New York Senate passes the Bitcoin mining ban bill over the current environmental concerns.
The New York State Senate passed a law aiming at Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining to address some environmental concerns involving crypto mining activities. This bill got also approved one day after the White House itself got ready to boost policies to fight against the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining.
The bill, which passed the New York Assembly in April, would impose a two-year moratorium on any new carbon-fuel-powered PoW mining projects in the state. The imposition gets validated even if existing mining entities or those currently are working on renewing permissions may receive the green light to continue carrying out their activities.
The Senate Voted 36-27 in Favor of the Policy
According to the bill’s Democratic sponsor, Senator Kevin Parker, there is currently only one plant actively operating which would receive any harm from the account. He added a pending application, which may be on hold until the study ends.
During the moratorium, the state will lead a subsequent study on the potential environmental impacts that trial-of-work mining implies.
A Sudden approval
Coindesk points out that many expected the bill not to pass the committee. Last year’s version of the bill did after the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee showed a rejective stance about considering it during its final meeting of the Senate session.
Committee chairman Senator Todd Kaminsky explained to CoinDesk that he showed some concerns about the bill possibly damaging New York’s economic system if people perceive it as hostile to crypto. City agencies have warned about the damage caused by mining activities to the environment.
Missing Signature
New York Governor Kathy Hochul still has to sign the bill into law before it can become an enacted law. New York got described as an ideal place for crypto mining companies to set up their financial and mining activities due to cheap hydroelectric power sources.
Mining entities have also repurposed obsolete coal-fired power generation facilities in more recent years. Greenidge Generation, for example, upgraded one such facility to run on natural gas.
According to previous information delivered by BeInCrypto, various critics have pointed out that the NYDFS lacks the regulatory solidity to properly carry out programs against mining activities because the law does not give it such powers.
However, the regulator considers that the risk to property and business activities posed by natural disasters and weather events is sufficient to justify its attempts to take action on the matter directly.
Climate change could negatively impact unregulated deposit balances by adversely affecting their clients’ activities, including loss of profits and devaluation of investments due to transition risks.
By: Jenson Nuñez
