New York says No to fossil fuel for Crypto mining

The New York State Assembly has approved legislation to stop the development of new crypto mining farms that use fossil fuels as a source of energy. Existing crypto mining farms as well as those that utilize renewable energy sources are exempt.

The newly passed Assembly Bill A7389C introduced by Democrat Anna Kelles, blocks all-new crypto mining businesses operating in New York State that use fossil fuels to power their operations. The bill specifically will put an interim moratorium of two years on new crypto-mining farms based on carbon.

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After a vote of 95-52 in the Assembly Committee on Monday, the bill is currently going through the State Senate.

New York is one of the major players in Bitcoin mining in the United States. According to data that was released through the crypto-mining firm Foundry USA, 19.9% of the US Bitcoin hashrate, which is the collective computing power of miners – is located within New York, making it the most populous Bitcoin mining state in the US, together with Kentucky, Georgia and Texas close behind.

For those who keep track of this topic, the publicly traded business Greenidge Generation is at the heart of New York’s controversy regarding cryptocurrency mining. Greenidge has a 107-megawatt natural gas plant located in the Finger Lake region that powers its Bitcoin mining.