New York becomes the first US state to restrict crypto-mining as Gov. Kathy Hochul signs a bill imposing a two-year moratorium on permits at fossil fuel plants
National cryptocurrency industry groups had lobbied Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto the environmental ban, fearful that other states could follow New York's lead.
The signing turns that legislative proposal into a statewide constraint and gives the industry groups that urged a veto a concrete precedent to contend with. It also establishes a permitting approach New York later applied to large data-center development through a moratorium on new environmental permits for facilities above 50MW.
First-order effects
Crypto-mining projects seeking environmental permits at fossil-fuel plants in New York face a two-year block, while existing permit pathways are no longer available for new covered operations.
Hochul and New York regulators become the first state-level actors to impose this type of crypto-mining restriction, despite opposition from national cryptocurrency industry groups.
Second-order effects
National cryptocurrency groups must now defend against a state-level precedent rather than only local restrictions such as Plattsburgh's earlier mining halt.
Fossil-fuel plant owners pursuing crypto-mining tenants lose a permitted route for new projects in New York, shifting attention toward projects outside the moratorium's scope or outside the state.
Third-order effects
The move marks a shift from municipal responses to energy-intensive mining toward statewide environmental-permit controls; the later large-data-center moratorium indicates that New York reused that tool for broader tech infrastructure.
If other states adopt New York's approach, environmental permitting could become a central constraint on where high-power computing loads are built, rather than a project-specific issue for miners alone.
The trend: States are increasingly using environmental permitting to govern the location and growth of energy-intensive digital infrastructure, beginning with crypto mining and extending to large data centers.
To date, no other industry in NY has been sidelined for its energy usage. This is a dangerous precedent to set in determining who may or may not use power. https://www.nytimes.com/...
First they came for the crypto miners, and I did not speak out—Because I buy index funds. Then they came for the guy who puts up 100k Christmas lights every year, and I did not speak out—Because I was Jewish. Then they came for the laser light shows, and I did not speak out... ht…
New York became the first state to enact a temporary ban on new cryptocurrency mining permits at fossil fuel plants, a move aimed at addressing the environmental concerns over the energy-intensive activity. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Thank you @GovKathyHochul for continuing to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions in the state. These mines are devastating for the environment and the state's moratorium is essential to reducing our emissions. https://twitter.com/...
Thanks @GovKathyHochul for signing this bill (and @annakelles for being the champion to get it here). Rebooting dirty fossil fuel plants for crypto-mining is not consistent with the renewable future New York State needs. Grateful we have some time to chart a cleaner way forward. …
“New York became the first state to enact a temporary ban on new cryptocurrency mining permits at fossil fuel plants, a move aimed at addressing the environmental concerns over the energy-intensive activity.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
New York passed “a two-year moratorium on crypto-mining companies that are seeking new permits to retrofit some of the oldest and dirtiest fossil fuel plants in the state into digital mining operations.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
NEW: Gov. Hochul signed legislation imposing a two-year moratorium on permits for certain types of crypto-mining, a move meant to address environmental concerns. New York is first state to do such a ban. W/ @gr_ashford: https://www.nytimes.com/...