The New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would ban all new proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining for two years. The bill was sponsored by Anna Kelles and will be brought to the State Senate for final passing into law by Governor Hochul.
The bill only imposes a two-year hold for the approval of any new Bitcoin mine that uses the energy-intensive PoW mining method. Additionally, it will also stop the renewal of permits on existing PoW crypto miners using carbon-sourced energy. This is especially against those looking to increase the amount of electricity they consume for mining.
The Bill Receives An Overwhelming Support
The bill has also received the majority of the support from the State Assembly, with 95 in favor and 52 against. It will be passed into law by the governor after a successful vote in the State Senate.
However, most Republican lawmakers are against the bill, as they argued that it could send the wrong signal.
The bill will also task the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct a General Environmental Impact Statement on all cryptocurrency mining activities in New York.
The study is expected to complete within a year to give the lawmakers enough time to deliberate on the findings before the moratorium’s expiration.
An Earlier Bill Proposed a Three-year Ban
For several months, regulators in the state have been pushing for a suspension of the growth of crypto mining to give room for more elaborate research. The first version of the bill proposed a three-year ban on a wider scope of mines. But the bill was dismissed in June 2021.
However, after a series of adjustments were made to the new bill, it received the node of several lawmakers. Although the bill has not been voted on and approved, the majority of lawmakers giving it consent means it has a higher chance of being passed into law this time.
On Tuesday, members of the Assembly debated the bill for more than two hours. Kelles, while defending some clauses in the bill, stated that it will only apply to a few fossil-fuel power plants.
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