The New York State Senate approves any new statewide Bitcoin (BTC) passed a bill containing a controversial PoW (proof of work) mining ban that would hinder mining operation.
This bill, which includes blocking PoW mining, was first passed by the state legislature last month. Under the new bill, all new mining operations across the state will be banned for the next two years. The bill has now been submitted to the Governor of New York and, if approved, would be ‘in the United States’.cryptocurrency miningIt will be the first state to introduce a ban on what (the so-called moratorium).
The PoW mining consensus, on the other hand, is predominantly used by Bitcoin miners and is considered one of the safest and most decentralized mining ways. However, because this consensus requires an incredibly high amount of energy, its application is often contested.
The vote on the bill was passed by many senators due to concerns about ‘carbon emissions’, senators had previously been in favor of voting as ‘undecided’.
Not only will the bill ban new mining operations, it will also not allow renewal of licenses for those already operating in the state. Any new PoW mining operation in the state will only be operational if it uses 100% renewable energy.
Bitcoin’s mining consensus mechanism has been one of the hottest topics of discussion among policy makers who support the much less energy-intensive Proof-of-Stake mining consensus, supported by environmentalist and billionaire lobbies. Greenpeace and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen continues to campaign for the Bitcoin code change.
Policy makers have been criticized for focusing solely on the high energy consumption of Bitcoin miners, ignoring the fact that a significant portion of this energy comes from renewable sources, especially in New York City, where 50% of the energy is produced from renewable sources.
Criticism of PoW mining gathered momentum at the height of the bull run last year. However, at the end of last year, a Bitcoin mining council report led by MicroStrategy highlighted that more than 60% of the electricity consumption of the BTC network comes from clean sources.
The European Parliament also recently proposed a similar PoW mining ban but was withdrawn due to growing public interest.
Experts believe New York’s decision to ban PoW mining will have a domino effect and other states may follow suit. The US is currently the world leader in Bitcoin mining hashrate, accounting for 38% of the network’s mining power.
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