Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) has been in the headlines as of late as the GENIUS Act (S. 1582), a bill for which he was the primary sponsor, moves closer to passing in the U.S. Senate.
The GENIUS Act is a bill that, if enacted into law, would create a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins so that the technology can be more widely adopted. (While some Bitcoin enthusiasts may not like this, they should still pay attention to the language in the bill, as it could have an impact on U.S. citizens’ ability to use Bitcoin wallets privately.)
However, stablecoins aren’t the only thing on Senator Hagerty’s mind.
He’s also thinking about how to best produce and harness energy in Tennessee to use it for Bitcoin mining and AI compute.
He shared his vision on this topic with me in an interview I conducted with him at Bitcoin 2025:
Tennessee As A Hub For Bitcoin Mining and AI Compute
“We have an opportunity before us to be in the very lead,” Senator Hagerty told Bitcoin Magazine in regard to building nuclear facilities that can be used to produce energy for Bitcoin mining and AI processing.
“The largest utility in the world is the Tennessee Valley Authority — certainly the largest one in America — and I think we’ve got a unique opportunity here to move forward and become the energy hub of America,” he added.
“[We should] see more and more not only mining operations, but if you think about what Elon Musk is doing in Memphis with xAI, the data centers, the opportunities with artificial intelligence — there are many, many things that are going to happen in Tennessee.”
The Senator added that he believes the state can also strike partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee and Tennessee Tech as it works to become a more friendly destination for Bitcoin miners and data centers.
“We’ve got great opportunities [from] Memphis all the way across the state,” said Senator Hagerty.
Hagerty’s Call For Bipartisanship
Whether it’s working toward stablecoin legislation or crafting regulation that will enable industries like Bitcoin mining and data centers to thrive in the United States, Senator Hagerty believes these efforts should be inherently bipartisan.
“[These are] bipartisan — or nonpartisan issue[s] — frankly,” said the Senator.
“If you care about the competitiveness of America — if you want to see innovation happen on our shores rather than being pushed overseas — then you’re going to support what we’re trying to do in terms of putting a regulatory framework in place that will deliver certainty, that will create an ecosystem here in America that will allow these companies to thrive,” he added.
“It’s not just the stablecoin legislation I’m putting forward or what may happen with Bitcoin or other technologies like that. It’s the overall blockchain technology that’s going to help advance America beyond the 21st century. We need to stay in the lead. We can stay in the lead.”
