Senator Invoice Hagerty (R-TN) has been within the headlines as of late because the GENIUS Act (S. 1582), a invoice for which he was the first sponsor, strikes nearer to passing within the U.S. Senate.
The GENIUS Act is a invoice that, if enacted into regulation, would create a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in order that the know-how might be extra broadly adopted. (Whereas some Bitcoin lovers could not like this, they need to nonetheless take note of the language within the invoice, because it might have an effect on U.S. residents’ capacity to make use of Bitcoin wallets privately.)
Nevertheless, stablecoins aren’t the one factor on Senator Hagerty’s thoughts.
He’s additionally fascinated about find out how to greatest produce and harness power in Tennessee to make use of it for Bitcoin mining and AI compute.
He shared his imaginative and prescient on this subject with me in an interview I carried out with him at Bitcoin 2025:
Tennessee As A Hub For Bitcoin Mining and AI Compute
“We now have a possibility earlier than us to be within the very lead,” Senator Hagerty advised Bitcoin Journal in regard to constructing nuclear amenities that can be utilized to supply power for Bitcoin mining and AI processing.
“The biggest utility on the planet is the Tennessee Valley Authority — definitely the most important one in America — and I believe we’ve acquired a singular alternative right here to maneuver ahead and change into the power hub of America,” he added.
“[We should] see increasingly more not solely mining operations, but when you consider what Elon Musk is doing in Memphis with xAI, the info facilities, the alternatives with synthetic intelligence — there are various, many issues which can be going to occur in Tennessee.”
The Senator added that he believes the state may strike partnerships with Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory, Vanderbilt College, the College of Tennessee and Tennessee Tech as it really works to change into a extra pleasant vacation spot for Bitcoin miners and knowledge facilities.
“We’ve acquired nice alternatives [from] Memphis all the best way throughout the state,” stated Senator Hagerty.
Hagerty’s Name For Bipartisanship
Whether or not it’s working towards stablecoin laws or crafting regulation that may allow industries like Bitcoin mining and knowledge facilities to thrive in the US, Senator Hagerty believes these efforts ought to be inherently bipartisan.
“[These are] bipartisan — or nonpartisan subject[s] — frankly,” stated the Senator.
“Should you care concerning the competitiveness of America — if you wish to see innovation occur on our shores slightly than being pushed abroad — then you definately’re going to assist what we’re attempting to do by way of placing a regulatory framework in place that may ship certainty, that may create an ecosystem right here in America that may permit these corporations to thrive,” he added.
“It’s not simply the stablecoin laws I’m placing ahead or what could occur with Bitcoin or different applied sciences like that. It’s the general blockchain know-how that’s going to assist advance America past the twenty first century. We have to keep within the lead. We are able to keep within the lead.”