The Chehalis City Council in Centralia, Washington, has voted unanimously to impose a new crypto moratorium that would prevent any new mining facilities from setting up headquarters in the area.
Chehalis City Council Says “No” to More Mining
The region is clearly taking a page out of New York’s book, as the Empire State was the first region in the U.S. to impose such a restriction on crypto mining. While the bill has not yet been signed by the state’s governor, it was quickly passed in the state senate to mixed reviews. Some believe the move will lead New York into financial ineptness and that the region will fall behind and lose its technological edge.
However, some say that the bill will create a region devoted to renewable energy and keep New Yorkers safe from the ongoing use of electricity.
The Chehalis City Council imposed its moratorium roughly two months after a similar measure came to be through the Lewis County Public Utility District. As that moratorium has ended, roughly three new mining facilities have been set up in the region, and Chehalis is concerned about how much energy use will come about in future months thanks to the growing crypto business.
The recent news suggests that despite the growing presence of crypto mining, very few seem to possess advanced knowledge of it. Councilor Bob Spahr was one of the council members who voted in favor of the moratorium. He stated that prior to the measure being introduced to his group, he had no idea that crypto mining even required electricity to extract new units from the blockchain. He stated:
Crypto mining uses electricity? I had no clue.
The arguments surrounding crypto mining and its alleged energy use continue to grow despite heavy evidence that the electricity used for extracting crypto units isn’t nearly as much as some reports claim. The space has often been marred by environmentalists who refuse to see the truth and continue to push the idea that digital currency mining is going to potentially shove the planet into a deep dark hole from which it will never return.
However, it doesn’t help when these environmentalists have the support of figures like Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and the leader behind major companies like SpaceX and Tesla. Over a year ago, Musk announced that he was going to allow Tesla customers to purchase electric vehicles with bitcoin, though he quickly rescinded the decision out of concern that the space was using way too much energy.
The Arguments Against Crypto Mining Rage On
He has since stated he would be open to Tesla-based bitcoin payments granted miners were willing to be more transparent about their sources and move to renewables.
The Chehalis City Council has been in play for over 100 years.
