New York Senate upholds moratorium on mining

The New York State Senate approved a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining using electricity.generated from carbon sources. CoinDesk writes about it.

We are talking about a bill that provides for the freezing of current levels of carbon emissions from mining. Earlier, the document was adopted by the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of the state.

Operating companies or those located inthe process of obtaining permission to mine digital assets, will be able to continue working. Over the course of a two-year period, the authorities plan to study the potential environmental impact of Proof-of-Work mining.

Democratic Senator Kevin Parker noted thatthere is only one business in the state that is not affected by the restrictions. According to him, the authorities are also considering an application, but a decision on it may be postponed until the end of the study.

The document will come into force after being signed by the state governor Kathy Hokul.

Much Ado About Nothing: Why Bitcoin's Ecological Impact Is Exaggerated

In February 2022, New York gubernatorial candidate Juman Williams called on the current state authorities to ban the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the Proof-of-Work algorithm.

In April, a group of US congressmen asked the Environmental Protection Agency to review the mining industry for environmental risks and compliance with related laws.

In particular, they mentioned GreenidgeGeneration, which in July 2021 was accused by local residents of environmental violations. However, they did not specify that the state Supreme Court did not see the negative impact of the construction of mining enterprises "on the air or water of Seneca Lake."

Later, more than 50 representatives of the bitcoin industryrefuted the fears of politicians. In a letter to the Agency, they called the notion of mining incorrect and emphasized that data centers are consumers of electricity that do not produce carbon emissions.

Recall that the United States retained leadership in terms of the share in the bitcoin hash rate with a figure of 37.8%, overtaking China.