MESSAGE
| DATE | 2022-11-23 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Crypto Wars in NYS
|
ALBANY, N.Y.—New York has become the first state to restrict
cryptocurrency mining after Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed a
two-year moratorium, calling the move necessary to help protect the
environment.
The new law, which took effect immediately, will prevent the
reactivation of fossil-fuel power plants for off-the-grid cryptocurrency
mining. Cryptocurrency miners earn digital cash by solving mathematical
equations with computers that require large amounts of energy to power.
Mining that taps into the electrical grid will still be legal.
Some miners secure low-cost electricity by bypassing the power grid and
reviving closed power plants, as has been the case at the Greenidge
power plant in the Finger Lakes town of Dresden. The new law won’t
immediately affect the Greenidge plant. The state separately denied
Greenidge’s request in June to renew its air permit, but the facility is
appealing the decision and will continue to operate while that process
plays out, a spokesman said.
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Sustainability groups generally object to cryptocurrency mining because
of its intensive energy use and resulting environmental impacts.
Business groups—including cryptocurrency companies—lobbied Ms. Hochul to
veto the bill, which lawmakers approved in June. The groups argued it
would have a chilling effect on the industry’s growth in the state, and
said the power plants are also a source of jobs in upstate communities.
Ms. Hochul, who comes from Buffalo, said late Tuesday that mining
facilities could still be co-located near renewable generation such as
hydropower.
“As the first governor from Upstate New York in nearly a century, I
recognize the importance of creating economic opportunity in communities
that have been left behind,” she said. “I will ensure that New York
continues to be the center of financial innovation, while also taking
important steps to prioritize the protection of our environment.”
Business Council of New York State President Heather Briccetti Mulligan
said the state shouldn’t limit the growth of any business or sector. The
Digital Chamber of Commerce, which represents digital asset mining
companies as well as the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said it was
disappointed in the decision and expected companies to move their
operations to other states.
“To date, no other industry in the state has been sidelined like this
for its energy usage. This is a dangerous precedent to set in
determining who may or may not use power,” the organization said in a
statement.
The cryptocurrency market has grown sharply in recent years, drawing in
widespread adoption by individual investors and Wall Street players.
Federal regulators have been slow to regulate the market, leaving state
governments to grapple with policies on their own.
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX has dealt a blow to the crypto
industry’s hopes of pushing favorable legislation through Congress in
the near term and ratcheted up pressure on the Securities and Exchange
Commission and other regulators.
More than 160 crypto-related bills are up for consideration this year in
37 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“This first-in-the-nation law should set the standard for every other
state where crypto miners are coming in, extracting resources, and
wreaking havoc,” Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for the
environmental group Earthjustice, said in a statement. “Cryptomining is
a major threat to climate security and needs to be closely regulated.”
Write to Jimmy Vielkind at jimmy.vielkind-at-wsj.com
--
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that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
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