Crypto
Arkansas Senate committee approves two bills to regulate cryptocurrency mining • Arkansas Advocate
An Arkansas Senate committee unanimously approved two bills Thursday that would regulate cryptocurrency mining operations, and the committee will reconvene Tuesday to hear more public comment on the policies.
Republican Sens. Joshua Bryant of Rogers and Missy Irvin of Mountain View introduced the bills Wednesday after the House approved resolutions Wednesday allowing them to be introduced during the fiscal session. The Senate approved identical resolutions April 11.
The discussion of whether and how much to regulate crypto mines on the state level arose from Act 851 of 2023, or the Arkansas Data Centers Act, which limited local governments’ ability to regulate crypto mines.
Crypto mines, large groups of computers that harvest digital currency, are often located in rural areas because they take up a lot of space. They also require significant energy to operate and water to keep computers cool.
There are crypto mines in DeWitt and in the Bono community near Greenbrier, and officials have raised concerns over foreign ownership and whether the mines pose a national security risk. Additionally, Greenbrier-area residents have filed a lawsuit claiming noise pollution from the local crypto mine, which is in Irvin’s district.
Six of eight crypto mining resolutions fall short in Arkansas House
Bryant’s bill, Senate Bill 78, would place noise limits on Arkansas crypto mines, prohibit them from being owned by certain foreign entities and allow local governments to pass ordinances regulating the mines.
The bill’s listed options for noise regulations include “using liquid cooling or submerged cooling” techniques, sealing computers into structures that minimize the sound heard outside, and being located at least 2,000 feet away from “the nearest residential or commercial structure.”
Residents or business owners within 2,000 feet of a crypto mine would be able to seek legal remedies regarding noise complaints in county circuit courts, Bryant said.
The bill also clarifies that individuals can engage in crypto mining from their homes without government interference, he said.
“Digital asset mining in the home is limited to the confines of what your utilities can provide you based on your normal retail rate,” Bryant said. “This is a hobby; this is something your personal computer is able to do if you so choose…If you want to operate a business out of your home with this and declare that, then you must follow local guidelines and local ordinances.”
Irvin’s bill, Senate Bill 79, would require crypto mines to be licensed by the state Department of Energy and Environment. It would also require the department to inform legislative committees of its crypto mine regulation methods.
Both bills contain emergency clauses, meaning they would go into effect immediately if Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs them into law.
Six more potential crypto regulation policies passed the Senate but failed in the House within the past week.
Senate Bill 78 largely accounts for one of the failed resolutions, which would have allowed local governments to regulate crypto mines and prohibit ownership of the mines by the list of foreign countries from which the federal International Traffic in Arms Regulations bans imports and exports.
Irvin said the two bills lay the groundwork to use “several layers of tools” to both regulate the crypto industry and have future discussions in the Legislature about whether to put additional regulations in place.
“There’s a lot we don’t know and that we still are learning, so I think we need the time to flesh all that out,” she said in an interview.
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Public comment
Jerry Lee Bogard and Kenneth Graves — both residents of Arkansas County, where the crypto mine near DeWitt is located — spoke in favor of both bills.
Graves is on the DeWitt School Board, and he said there is a school about two and a half miles from the crypto mine. Noise from the mine can travel up to eight and a half miles on a windy day, and he does not want the noise or the mine’s electricity usage to interfere with children’s education, he said.
Bogard runs the Grand Prairie Farming and Water Company, a water conservation business in Stuttgart, and he expressed concern about the effect of crypto mines on Arkansas’ groundwater supply. The Sparta/Memphis Aquifer in East Arkansas contains water clean enough to drink and does not recharge easily.
“One crypto mine may use a few million gallons of water,” Bogard said. “That’s not a big deal [by itself], but what is a big deal is that it’s coming out of an aquifer that we depend upon for human consumption. Twenty crypto mines may be a bit of a concern if you live nearby…any number of these small communities that have aging infrastructure and depend upon the Sparta Aquifer wells.”
John Bethel, director of public affairs at Entergy, answered questions from committee members about crypto mines’ impact on local electric grids.
Bethel said the utility company notifies customers who are straining the grid, such as crypto miners, that their access to electricity will be shut off if they do not reduce their usage. Customers who do not comply with the notification will receive financial penalties that Entergy will later retract if the customer only fails to comply twice in a year, Bethel said.
Committee chair Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Bull Shoals, said those who do not heed Entergy’s warnings might need to face stricter consequences.
Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted to suspend the rule requiring a bill not to be heard in committee under 24 hours after being introduced. Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, expressed frustration that the vote might limit public comment, since her district includes part of Arkansas County.
Bryant and Irvin agreed, at Flippo’s suggestion, to refer the bills back to the committee next week so they can receive more public comment at Tuesday’s meeting.
Bitcoin declined on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve decided to maintain interest rates unchanged and its indication that rate cuts might be delayed. Additionally, Bitcoin’s downward movement was influenced by a mixed launch of investment products tracking the world’s top cryptocurrency and rival ether in Hong Kong.
At 12.02 pm IST, Bitcoin was down 3.3% at $57,629, while Ethereum dropped by 1.5% to $2,920.
Crypto Tracker
Fed Chair Jerome Powell late on Wednesday said a rate hike was unlikely, but reiterated that a rate cut would be considered only if inflation in the economy eased further.Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, said, “Bitcoin trades at $57,000 mark in the past 24 hours following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its benchmark interest rate between 5.25% and 5.50%. Since late February, Bitcoin has experienced a downward trend, largely influenced by macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical uncertainties. The next support level lies at the $56,600 level and the resistance is at $58,800 level.Meanwhile, Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus Crypto Platform, said, “Bitcoin registered a significant decline, dropping 4% today in response to macro and ecosystem developments. The move comes as Binance founder CZ received a 4-month prison sentence in the US, while the launch of spot ETFs in Hong Kong failed to excite investors.”The global cryptocurrency market cap declined by 2.4% to around $2.16 trillion in the last 24 hours.Other major crypto tokens such as BNB (-3.2%), Dogecoin (-3%), Toncoin (-4%), Shiba Inu (-0.2%), NEAR Protocol (-2.2%), and Uniswap (-0.5%) also fell. On the other hand, Solana, XRP, Cardano, and Polkadot surged up to 5%.
The volume of all stablecoins is now $98.61 billion, which is 92.67% of the total crypto market 24-hour volume, as per data available on CoinMarketCap.
In the last 24 hours, the market cap of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell to $1.132 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 52.53%, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC volume in the last 24 hours rose 29.5% to $49.6 billion.
“Technically, BTC is now more than 20% down from its all-time high. It’s currently testing support at $57,000, and a drop below that could lead to a further decline to the $52,000-$53,000 range, with no significant support in between. Similarly, ETH needs to hold above $2,900; otherwise, it may drop to the $2,700 level,” said CoinDCX Research Team.
Despite the downturn, the ETH/BTC pair remains strong, indicating relative strength in some altcoins, with a few even showing gains amidst BTC’s decline, although most are in the red, CoinDCX said.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Crypto
Arkansas lawmakers approve new restrictions on cryptocurrency mines after backlash over ‘23 law
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to new restrictions on cryptocurrency mining operations after facing backlash for limiting local governments’ ability to regulate them last year.
The majority-Republican House overwhelmingly approved the Senate-backed measures, sending them to GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk. The bills were among the few non-budget issues on the agenda for a legislative session lawmakers expect to wrap up Thursday.
The bills are intended to address complaints about a law passed last year on cryptocurrency mines, which are data centers requiring large amounts of computing power and electricity. Local officials and residents who live near the operations complained that last year’s law interfered with addressing complaints about the mines’ noise and impact on the community.
The measures require the facilities to apply noise-reduction techniques, and requires crypto mining businesses to get a permit from the state to operate. It also removes portions of the 2023 law that limited local governments’ ability to enact measures regulating the sound decibels generated by the facilities.
“Let’s do what we can to help those who have been impacted in a negative way, and work for better solutions,” Republican Rep. Rick McClure said before the vote.
Sponsors of the measure have described the bills as a stop-gap until lawmakers return for next year’s regular session and take up more comprehensive changes.
The legislation also prohibits businesses and individuals from several countries, including China, from owning crypto mining operations in the state.
Democratic Rep. Andrew Collins, who voted against both bills, said he was concerned about the way that limit was worded and the impact it could have on foreign investment.
“We’re casting a net that is both too wide and too narrow,” Collins said during a committee hearing on the bills Tuesday. “It’s going to catch people up who are totally innocent, and it’s going to miss a lot of people who are either home-grown or are from countries not on this list.”
Lawmakers passed the legislation as the House and Senate gave initial approval to bills detailing the state’s $6.3 billion budget for the coming year. Both chambers are expected to give final approval to that legislation Thursday.
Sanders plans to sign the crypto mining bills into law, her office said.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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