Bitcoin – the final frontier. Apparently, not even aging TV stars are immune to the lure of digital currencies as seen via the example of William Shatner, whose stardom rose to prominence decades ago in the hit TV sci-fi series, Star Trek, in which he played the admirable and unshakable James T. Kirk, captain of the starship Enterprise.

Shatner, 87, who's known to transcend the boundaries (his kiss with Uhura in the 1968 episode of the series is incorrectly cited as the first interracial kiss portrayed on US television) is apparently spending his senior days – mining Bitcoin! That's what he admitted to Solar Alliance startup after proclaiming him their celebrity spokesperson. Shatner then went on to say that this is not even his first foray into the cryptocurrency world, although he admits he is not 100% sure what he's doing most of the time.

In an interview with Chicago Tribune, Shatner said: “The concept is so, I guess the word is bizarre. You have to blank your mind and say, ‘What is blockchain, again? How does mining operate, again?’ The concepts are really strange, and yet when you begin to grasp it, it makes sense.” For him, it all began in 2014 when he was sent some Bitcoin tokens by a fan, only for the actor to Tweet soon after: “What the heck is a bit coin?”

Solar Alliance is battling a barrage of criticism coming from the environmentalist groups who are adamant that Bitcoin mining wastes resources. This is why Solar Alliance is ready to take on a feat of spreading out on 14 acres of land in the Midwest, install solar panels there and harvest the sun's energy to generate the power Bitcoin miners need to do their stuff.

Murphysboro, the Illinois town of 10,000 inhabitants, has already offered 165,000 of square feet in a vacant factory to the company to be converted for mining operations. Its Mayor Stephens said that the town is “like a lot of Middle America, have seen job losses because of a change in the worldwide economy. From my perspective, we’re going to have someone who will occupy a previously derelict property, and whatever development comes out of it will just make it more marketable if the project is not successful.” Miners can rent the space there and get some free coaching and advice from the company members.

Shatner was approached by Solar Alliance when they outfitted his own home by coincidence, saying he'd help them run the facility when it's operational. “I’m in Chicago a lot, and I live in Kentucky part of the time. I might very well do that. It’s an interesting idea to see it at work because … it’s so esoteric that it’s difficult to understand.”

Source:

“William Shatner Joins Bitcoin Mining Project, Admits He Doesn't Quite Get It”, Kelso C. Edward, bitcoin.com, June 14, 2018.