Arkansas House Passes Bills Restricting Crypto Mining

The Arkansas State House has passed two bills that could limit cryptocurrency mining in the state. Although these bills have not been developed into full legislation, they lay the groundwork for further discussion that could lead to legislation.

In a Senate hearing on April 17, lawmakers tried to address general concerns such as noise abatement, foreign ownership and proximity of crypto mines to residential areas.

Two of the eight bills presented to the House on Wednesday passed, although the Senate passed only one bill on cryptocurrencies last week.

There is considerable debate as to whether Act 851 should be amended and to what extent the amendments should be made. The committees will discuss the issue before passing legislation in the current budget session or the next one.

According to the bill, the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023 intends to regulate the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry in the US state, creating guidelines for miners and protecting them from discriminatory regulations and taxes.

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The long-term and labor-intensive Bitcoin mining process faces criticism for the waste it generates. According to Investpedia, Bitcoin mining produces more than 77 kilotons of electrical waste every year.

Crypto mining outside the United States presents legal challenges. Paraguayan lawmakers have introduced a bill to temporarily ban crypto mining and related activities in the South American country, where illegal crypto miners are stealing power and disrupting electricity supplies.

The proposed legislation would ban crypto mining facilities and activities involving the creation, maintenance, storage and trading of cryptocurrencies.

However, Paraguayan senators have halted progress on the mine, and officials are now considering the benefits of selling excess power from the Itaipu hydroelectric plant to miners.

Miners are under pressure due to Bitcoin's upcoming halving this week. According to Markus Thielen, the head of 10x research, miners could spend 5 billion dollars of Bitcoin in the months after the BTC price was halved.

“The overlap from this sale can last four to six months, which is why Bitcoin will go sideways for the next few months – as it has done following the previous halves,” he said.

Thielen added that the same scenario could happen again, as crypto markets could face a major challenge in the “six-month summer.”

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