New York Crypto Mining Bill May Force Miners to Limit Output

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• The New York crypto mining bill passed a full Assembly vote yesterday
• The bill will halt any expansion in crypto mining for two years
• Miners will be forced to halt any expansion and potentially rein in energy use if it passes the senate

Cryptocurrency miners in New York state may have to limit the amount of energy they can put towards their endeavors after Assembly Bill A7389C passed a full New York State Assembly vote yesterday. The bill, which would prohibit any increases in mining activity in the state for two years while an environmental impact study is carried out, passed a committee vote on Monday and yesterday went a step further and cleared the full New York State Assembly. Should the bill clear its final hurdle of a state senate vote, miners may be forced to take action detrimental to their bottom line to keep operating.

Crypto Mining Bill Vote Passes 95/52

Assembly Bill A7389C is primarily aimed at repurposed energy plants that have reconfigured their infrastructure to start mining cryptocurrency, a pattern that environmentalists claim flies in the face of the state’s aims to “conserve, improve and protect its natural resources and environment and to prevent, abate and control water, land and air pollution.”

Having passed committee stage on Monday, yesterday saw a full Assembly vote, where the merits of the bill were debated for over two hours before passing 95/52 in an overwhelming show of support. The bill received heavy backing from Democrat representatives while many Republican assemblymen argued against it, with Robert Smullen calling it an “anti-tech” piece of legislation “disguised as an environmental law”. The merits of the bill were also debated on Twitter between both camps, where misconceptions over Bitcoin once again surfaced:

Not only is it NOT an environmental diastaster but it may be the ONLY current solution we have to an abundantly clean energy grid.

— Bitcoin Or Nothing (@BtcOrNothing21M) April 27, 2022

If the bill is signed into law, cryptocurrency miners will be forced to cap their energy use at current levels while putting on hold any expansion plans, while no crypto mining new permits will be issued. Worse may be to come if the current levels are deemed too high, with plants potentially forced to dial back their activities if their output is deemed to be too damaging.

The bill will now be taken to the Senate where it will be carried by Senator Kevin Parker of Brooklyn.