What Was the New York Crypto Mining Moratorium?

In June 2022, the New York Senate passed Bill S6486D, which the governor signed in November 2022. Contrary to information published by many news outlets and popular belief, the bill did not ban, partially 🐼or otherwise, cryptocurrency mining.

This bill created a moratorium, which stoꦫpped new crypto mining permits from bein🍬g issued, stopped permit renewals, and required all cryptocurrency mining operations powered by on-site energy sources to submit generic environmental impact statements for two years.

Here’s a closer look at what was in the bill and what the cryptocurrency community should know.

What's in Bill S6486D?

New York Senate Bill S6486D was more about collecting information from existing mining operations than it was about banning the practice. In summary, here's what it stated:

• No new permits for crypto mining operations would be issued for two years
  
• There would be no permit renewal for existing crypto mining operations for two years
• Crypto mining companies were required to prepare environmental impact statements for each year

New York's Department of Energy Conservation created the necessary environmental impact statement, but the final version was not published until April 2024. The statement was "...focused on cryptocurrency mining operations that have on-site generation capacity to meet their electricity needs. Issues related to operations that wholly or substantially utilize grid-supplied electricity will also be addressed, to the extent practicable, as a potential source of new demand."

The ꧅statements, as of the version published in April 2024, 🍬needed to include:

• An executive summary
• Unavoidable adverse impacts that could not be mitigated
• Any irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources
• References and acronyms used
• Glossary
• Appendices

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Next, the report reqꦍuired firms to report:

• The number and location of existing cryptocurrency mining operations
• Amount of electric energy each cryptocurrency mining operation consumed
• The sources of electric energy consumed by each cryptocurrency mining operation
• Greenhouse gas emissions and co-pollutants amounts released per each energy source for cryptocurrency mining operations
• Anticipation of any increase in mining capacity or operations
• Any potential impacts of energy use in cryptocurrency mining operations
• How much water was used, how it was used, if it was used for cooling, and any ecological impacts of water usage by cryptocurrency mining operations
• Any potential public health impacts, such as reduced air and water quality, noise, or other hazards in communities near cryptocurrency mining operations
• The potential statewide public health impacts from increased greenhouse gas emissions
• Any social and economic costs and benefits of cryptocurrency mining operations

The two-year period of not issuing or renewing permits ended on Nov. 22, 2024.

Why Is Cryptocurrency Mining an Issue?

Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies use a proof-of-work (PoW) process, where network participants called miners compete to bundle transactions into a file called a block, and then generate hashes until one of them finds a hash with the correct value.

This competition requires that block information is sent through an algorithm many trillions of times, which consumes large amounts of electricity. For comparison, the Bitcoin network alone uses more energy than some small countries. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the Bitcoin network consumes about 180 terawatt-hours per year, more than Poland or Egypt.

The currencies that rely on PoW add to environmental con✅cerns when they rely on coal, natural gas, and other fossil-fuel-burning energy sources.

Other cryptocurrencies don’t rely on the same energy-intensive blockchain software and do not have large mining operations, so they are not an environmental concern. Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and Algorand are 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cryptocurrency networks that use a method called 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:proof-of-stake (PoS), which requires far less electricity.

What Happened to Crypto Miners in New York?

According to The University of Cambridge's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index's Bitcoin mining map, New York accounts for 9.77% of the United States' Bitcoin mining capacity. The United States accounts for nearly 38% of all Bitcoin hashrate—more than Russia, China, and Germany combined.

Since the moratorium passed, cryptocurrency mining in New York has not been affected too much. While some miners may have packed u💖p shop and moved, quite a bit of mining has occurred, even with the moratorium in effect.

The Bottom Line

New York's Bill S6486D moratorium on cryptocurrency was signed into law in November 2022. It stopped permits from being issued or reissued to new and existing crypto-mining operations for two years. During this period, mining operators were required to file economic impact statements, but the statements to be used weren't published until April 2024. The two-year moratorium period ended in November 2024.