Bitcoin miners in New York City will soon face a mining restriction
Bitcoin miners in New York City will soon face a mining restriction
Members of the crypto community are expressing their displeasure on social media as the state of New York puts forward a law that, if passed, will restrict proof-of-work (PoW) mining.
Jake Chervinsky, the head of the strategy at Blockchain Association, said in a Twitter thread that the change will not "lower carbon emissions" in any way. A mining prohibition, according to Chervinsky, will just drive miners away from New York and into locations where the state has no control.
Chervinsky expects that the measure will be vetoed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul "for the welfare of New York." The move, according to the lawyer, sends a message to the state that "crypto is not acceptable." If the law is passed, Chervinsky believes it will be a policy mistake on the part of the world's financial capital.
In addition to Chervinsky, United States Senate candidate Bruce Fenton has spoken out against the plan. He stated in a tweet that governments do not have the authority to dictate which software individuals should use. He noted that "code is speech," meaning that the prohibition is an attack on freedom of expression.
Buterin expressed his views on the matter, saying that the government should not decide which applications are "acceptable" uses of power. He advocated for the establishment of carbon pricing and the use of the proceeds to compensate low-income customers.
The New York State Senate passed a measure banning PoW mining on June 3. If signed by the governor, the measure will outlaw mining in the state and make it difficult to renew licenses that have already been granted.
In the midst of the battle to outlaw mining, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a warning to New Yorkers about investing in cryptocurrency. In an investment advisory, James stated that many people are "losing billions" in cryptocurrencies and that even well-known enterprises might go bankrupt.
If the bill is implemented, it will have an impact on the US bitcoin hashrate, as CoinGabbar earlier reported that the US has the world's highest bitcoin hashrate (37.8%). But any regulation made by the government has upsides and downsides. The upside will be that it reduces the usage of high-cost power used in bitcoin mining, while the downsides will be that it affects bitcoin miners' financial status in that region, which might lead to a bearish trend in the crypto market.
