to a first-quarter report by CoinShares.
But state and local decisions can have a more immediate impact on whether data center projects move forward. That’s because local authorities often oversee zoning and building permits and can influence access to electricity.
“A company might have access to an attractive site and a significant amount of power capacity, but if local restrictions prevent it from expanding or upgrading that infrastructure, the opportunity becomes much more difficult to pursue,” said Jordan Knecht, head of strategic integrations at Kresus, a blockchain infrastructure company.
Last week, voters backed 27 measures to limit or oppose new data centers in the elections, according to Ballotpedia. These included five complete bans, 12 partial bans and six-month pauses on new projects in three Maine towns.
In Grove City, Ohio, voters approved a rule requiring public approval for large projects that use more than 20 megawatts of electricity, among other conditions.
“Federal policy will certainly influence the broader investment environment, but the practical ability to develop and operate these facilities often comes down to conditions in individual markets,” Knecht told Cointelegraph. “For miners looking to transition into AI, I think understanding those local dynamics will be just as important as following developments in Washington.”
Expanding into AI is not that simple
Building AI-ready data center infrastructure can cost between $8 million and $15 million per megawatt, compared with $700,000 to $1 million per megawatt for traditional mining facilities, according to a 2026 report by CoinShares.
That gap helps explain why a site with power already secured is only a starting point for miners moving into AI. “Transitioning from Bitcoin mining to AI workloads requires significant additional investment in infrastructure for cooling, networking, and reliability,” Knecht said.
Yuliya Barabash, founder of SBSB Fintech Lawyers, also pointed to differences in electricity needs between Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. Bitcoin miners can often reduce electricity use when prices rise, while AI data centers typically need a consistent power supply, she said.
“Higher electricity prices and additional regulatory requirements could make some projects less profitable or delay their implementation,” Barabash told Cointelegraph.
This comes as electricity demand from US data centers is also expected to rise, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The agency estimates that data centers used 224 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, a figure projected to nearly double to 426 terawatt-hours by 2030.
The impact of Congressional changes
One question facing the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress is who should pay to expand the grid for large data centers.
Knecht said lawmakers could take a closer look at how those projects affect electricity costs and how they get approved. “There may be more pressure to ensure that large data center operators are paying their fair share of infrastructure costs rather than passing those expenses on to consumers.”
Barabash also expects scrutiny of who pays for the electricity infrastructure needed to support data centers. “One of the key priorities is likely to be ensuring that technology companies, rather than ordinary consumers, bear the costs of the additional electricity infrastructure their facilities require,” she said.
Still, experts noted that closer attention does not necessarily mean Congress will discourage data center development. “AI infrastructure is becoming increasingly important to the US economy, and there is still a strong incentive to support investment in domestic computing capacity,” Knecht said.
For miners weighing a conversion, the question is whether AI revenue can justify the cost of upgrading cooling, networking and power systems. Brown thinks it can. “Miners will swap to AI because it is a better ROI than mining,” he said.
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