NYC Mayor Eric Adams speaks out against PoW mining ban legislation

June 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

The Mayor has been a proponent of the crypto industry and has now pledged support for sustainable Bitcoin miners by asking Governor Hochul to veto a two-year moratorium on mining.

New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams spoke out on Monday, June 13, against a bill just one step away from effectively banning Bitcoin mining in the state for the next two years.

The bill is designed to place a two-year moratorium on Proof of Work (PoW) crypto miners who do not use 100% renewable energy. At the same time, New York state’s environmental agency is investigating the effects of mining on the environment. The bill passed on June 3 in the State Assembly and now awaits Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature to become a law.

Mayor Adams told Crain’s on Monday that he intends to request Governor Hochul veto the bill due to the economic damage it will cause the state's people. Mayor Adams has been a frequent proponent of the crypto industry, previously accepting BTC instead of cash for his salary payments.

SCOOP @CrainsNewYork I sat down with @NYCMayor Eric Adams today and learned he’s going to ask @GovKathyHochul to veto the #cryptocurrecy crypto mining bill that places a two year pause on new mining operations. Read it here: https://t.co/X0zjbJWJ8J
— Brian Pascus (@brianpascus) June 13, 2022

He now stands with miners against the bill stating, “we can’t continue to put barriers in place” for miners who wish to help bolster the state’s economy with the “billions of dollars that are spent on cryptocurrency” in the state.

“I’m going to ask the governor to consider vetoing the bill that is going to get in the way of cryptocurrency upstate.”

Supporters of the bill, such as the original sponsor, Assembleyperson Anne Kelles, are worried that miners who use fossil fuel-burning power plants could set the state behind on its path toward reducing all carbon emissions by 85% by 2050. New York generates more than 50% of its electricity from renewable sources, shutting down older fossil fuel power plants to achieve that goal.

Assembleyperson Kelles told the New York Post on June 13 that the Mayor’s support of miners was a surprise and said he is essentially asking New York “to go back to the stone age of cryptocurrency.” Mayor Adams had previously spoken out against miners in February, according to the Post.

According to data compiled in December 2021 by the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), New York is the fourth-largest contributor of hash power in the U.S.

Industry insiders told CNBC on June 3 that New York’s decision to shut down miners could have a domino effect across the industry. However, Cointelegraph reported on June 10 that GEM Mining CEO John Warren believes miners will simply move to friendlier states with better incentives.

Worldwide, about 50% of the power Bitcoin miners use is from sustainable sources according to the Bitcoin Mining Council. Miners strive to be less reliant on fossil fuels, which requires innovative technologies. Mayor Adams suggested giving New York-based miners deadlines to reduce their emissions by specific dates. “Give us a goal, not bans,” he said.

New York Bill That Aims to Establish a Bitcoin Mining Moratorium Awaits Governor Hochul’s Signature

June 3, 2022 Bitcoin.com

BitLicensed Crypto Firms Ordered to Pay Annual Assessment Fees in New York

April 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

assessment fees

The fees will bring virtual currency companies on par with those paid by banking and insurance institutions as a way for the state to recoup operating expense costs and “best support” the industry.

The cost of running a crypto business in New York is about to rise with the state government gearing up to require companies holding a BitLicense to pay assessment fees to ensure they’re complying with regulations.

The rule was included in New York State’s FY2023 budget signed into law on April 9th by Governor Kathy Hochul giving the state's Department Of Financial Services (DFS) a “new authority to collect supervisory costs from licensed virtual currency businesses,” according to a statement by the DFS.

DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris said the fees would bring virtual currency businesses in line with those already paid by institutions such as banking and insurance companies and added:

“New York was the first to start licensing and supervising virtual currency companies, and we continue to attract more licensees and the most crypto startup funding of any state in the nation.”

The state of New York was the first in the U.S. to require crypto companies to be licensed with the introduction of the now known “BitLicense”, the application fees for such a permit are currently $5,000 and are subject to vague capital requirements determined by the New York DFS.

The annual assessment fee amount that the DFS will charge crypto firms is currently unknown, but the same fees for other regulated financial institutions can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year.

The DFS states the fees are to assist with paying the operating expenses of regulating crypto firms and “will empower the Department to build staff with the capacity and expertise to best regulate and support this rapidly growing industry.”

Businesses that accept crypto as payment, create software for the crypto space such as self-custody wallets, or give advice on crypto trading aren’t subject to the BitLicense and corresponding new fees.

Recently, the regulation and licensing of crypto in the state have come under fire with billionaire investor Bill Ackman sharing his thoughts in February about New York’s failing policies and how it could make him leave the state.

Ackman appealed to Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Hochul to address the increasing concerns around regulation, saying that easing restrictions and removing regulatory barriers could make New York a “crypto center of innovation.”

Mayor Adams ran with plans to make New York City the “center of the cryptocurrency industry” even taking his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC). Analysis from Cointelegraph in November shows that it’s really up to the New York DFS and state government to enact changes that will attract the industry.

Governor Kathy Hochul