Pennsylvania cuts 2-year mining moratorium from bill after union pressure
A Pennsylvania House Representative has cut a two-year crypto mining ban from their bill to regulate the sector’s energy consumption claiming trade labor unions pressured the change.
On Oct. 16, the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee passed the Cryptocurrency Energy Conservation Act by a slim margin — 13 for and 12 against — after no movement on the bill since its introduction to the Committee on June 21.
The Committee’s chair and the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Representative Greg Vitali, told local media outlet The Pennsylvania Capital-Star the same day that he was pressured by Democratic Party leaders not to run the bill inclusive of the moratorium.
Rep. Vitali said building trade labor unions had “chronic opposition” to environmental policy and claimed the unions had his Democratic colleagues in their pocket.
“Frankly, [the unions have] the ear of House Democrats, and they have the ability to peel off members who would otherwise be supportive of good environmental policy.”
Vitali claimed voting against the unions would risk the Democratic majority in Pennsylvania’s House and he would rather see the bill pass sans moratorium than not at all.
“I learned the hard way in my first six months as majority chair that there’s not a high tolerance for strong environmental policy,” Vitali added.
The two-year ban would have stopped approvals of new and renewed permits to operate a crypto mining facility. The bill now instills an impact study on miner operations and new reporting requirements.
Related: Bitcoin miners seek alternative energy sources to cut costs
Within six months, miners in with state have to submit information on the number of mining sites operated and the size of each site, along with information on energy sources, emissions reports, and energy and water consumption.
Pennsylvania-based crypto miners will have to submit the reports annually. New miners to the state must submit the same report before starting operations.
Crypto miner Stronghold Digital Mining has set up shop in Pennsylvania — the third-largest coal-producing state in the United States — and purchased two coal-burning power plants on the premise it would turn the plant’s waste into energy to power hundreds of Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs.
In July, the miner sought approval to burn shredded tires to produce up to 15% of its energy needs, a move strongly opposed by local environmental groups.
Bitcoin mining firm TeraWulf also has a nuclear-powered site in Pennsylvania.
Magazine: Recursive inscriptions — Bitcoin ‘supercomputer’ and BTC DeFi coming soon
According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.
Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.
Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.
The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.
The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.
However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.
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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.
She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.
She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.
But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Pic: AP
On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.
“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.
“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”
Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China
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Nandy defends Reeves’ trip to China
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.
While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.
It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.
Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.
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How much do we trade with China?
Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.
During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.
The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”
The Bitcoin Act’s passage could eventually send BTC’s price past $1 million per coin, industry executives say.
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