A powerful explosion and fire at the facilities of the crypto mining company Blockfusion, which operates from Niagara Falls in New York, has affected thousands of Bitcoin and Ethereum miners, who have been disconnected from both blockchain networks following the incident.
Blockfusion, one of Bit Digital's mining partners, has suffered an interruption in its operations. cryptocurrency mining following the explosion that occurred this week at its facilities in New York.
Specifically, the power substation at its Niagara Falls facility was damaged by an explosion, causing a power outage that has taken thousands of its cryptocurrency miners offline. The company notes that About 2.515 Bitcoin miners and approximately 710 Ethereum miners were affected.
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The explosion also started a fire. However, thanks to the quick action of the fire department, the fire was quickly brought under control, avoiding serious material damage to Blockfusion's physical facilities.
Bit Digital, which also maintains headquarters in New York City, has said that Its operating hash rate has been reduced by 46,8% after the explosion.
Blockfusion, a company that is working to restore power service as soon as possible, plans to file charges against its supplier and request reimbursement for the monetary losses caused by the halt in its cryptocurrency mining operations.
Another 1.580 Bitcoin miners offline due to power outages in New York
Bit Digital's Bitcoin mining operations and active network hash rate have also been affected by the power outages experienced by Digihost Technology Inc., also a Bit Digital mining partner, which operates from the town of North Tonawanda in Niagara County.
On release issued by the company, states that 1.580 Bitcoin miners from this company were disconnected from the New York power grid, due to the need for additional approvals from New York authorities to carry out this activity.
Digihost Technology has already filed applications with the New York Public Service Commission seeking approval for its crypto mining operations in the state.
Cryptocurrency Regulations in New York
In New York, A bill seeking to suspend fossil fuel-supported cryptocurrency mining for about three years was passed last April. by a majority in the state Assembly. The project, which had gained support in recent months, seeks to assess the environmental impact that bitcoin mining and other cryptoassets have on water and air quality in the state.
New York State Assembly member Anna Kelles, the main sponsor of this bill, said that the environmental impact assessment of cryptocurrency mining will help determine whether this crypto activity should be banned outright so that New York can meet its climate goals. However, to date, this bill has not yet been signed by Governor Kathy Hochul.
On the other hand, while the moratorium on crypto mining is being defined, the superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, Adrienne Harris, reported this week that the DFS is Streamlining the process of issuing so-called “BitLicense”; a business license issued by the state to authorize companies that offer services with digital assets and which has become the gold standard of crypto regulation.
According to Harris, the process that used to take “up to a couple of years” has now been streamlined. The superintendent reported that in 2021 the authority had issued only one BitLicense in the entire year, while so far in 2022, it has already issued three licenses and is on its way to its fourth approval.
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