### Citing environmental concerns, New York becomes the first state in the U.S. to pass a law that limits cryptocurrency mining.

On Tuesday, New York became the first state in the United States to limit cryptocurrency mining. Citing environmental concerns, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that sets a two-year moratorium on new and renewed air permits for fossil fuel power plants used for “proof-of-work” cryptocurrency mining. 

Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining refers to the computational process that records and secures digital money transactions through a competitive cryptographic process. The proof-of-work model is designed to ensure that only legitimate members of the network can process transactions (by adding a block) to the chain, as a malicious actor would need to spend exorbitant resources just for a chance to record a transaction on the chain. On top of all this, a malicious transaction would not produce the same results (or hashes) as the rest of the chain and the network, making it impossible to produce counterfeit tokens on-chain.

Returning to the new law - it also requires the Department of Environmental Conservation to assess how cryptocurrency affects New York’s ability to meet its climate goals.

The passage of this law comes amid growing calls for regulations in the cryptocurrency industry, especially amplified after crypto exchange FTX’s collapse. In a statement, Hochul said, “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.

Environmentalists have pointed out concerns regarding these mining operations because it allows them to have their own natural gas-burning power plants. 

On the other hand, critics of the law said that its passage hampers New York’s economic development and singles out the crypto industry while ignoring other instances of fossil fuel use. Beyond such finger-pointing, others have come forward to say that compared to bitcoin, industries such as banking [use far more energy](https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-banking-uses-at-least-56-times-more-energy-than-bitcoin) and produce less secure results. Such claims have yet to be peer-reviewed, however.


Citing environmental concerns, New York becomes the first state in the U.S. to pass a law that limits cryptocurrency mining.

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