There are now two measures in the Arkansas State House that might limit bitcoin mining in the state. These bills establish the framework for future debates that may result in legislation, even though they have not yet developed into complete laws.
Legislators attempted to address a number of broad issues, including foreign ownership, noise reduction, and the closeness of cryptocurrency mines to residential areas, during a Senate hearing on April 17.
Though only one cryptocurrency-related law was adopted by the Senate last week, two of the eight legislation that were brought before the House on Wednesday were passed.
The question of whether Act 851 should be revised and what specific changes those modifications should include are hotly debated. The committees will confer on the subject before perhaps enacting legislation during this fiscal year or the next.
The Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023 is a bill that aims to regulate the Bitcoin BTC mining business in the United States. It protects miners from taxes and regulations that are discriminatory and establishes criteria for them.
Bitcoin mining is a time-consuming and energy-intensive operation that has drawn criticism for the waste it produces. Over 77 kilotons of electrical waste are produced annually by Bitcoin mining, according to Investopedia.
Legal issues with cryptocurrency mining exist outside of the US as well. Lawmakers in Paraguay have presented a measure to temporarily outlaw cryptocurrency mining and associated activities in their country. They claim that illicit cryptocurrency mines are stealing electricity and disrupting the supply of electricity.
The purpose of the proposed legislation is to outlaw the construction of cryptocurrency mining facilities as well as other operations related to the production, trading, storage, or preservation of cryptocurrency.
Senators in Paraguay have, however, put a stop to the mining ban, and officials are now weighing the advantages of selling excess electricity to miners from their Itaipu hydroelectric facility.
Due to the impending Bitcoin halving this week, miners are under pressure. Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, estimates that miners may liquidate $5 billion worth of Bitcoin BTC in the months following the halving.
"This selling's overhang could last four to six months, which explains why Bitcoin might go sideways for the next few months — as it has done in the past after halvings," the speaker stated.
The cryptocurrency markets may experience “a major issue in a six-month'summer' slump," according to Thielen, who also noted that the same might occur again.
April 2024, Cryptoniteuae