The New York State Legislature Friday passed a bill that will limit the use of fossil-fuel for cryptocurrency (crypto) miners. However New York Governor Kathy Hochul must still sign the bill before it can be implemented.

Cryptomining generally requires substantial energy to power computer systems due to its need to solve complex mathematical problems. Cryptominers are the network of computer systems that compete to be the first to solve the problem.

In order to mitigate climate change’s current and future effects, New York implemented the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which requires “statewide greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by eighty-five percent by 2050 and that the state has net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy by that time[.]” This cryptomining bill will implement a two-year moratorium on permit issuance and renewal for facilities that use carbon-based fuel to provide energy for cryptomining operations.

Foundry, a digital currency group company, expressed its disappointment with the bill’s passage on social media. Foundry’s statement included the following:

Foundry is disappointed by today’s passage of the two-year ban on cryptocurrency mining across the State. As a Rochester-based company committed to growing the city and state’s economy through job creation and economic stimulus, we believe this legislation limits jobs and innovation in New York for the foreseeable future.