We previously discussed in Bitcoin Arabs about the possibility of banning Bitcoin mining in New York State, after passing the ban proposal for consideration and vote.

The motion was voted in favor of imposing a ban on bitcoin mining in New York with 95 votes in favor and 52 against.

It’s my pleasure to bill my senate hero Tweet embed A7389C/S6486D just passed in assembly as part of a file #Earth day eviction! Thank you to all of our sponsors and advocates who helped put this bill to a vote! 🌎 pic.twitter.com/NhVnMo3FJE

– Anna Kells (@annakelles) April 27 2022

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Passing this law would impose a two-year ban on bitcoin mining.

For now, the bill will go to the state Senate for another round of voting.

Bitcoin mining ban in New York

Although the bill does not propose a complete ban on cryptocurrency mining, it will stop mining companies from renewing operating permits if such operations are powered by fossil fuels.

According to the bill, this also means that new permits will not be approved either.

Currently, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the largest mining-based networks (PoW).

But Ethereum is expected to change to a more environmentally friendly mechanism called Proof of Stake (PoS) in the third quarter of this year, with the much-anticipated Ethereum 2.0 upgrade.

The bill also notes that the Department of Environmental Conservation will prepare an environmental impact assessment for mining operations that use Proof of Work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions.

This assessment will include the number of operations in the state, the energy consumption of each process, the source of that energy consumed, process gas emissions, the sector’s impact on electrical energy consumption and water use, as well as public health and economic impacts.

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Once the assessment is drafted, it will be made available for public comment for 120 days.

Before any of this can begin, the bill must now pass the New York State Assembly.

The bill will then be handed over to Governor Cathy Hochhol to be signed or, if passed, rejected.

Bitcoin mining and the environment:

Much of the momentum around this law revolves around concerns that bitcoin mining is harmful to the environment.

Current data from the University of Cambridge’s Center for Alternative Energy estimates that the Bitcoin network currently uses 150.66 TWh of energy to validate transactions annually.

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That’s more than countries like Poland, Argentina, and Belgium use.

These concerns are particularly relevant for New Yorkers as the state has set fixed climate goals and is also home to 19.9% ​​of the Bitcoin hash rate in the United States.

It’s unclear how much of this New York-based retailer runs on carbon fuels and will be affected by the principles of the latest law.

Climate goals set in July 2019 include net carbon emissions by 2050 and 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2040.

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