Kuwait is cracking down on crypto mining due to the strain it's causing to the grid, which is roughly split between oil- and gas-fired generators. 

What do you guys think of this? 

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kuwait-cracks-down-cryptocurrency-mining-amid-power-crisis-2025-05-01/

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in general, I don't think erring on the side of authoritarianism works.

there's a lot of strain on rivalrous water sources due to datacenter boom.

the practical "bleeder valve" for this is subsidizing the sprawl, meaning that the system should incentivize bad actors to rationally complement the grid by whatever policy/subsidy forces them to continue off-grid.

some might argue NYC congestion pricing would work, but only if it's cycled into grid capacity. iirc there are TWh generated without capacity on other grids.