The New York state legislature has passed a controversial bill that would temporarily ban crypto mining related to the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus process. This would prohibit the mining of Bitcoin (BTC) in the state for a certain period of time.
The mining ban, which is initially to apply for two years, was passed in April in the first instance. After passing the second instance, the draft will now go to the governor for signature, and if she signs the law, New York would be the first state ever in the US to impose a temporary ban on crypto mining.
The juicy detail about the mining ban is that it specifically targets the PoW consensus process used for crypto market leader Bitcoin. The procedure, which is praised by crypto users for its security and decentralization, has been heavily criticized because it requires relatively high power consumption.
The fact that this criticism is getting louder is now also shown by the fact that several of the senators who were entitled to vote, who were still undecided at first instance, voted in favor of a ban in the renewed vote.
The new law would ensure that no new mining companies can settle in the state and that existing mining operations cannot renew their current licenses after they expire. New mining companies will therefore only be approved if they use 100% renewable energy and can prove this properly.
The Bitcoin consensus process has become an increasingly hot topic in politics and society in recent months, with environmental organizations and lobbyists of the alternative Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus process latching onto the debate. Accordingly, the environmentalists from Greenpeace, for example, together with Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, are demanding that Bitcon’s programming code be rewritten accordingly.
The Bitcoin consensus process has become an increasingly hot topic in politics and society in recent months, with environmental organizations and lobbyists of the alternative Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus process latching onto the debate. Accordingly, the environmentalists from Greenpeace, for example, together with Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, are demanding that Bitcon’s programming code be rewritten accordingly.
Bitcoin’s record run last year reignited the debate about PoW, which is why the so-called Bitcoin Mining Council was founded in response, which wants to create a transparent and comprehensive overview of energy use in Bitcoin mining under the leadership of the software manufacturer MicroStrategy. According to Council calculations, more than 60% of Bitcoin’s mining electricity now comes from renewable energy.
The European Union (EU) also recently considered a PoW ban, but this was removed from the corresponding draft law.
Observers fear that such a ban in New York could now trigger a domino effect that would be followed by many other US states, which would be all the more troubling given that the US is currently the global leader in bitcoin, with a 38% share of Bitcoin’s hashrate are in terms of mining the largest cryptocurrency.
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