The Senate of New York adopted a law prohibiting the opening of new mining farms working on carbon energy. This initiative, which also initiates the study of the impact of farms for mining on the environment, was adopted by the state assembly state in the beginning of this year. After the Senate approval, the bill was aimed at approval by the governor Kathy Hochul.
After the China authorities introduced serious restrictions on cryptocurrency mining last year, large mining farms moved to other countries, among which the United States became one of the most attractive places. In the state of New York, a significant part of the energy is produced by hydroelectric power stations. In addition, there are many abandoned factories on the territory of the state, which work on fossil fuel and are suitable for placing equipment for mining. All this quickly made New York one of the centers for the production of bitcoins.
The return of industrial facilities working on coal caused a negative reaction from local residents and environmental defenders. They are concerned that factories that work again thanks to bitcoin will harm the environment and undermine the state’s efforts to combat climate change. The bill approved by the Senate involves the introduction of a two-year moratorium on the opening of new mining farms at the Proof-OF-WORK algorithm. This algorithm underlies the two largest cryptocurrencies – bitcoin and Ethereum.