The New York State Senate has passed a bill establishing a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining using carbon-based power sources.
The bill calls for a two year moratorium on crypto mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions.
The energy intensive proof-of-work mining is used by bitcoin and ether, although the latter is preparing a switch to the greener proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
During the moratorium, New York will conduct a study on the potential environmental impacts of proof-of-work mining.
According to the New York Times, Hochul recently received a $40,000 donation from the boss of a firm that operates a former aluminium plant that is now used for crypto mining.
In March, European Parliament members voted against a provision in the Markets in Crypto Assets framework that would have meant a ban on proof-of-work mining.
