New York state lawmakers have passed a bill proposing a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining based on carbon sources.

The bill will mean a two year hold on new permits for miners that use carbon-based fuel for their operations and calls for an environmental impact study around crypto mining.

However, the bill will not impact existing firms involved in carbon-based mining, or those in the middle of a permit renewal.

The new measure specifically targets crypto mining based on proof-of-work, where computers do high workload calculations in exchange for digital currency.

Examples of proof of work-based currencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

The proposed regulation comes after the US has become the world leader when it comes to Bitcoin mining, overtaking China according to data published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

The bill was approved with a vote of 36 to 27 in the New York state Senate early on Friday morning, and it is now awaiting the approval of Governor Kathy Hochul, who must veto or pass the bill within ten days.

The move has already attracted criticism from some prominent influencers in the space.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on Twitter: “The government picking and choosing which specific applications are an okay use of electricity or not is a bad idea.”

“Better to just implement carbon pricing and use some of the revenues to compensate low-income users.”

He added: “Of course, in the absence of perfect compensation of externalities (ie. the status quo today), we still have moral responsibilities.”

Share Story: