A Law to Prevent Discrimination Against Bitcoin Miners Gets Approved by the Mississippi Senate

The law to preserve the state's existing crypto miners still has to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the governor.

Source: seedgroup.com

After the Mississippi Digital Asset Mining Act was approved by the state senate on February 8, the American state of Mississippi is one step closer to defending the rights of cryptocurrency miners. A related bill is being debated in the state House of Representatives.

The state senator Josh Harkins-authored senate measure makes it permissible to mine digital assets at home and to run mining operations in areas designated for industrial use. Mississippi, which has among of the cheapest power prices in the nation, already has crypto miners running. However, the measure stated:"Regulatory issues have frequently been addressed at the state and local level by digital asset mining."

The law also forbids placing restrictions on miners that go beyond those that are locally applied to data centers and limiting noise from home mining beyond existing limitations, as well as modifying the zoning of a mining center without adequate notice and an opportunity to appeal. It forbids the Public Service Commission from charging mining companies differently than other firms and exempts home and business miners from the definition of a money transmitter. Additionally, the measure gives the state a formal definition of "virtual currency."

One of the states where the Satoshi Action Fund has operated is Mississippi. Fund CEO Dennis Porter discussed the potential for cryptocurrency miners to exploit abandoned oil and gas wells as a power source at a January appearance before the Mississippi Senate Finance Committee.

Orphan wells are mentioned in both the house and senate measures. The state Digital Asset Mining Council would be established under the house bill, and it would evaluate the usage of wells as a mining power source throughout the year, among other things. Despite passing the Ways and Means Committee, the house measure has not yet been discussed on the floor of the house.

The regulation passed in Mississippi contrasts with the two-year ban on cryptocurrency mining that was enacted in New York and signed into law in November.

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