Mississippi Senate passes bill to protect cryptocurrency miners from discrimination
The bill would legalize home digital asset mining and the operation of mining businesses in areas zoned for industrial use, and more.
The American state of Mississippi is one step closer to protecting the rights of cryptocurrency miners after the state Senate passed the Mississippi Digital Asset Mining Act on Feb. 8. There is a companion bill under consideration in the state House of Representatives.
The Senate bill, authored by state Sen. Josh Harkins, legalizes home digital asset mining and the operation of mining businesses in areas zoned for industrial use. There are already crypto miners operating in Mississippi, which has some of the lowest electricity rates in the country. However, the bill claimed:
“Digital asset mining has often faced regulatory challenges at the state and local level.”
In addition, the bill prohibits limiting noise from home mining beyond existing limits, imposing requirements on miners beyond those locally applied to data centers, or changing the zoning of a mining center without proper notification and an opportunity to appeal.
It also prohibits the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, from imposing discriminatory rates on mining businesses and exempts home and business miners from money transmitter status.
The bill further provides the state with a legal definition of “virtual currency.”