The New York State Assembly passes a ban on new BTC mines that don’t use green electricity

The New York State Assembly passed legislation late on Tuesday, April 26, that would place a two-year ban on all new proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining facilities in the state that use a carbon-based fuel for their operations use.

Not only would the bill, sponsored by Anna Kelles, impose a two-year moratorium on new bitcoin mining permits, the proposed moratorium would also prevent the renewal of permits granted to existing PoW cryptocurrency miners using energy from carbon sources if they do try to increase the amount of electricity consumed.

Excited to have my bill with Senate Master @kevinparkernyc A7389C/S6486D has just passed the assembly as part of #Earth Day Package! Thank you to all of the co-sponsors and supporters who helped get this bill put to the vote! pic.twitter.com/NhVnMo3FJE

– Anna Kelles (@annakelles) April 27, 2022

The bill received the support it needed to pass by a vote of 95 in favour, 52 against and will now be brought to the Senate vote by Senator Kevin Parker. If successful, it will then be turned over to Governor Kathy Hochul, who can veto the law or sign it into law.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) would be mandated by the bill to produce a “general environmental statement” to number, locate and assess the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of PoW miners and their public health impacts.

Related: US lawmakers alert EPA over environmental concerns over crypto mining

Cryptocurrency industry advocacy group Blockchain Association had previously called on New York’s “pro-tech, pro-innovation, pro-crypto” residents to oppose the bill, which they did claim resulted in thousands of communications to lawmakers.

The Union called that the bill was debated for around three hours, which she says is “greater opposition to the mining ban than proponents believed.” in one tweet Today the team said it will direct its energies to the New York Senate to thwart what it calls the “Anti-Technology Act.”

Proposed bans on proof-of-work cryptocurrencies on environmental grounds are becoming more common. A similar proposal called the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Bill was narrowly defeated in the European Parliament in late March, with lawmakers there even considering banning bitcoin trading to enforce the proposed mining ban.