The New York Senate passed the Bitcoin mining moratorium which will bar new operations powered by carbon-based energy sources for two years as we can see more today in our latest Bitcoin news.

The New York State passed the Bitcoin mining moratorium bill that targets Proof-of-work mining in an effort to address the environemntal concerns around crypto. The bill was passed by the state Assembly and will impose a two-year moratorium on any PoW mining project that is powered by carbon-based fuel in the Empire State but the existing mining firms will be allowed to continue operations. According to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Kevin Parker, there’s only one such plant in operation that will not be impacted by the bill. He added that there’s one pending application that could be put on hold until the study is concluded.

During the moratorium, the state will conduct a study on the potential environmental impacts of POW mining. Many expected the bill not to pass since already the previous one didn’t and the Senate Environemntal Conservation Committee declined to consider the bill in its last meeting of the session but the chair Senator Todd Kaminsky said that he was getting worried the bill will lead to economic consequences for New York if people perceive it as being hostile to crypto.

The 11th-hour referral of the bill from the Environmental Conservation Committee to the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee meant that the bill was able to reach the Senate floor for a vote a few hours before the close of the legislative session. Governor Kathy Hochul still has to sign the bill before becoming law. New York was seen as a place for crypto mining firms that are set up due to cheap hydroelectric energy sources and in the past few years, the mining firms repurposed the defunct coal power generation facilities like Greenidge Generation which used one facility to operate using natural gas.

The crypto industry rallied against the bill after the Assembly counterpart was introduced a year ago and many industries advocated calling for a ban on mining. The lobbyist with the BTC Association John Olsen feared that the moratorium will be extended or turned into a ban in the course of the past two years which can drive away companies that wanted to open shop in New York for its cheap energy sources. The mining companies based in New York threatened to leave the state if the moratorium is passed and likely move to Texas because of the preferable climate.

Clark Vaccaro, the acting president of BaSIC, said that the bill is a grim day for blockchain as it is shutting down the doors for the evolving technology. The Senate passed a bill as well that will create a crypto and blockchain study task force.