Mississippi Senate passes bill to legalize crypto mining
Lawmakers from the Mississippi Senate have passed a bill to legalize Bitcoin mining in the state and protect miners from discrimination.
Mississippi’s digital asset mining bill was introduced to the House by Senator Josh Harkins. The lawmaker explained that the mining sector has the potential to stabilize the power grid and provide revenue for infrastructure projects across the state.
After due deliberation, lawmakers from the Mississippi Senate on January 9 passed the bill required to legalize crypto mining in the state.
“It shall be lawful in the State of Mississippi to operate a node for the purpose of mining digital assets” and “to operate a digital asset mining business.”
According to the bill, miners are allowed to set up their rigs in industrial areas without discrimination of any kind.
The bill makes it illegal to impose discriminatory energy prices on mining companies. In addition, miners will be protected from being considered money transmitters.
Mississippi’s digital asset mining bill is expected to take effect on July 1, 2023, subject to further approval by members of the House and the state governor.
Crypto Mining in the USA
China’s ban on mining helped speed up the concentration of Bitcoin miners in the United States
The CryptoSlate report revealed that two US mining pools (Foundry and Antpool) control over 51% of the global hash rate.
Over the years, Texas has remained a destination of choice for miners, with around 30 mining companies reportedly operating in the state.
However, some US lawmakers are pushing to make mine operators disclose their power consumption to regulatory agencies.
Anti-crypto lawmaker Elizabeth Warren had launched an investigation against the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for allegedly paying miners to compensate for energy congestion.
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