New York becomes first state to limit bitcoin mining

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a two-year moratorium on bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) mining operations that are powered by carbon sources, otherwise known as Proof-of-Work crypto mining. The legislation makes New York the first state to partially ban PoW mining, a process that allows crypto miners to earn digital rewards by solving complex mathematical equations to authenticate transactions while using a hefty amount of computing power. The New York State Senate passed a PoW-targeted bill in June in an effort to address concerns about the high energy usage in bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) mining and thus its negative environmental impacts. Sustainable crypto miners (think of those that use Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanisms) likely cheered the eco-friendly legislation since more market share could open up for them. On the other hand, PoW miners have lobbied fiercely against the bill since it was passed by the State Assembly in May. “I will ensure that New York continues to be the center of financial innovation, while also taking important steps to prioritize the protection of our environment,” Hochul said , as quoted by The Wall Street Journal . Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) miners, especially Core Scientific ( NASDAQ: CORZ ), Argo Blockchain ( NASDAQ: ARBK ) ( OTCQX:ARBKF ) and Iris Energy ( NASDAQ: IREN ), have been dealing with a tough mining environment as depressed BTC prices hurt revenue and a rise in energy prices increase costs, thus squeezing profitability. Miners: Riot Blockchain ( NASDAQ: RIOT ), Marathon Digital ( NASDAQ: MARA ), HIVE Blockchain Technologies ( NASDAQ: HIVE ), BIT Mining ( NYSE: BTCM ), Hut 8 Mining ( NASDAQ: HUT ), Bitfarms ( NASDAQ: BITF ), Bit Digital ( NASDAQ: BTBT ), CleanSpark ( NASDAQ: CLSK ), Greenidge Generation ( NASDAQ: GREE ) and Soluna Holdings ( NASDAQ: SLNH ). In July, Sen. Elizabeth Warren wanted crypto miners to disclose energy use, emissions . Dear readers : We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join our separate political discussion .