NY bill aims to limit crypto miners using electricity generated from fossil fuels
The New York State Legislature has passed a bill that would impose a two-year moratorium on the use of fossil-fuel power plants to provide energy to miners of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, but Governor Kathy Hochul’s office said Monday that it has yet to do so. Haven’t decided whether to sign it.
Cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of electricity to power computer systems that compete to solve mathematical puzzles to validate blockchain transactions. The miner who solves the puzzle first is rewarded with cryptocurrency.
The state assembly passed the bill in April and the Senate passed it late last week. The governor’s office said Monday that it was still considering whether to sign the bill.
“There’s a balancing act involved here, a very balancing act,” the governor said in a statement on Monday.
“We have to balance protecting the environment, but also protecting the job opportunity in sectors that don’t see a lot of activity, and ensuring that the energy consumed by these entities is managed properly. is,” she said.
The bill is part of a state effort to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050.
According to the bill, cryptocurrency mining operations are “an expanding industry in the state of New York” that will “significantly increase the amount of energy use” in the state.
To prevent cryptocurrency mining from increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the bill would prohibit the issuance and renewal of air permits for an electricity generation facility that uses carbon-based fuels and provides energy used by cryocurrency mining operations. Is.