Missouri passes crypto mining protection law

The U.S. state of Missouri passed the “Digital Asset Mining Protection Act” on March 7 to protect the rights of crypto miners.

The bill won’t allow state and political subdivisions to halt crypto mining nodes’ work. The bill summary stated:

“The “Digital Asset Mining Protection Act” “precludes the state and political subdivisions from prohibiting the running of a node or series of nodes for the purpose of home digital asset mining,”

The bill ensures that crypto-mining companies are subject to the same laws as other businesses so that specific laws can’t target them. It primarily aims to prevent energy companies from applying discriminatory tax rules to mining corporations.

The bill also mandates the state to give “proper notice” before making adjustments to the rules related to crypto mining. Naturally, this bill legalizes crypto mining and allows institutions to participate in mining activities within zones approved for industrial use.

The bill passed with a unanimous vote of 12 to zero in favor, securing the support of both Democrats and Republicans. However, this is an amended version of the bill, which means it needs to be passed by the Missouri House committee before moving to the Senate, as Blockwork reports.

Mining in the U.S.

The U.S. is one of the leaders in crypto mining. According to the data from October 2022, two mining pools in the U.S., Foundry, and Antpool, account for over 51% of the global hash rate. Hosting over 30 mining companies within its borders, Texas comes forward as the mining hub of the country.

The most recent development on the mining front within the U.S. came from Mississippi. In February, the Mississippi senate passed a legislative bill that legalized Bitcoin (BTC) mining within the state. Similar to Missouri’s Act, Mississippi’s bill also ensured that mining companies weren’t subjected to any discrimination.

A contrasting attitude towards mining came from New York in June 2022. The New York senate passed a bill that bans any new proof-of-work (PoW) mining operations from starting for three years.