- New York State Senator Kevin S. Parker proposes a crypto mining ban bill for three years.
- The bill aims to address environmental and climate problems raised by energy-exclusive mining operations.
- With the boom in bitcoin price, mining activities in New York State surged, stirring up environmentalists’ concern.
State Senator Kevin S. Parker, an environmentalist with a background in advancing legislation for protecting the environment, proposes a cryptocurrency mining ban bill in New York state for three years over concerns about the effects of crypto mining on climate and the local environment.
Bill S6486, which is still in committee and subject to edit, requests a “three-year moratorium on the operation of cryptocurrency mining centers in the state, including, but not limited to cryptocurrency mining centers located in converted fossil fuel power plants.”
According to the bill, the three-year moratorium will be used to measure the amount and assess the impact of the greenhouse gas emission by any existing or proposed mining plant, as well as study the impacts on water and air quality, and local wildlife.
New York state has witnessed an increase in mining activity, especially bitcoin mining, along with the boom in bitcoin and cryptocurrency price and adoption. Just recently, a mining plant in New York’s Seneca Lake called Greenidge announced its plans for quadrupling the power used to process Bitcoin transactions by late next year.
The Bill is Built on Bitcoin Energy Use Criticism
The bill further criticizes mining operations mentioning how resource-exclusive they are, it states, “A single cryptocurrency transaction uses the same amount of energy that an average American household uses in one month, with an estimated level of global energy usage equivalent to that of the country of Sweden.”
The operation and expansion of crypto mining hubs will increase the amount of energy usage, and “it is reasonable to believe the associated greenhouse gas emissions will irreparably harm compliance with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in contravention of state law. ” the bill adds.
It is not still clear if the bill will affect individual miners who use their computing power to mine cryptocurrency at home too or just the mining centers.
Crypto mining has long been a concern for environmentalists across the globe, and a perfect weapon for non-enthusiasts to use against the crypto world. Among the notable non-supporters stand billionaire Bill Gates who often criticizes bitcoin arguing how energy-inefficient mining operations are and how they are bad for the environment.
