---
title: "New York May Ban All Bitcoin Mining"
description: "A new bill in front of the New York state senate would impose a three-year ban on all crypto mining to take stock of its environmental impacts."
date: "2021-05-06"
modified: "2021-05-06"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-york-ban-bitcoin-mining"
categories:
  - "Bitcoin"
  - "Blockchain"
  - "Cryptocurrency"
  - "Environment"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "bitcoin"
  - "crypto"
  - "environment"
  - "the digest"
---

# New York May Ban All Bitcoin Mining

![A new bill in front of the New York state senate would impose a three-year ban on all crypto mining to take stock of its environmental impacts.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BCNYC.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Aaron PW via Unsplash / Futurism  https://unsplash.com/@aronpw</em>*

## Pressing Pause

A new bill before the New York state senate would impose a three-year ban on all cryptocurrency mining in the state.

Upstate New York has become an unexpected hub of crypto mining lately, *[Gizmodo ](<https://earther.gizmodo.com/new-bill-would-ban-bitcoin-mining-across-new-york-state-1846828277>)*[reports](<https://earther.gizmodo.com/new-bill-would-ban-bitcoin-mining-across-new-york-state-1846828277>). Given that the [total energy consumption](<https://futurism.com/could-i-climb-into-a-spacex-cargo-rideshare-and-yeet-myself-into-space>) of Bitcoin mining operations around the world has exceeded that of entire countries, [the bill](<https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/s6486>) provides a reasonable way for New York to curb [greenhouse gas emissions](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russian-oil-builds-bitcoin-farm-siberia>) and help reach ongoing climate goals.

## Bursting Bubbles

During the proposed pause, *Gizmodo* reports, officials would have time to actually quantify the impact that crypto mining and the associated energy demands have on air and water quality as well as the local ecosystems near the mining rigs.

With that info in hand, the state government would be able to impose reasonable, well-informed regulations on crypto mining to keep things from getting out of hand if and when the moratorium is eventually lifted. That process, Roger Downs, the conservation director for the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club told *Gizmodo*, would mirror how New York paused and then banned fracking after learning more about it.

"In this case, it's an objective study on all the impacts of cryptocurrency," Downs told *Gizmodo*. "At the end, there'll be recommendations on how the state should regulate it, or if the state should allow it at all."

**READ MORE:** [New Bill Would Ban Bitcoin Mining Across New York State for Three Years](<https://earther.gizmodo.com/new-bill-would-ban-bitcoin-mining-across-new-york-state-1846828277>) \[*Gizmodo*\]

**More on Bitcoin mining:** *[Russian Oil Company Builds Bitcoin Farm in Siberia](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russian-oil-builds-bitcoin-farm-siberia>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)