Despite the ban on PoW crypto mining, the mayor of New York wants to turn the city into a cryptocurrency epicenter.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is still focused on making New York a cryptocurrency epicenter. However, Adams believes that goal could be combined with state efforts to reduce the environmental costs associated with cryptocurrency mining.
Eric Adams’ comments follow a new law signed last week by New York Governor Kathy Hochul banning cryptomining activities under the proof-of-work (PoW) protocol for two years in the state. . Notably, Eric Adams, known as a crypto ecosystem advocate, commented in June that he would ask the governor to veto the bill.
In a recent interview with The NY Daily News, Adams indicated that with the bill enacted, the city will work with lawmakers to find a balance between the development of the crypto industry and legislative needs.
“I’m going to work with legislators who are in favor and with those who have concerns, and I think we’re going to come to a great meeting place.” Expressed the mayor of New York, Eric Adams.
It is important to note that the recent PoW crypto mining moratorium will not only prohibit new mining operations, but will also deny license renewals to those already operating in the State. On the other hand, the State of New York is the first in the country to prohibit any PoW protocol cryptocurrency mining activity.
However, according to the moratorium, any new PoW mining operation in the State will only be able to operate if it uses 100% renewable energy.
US regulators continue to put pressure on the crypto ecosystem
The United States currently leads the Bitcoin mining hash rate, with 37.8% of the total hash rate of the BTC network. However, the recent two-year moratorium could cause a domino effect for other states in the country to adopt it.
“We must become a welcoming place for all technology, and cryptocurrencies are part of the technologies we are looking at.” Adams indicated. “The question becomes: how do we make smart decisions so that New York City and the United States are leaders in this new technology?” Adams added.
Also, after being elected as mayor, Eric Adams said on Twitter that he would receive “his paychecks in cryptocurrency” and also announced his intention to make New York City the “epicenter of the cryptocurrency industry.”
Today, New York City has some of the strictest rules for cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States. In June 2015, the State introduced the regulatory regime called “BitLicense”, which has been strongly criticized for being very hostile to cryptocurrencies.
It should be noted that the “BitLicense” regulations will apply to cryptocurrency organizations linked to the commercialization and issuance of crypto assets.
One of the characteristics of this new norm for cryptocurrencies is that crypto companies must pay “evaluation fees”, just as banking and insurance institutions do, as a way for the State to recover the costs of “operating expenses”. » and provide the «best support» to the industry.
