New York Presses Pause on Polluting Crypto Mines

New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul has enacted a two-year pause on cryptocurrency miners from using gas and coal to power their operations.

In a memorandum(Opens in a new window) signed earlier this week, Hochul said the legislation was the “first of its kind in the country” as well as a “key step for New York as we work to address the global climate crisis.” 

The new law specifically targets crypto mining companies from using fossil fuels such as gas and coal to power their operations but it doesn’t affect those that use renewable energy nor Ethereum, a blockchain that is mined via less polluting means(Opens in a new window). It also does not rein in on companies already using gas and coal for their crypto mining.

Struggling gas and coal plants in New York have turned to crypto mining in order to overcome economic troubles and directives to wind down fossil fuel production. The Verge notes(Opens in a new window) the case of a gas plant in New York’s Finger Lakes region that switched to bitcoin mining in a bid to recover financially. 

The power plant, called Greenridge Generating Station, was denied(Opens in a new window) a renewed air permit by New York state earlier this year but is unaffected by the new moratorium because it’s already operating. 

Bitcoin mining necessitates a huge amount of electricity because miners operate on specialized hardware to add blocks of verified transactions to the blockchain, creating new tokens in return. According to the University of Cambridge, crypto requires more(Opens in a new window) power usage than that of the entire power needs of Sweden.

The bill has been roundly opposed by crypto industry lobbyists. The Verge reports that The Blockchain Association spent $225,000 on lobbying in order to defeat the bill, and tried to soften Hochul by donating thousands of dollars to her campaign. 

The move was warmly greeted by environmental campaigners, however. Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for the nonprofit Earthjustice, said in a statement(Opens in a new window): “Thank you, Governor Hochul, for setting a precedent for the rest of the country and staying true to New York’s climate law mandates.”