Mississippi passes bill protecting cryptominers’ rights

The passage of a Mississippi Crypto Framework, or Digital Asset Mining Act, by the state Senate on February 8 represents a step forward in the state’s efforts to protect the rights of cryptocurrency miners.

On February 9, Documenting Bitcoin tweeted that the Mississippi Senate has passed a new law titled “Right to Mine” that offers a framework to protect Bitcoin miners in the state.

Currently, the State Council of Representatives is investigating a related bill.

Crypto miners’ rights protected

According to the legislation, miners are allowed to install their crypto mining equipment in industrial zones without discrimination.

The bill prohibits charging mining companies unfair energy fees. In addition, miners will not be considered to be “money brokers”.

State Senator Josh Harkins’ measure legalizes the mining of digital assets at home and the operation of mining companies in areas classified for industrial use.

Mississippi, which has some of the lowest electricity costs in the country, is already home to cryptocurrency miners.

Image: Watcher Guru

Nonetheless, the bill argued that digital asset mining has often encountered legislative obstacles at the state and local levels.

Furthermore, the measure prohibits regulating noise from home mining beyond existing restrictions, making demands on miners beyond those that apply locally to data centres, or reassigning a mining center without reasonable disclosure and the opportunity to complain.

Growing interest in crypto

The founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, Dennis Porter, noted that despite the bill passing, more work remains.

The latest action taken by Mississippi illustrates the growing interest of states across the United States to adopt Bitcoin and incorporate it into their electricity networks.

This comes at a time when the US is ramping up its efforts to regulate the crypto sector, with Bitcoin mining at the forefront of the narrative.

Mississippi’s measures contrast with New York’s two-year ban on crypto mining, approved in November and signed into law.

At a January conference in the Mississippi Senate Finance Committee, Porter discussed the possibility of crypto miners using abandoned oil and gas wells as a power source.

Hashing, the process of using a computer’s computational power to add blocks to the blockchain, is energy intensive. It’s as simple as this: the more hashing that takes place, the more crypto is mined.

BTC total market cap at $418 billion on the weekend chart | Chart: TradingView.com

Meanwhile, China’s mining restriction accelerated the clustering of Bitcoin miners in the US. According to reports, two American mining pools, Foundry and Antpool, control more than half of the world’s hash rate.

Based on data from Find Energy, Mississippi’s electricity rates are approximately 16% lower than the national average, ranking it as the 16th most affordable state in the United States.

If passed by Mississippi lawmakers and signed by Governor Tate Reeves, the bill would take effect on July 1. It is one of the more favorable bills regarding the mining of cryptoassets in the United States.

– Featured image from WLBT