Ethereum creator and developer Vitalik Buterin disagrees with New York State's proposed ban on PoW cryptocurrency mining.
Instead of banning the mining of cryptocurrencies based on the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm, the young creator of Ethereum and one of the most influential and respected figures in the crypto world, Vitalik Buterin, has said that regulators should “simply implement carbon pricing”.
On his Twitter account, Buterin expressed his disagreement with the plans being developed in the state of New York regarding cryptocurrency mining.
In New York, a bill targeting PoW cryptocurrency miners is only awaiting the signature of the state's governor, Kathy Hochul, for final approval; which could occur in the next few days.
This bill has passed both the New York Assembly and Senate, so it is Governor Hochul who has the final say.
It may interest you: New York Senate approves two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining
“No government has the right to tell you what software to run”
If this bill is passed, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which use the PoW consensus algorithm to authenticate and validate their transactions on the blockchain, could be banned. In response to the threat, Vitalik Buterin has expressed his views, declaring that he is against such a ban.
“I agree with this (i.e. I oppose banning PoW)”Buterín said, citing a tweet from Bruce Fenton, former CEO of the Bitcoin Foundation and candidate for the US Senate from the state of New Hampshire, in which he said: “No government has the right to tell you what software to run”.
Since the passage of Bill A7389C by the New York Senate last week, Bitcoiners, cryptocurrency miners, and the crypto community at large have turned to Governor Hochul and lawmakers to veto the aforementioned bill, which may affect New York's status as a technological hub for innovation.
“Having the government pick and choose which specific applications are a good use of electricity or not is a bad idea”, the creator of Ethereum continued saying on the social network.
After expressing his disagreement with a possible ban on PoW cryptocurrency mining in New York State, Buterín said it is better to simply implement carbon pricing and use some of the revenue to compensate low-income users.
Moratorium on PoW cryptocurrency mining in NY
The bill in question seeks to impose a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate their operations on the blockchain. This category includes the world's two largest cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Ethereum, which account for more than 100 million users. 821.660 million in market capitalization, according to the CoinGecko platform at the time of writing this article.
Other influential figures in the cryptocurrency world who have spoken out against a possible ban on crypto mining in New York include Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group and the Blockchain Association.
Foundry also noted that the passage of such a bill will be negative for the crypto industry and affect the creation of new jobs in the state. Even as Bit2Me News reported last week, legislators Todd Kaminsky and Robert Smullen also expressed their dissatisfaction with the aforementioned bill.
Since its approval by the Senate, Governor Hochul has 10 days to sign the bill. As shown in the Official Site of the New York Senate, at the time of this edition the law has not yet been signed by the state governor.
Continue reading: Vitalik Buterin: “My wish is for Ethereum to be more like Bitcoin”
