Montana protects the right to mine Bitcoin in a landslide vote
The Montana state Senate voted in favor of a bill protecting Bitcoin miners from a wide range of anti-industry actions on Thursday, February 23rd. The bill also serves to limit local authorities’ ability to crack down on miners.
Montana Senate votes for bill protecting Bitcoin miners
On Thursday, February 23, the Montana State Senate voted 37-13 in favor of a new bill intended to protect the rights of individuals to mine Bitcoin. The bill also prohibits increasing utility prices for miners and prevents the imposition of additional taxes on cryptocurrency transactions.
In addition, the bill effectively serves to limit the ability of local governments to crack down on Bitcoin miners. A non-profit advocacy group called Satoshi Action Fund primarily aimed at educating lawmakers about Bitcoin helped draft the bill passed today. Bitcoin miners have faced increased pressure from several quarters over the past few months.
Both governmental and non-governmental organizations have targeted them for the extensive energy needs of their operations with a report last July estimating that cryptocurrency miners in the US use as much electricity as the city of Houston. Furthermore, the decline in prices through the “crypto winter” combined with the increased costs due to increased inflation have caused unprecedented difficulties even for the largest Bitcoin miners.
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Are lawmakers warming up to crypto?
Considering that the past few months have seen a regulatory onslaught led by the SEC’s Gary Gensler in the US, and several international financial organizations including the IMF are discussing a ban on crypto, the current landscape can seem very hostile to the industry. Despite these developments, the beginning of 2023 also saw several decisive cryptocurrency-friendly moves taken by both lawmakers and regulators.
Shortly after the SEC disclosed its $30 million settlement with Kraken, Commissioner Hester Peirce published her own scathing assessment of the action calling her agency lazy and paternalistic. Furthermore, while the White House appears to be content with the current hard-line approach to digital assets, state lawmakers have proven more keen on the industry.
On February 16, lawmakers in Wyoming passed a bill aimed at protecting private individuals’ private cryptocurrency keys. Some positive developments regarding the industry have also come from across the Pacific. Earlier this month, Hong Kong unveiled its investment aimed at boosting web3 development – an initiative reportedly supported by the traditionally anti-crypto government in Beijing.
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Do you think there should be a federal law protecting the right to mine Bitcoin without penalties or restrictions? Let us know in the comments below.
About the author
Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
