Kathy Hochul – the current governor of New York – is facing real pressure to hurry up and sign the crypto moratorium that her state’s Assembly passed.
Environmentalists Want Hochul to Move
It is interesting to see such a liberal leader so hesitant to sign the moratorium. The bill calls for a two-year ban on all digital currency mining businesses thinking of setting up operations in the Empire State. Perhaps Hochul sees something wrong with the bill… Or perhaps, unlike many of her liberal constituents, she feels that signing the bill and making it a law will somehow prevent New York from competing and will ultimately lead it down a dark hole that it won’t be able to climb out of.
Nevertheless, environmentalists are not happy that she’s taking so long. While Hochul recently received praise for preventing Greenidge – a crypto mining company – from turning a decommissioned power plant into a building to host its mining rigs, this isn’t enough in the eyes of environmentalists who want New York to be the leader for a new green wave of energy.
One of the people really pushing the moratorium is Yvonne Taylor of Seneca Lake Guardian. She commented in a recent interview:
Governor Hochul must finish the job by signing the crypto moratorium.
After the setback, Greenidge issued a statement that it has filed an appeal and is planning to stay in business granted its present licenses permit it to remain operational. Executives stated:
This decision does not have any impact on our current operations. We can continue running uninterrupted under our existing Title V Air Permit, which is still in effect, for as long as it takes to successfully challenge this arbitrary and capricious decision.
There have been many arguments in recent years about the potential environmental impact of crypto mining. There are many people out there who claim that mining is leading the planet to a point of no return. There are also several reports stating that bitcoin mining requires more energy than several developing countries.
It also doesn’t help when high-ranking, wealthy individuals – such as South African entrepreneur Elon Musk – seem to fall into the “mining haters” category. Last year, for example, Musk announced that Tesla buyers could purchase their cars with bitcoin. However, this decision was later rescinded when Musk claimed he was worried about the dangers of mining and what it could do to the planet. He said he would reconsider BTC car-buying if miners became more transparent about their energy sources and were willing to “go greener.”
Keeping New York Stable
Part of the moratorium bill reads:
New York is arguably the financial capital of the world, and we must ensure that we help foster the creation of an environment that allows us to continue to lead the world in the financial sector.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/new-york-governor-hochul-facing-real-pressure-to-sign-crypto-moratorium/