Arkansas has taken the next step to pass a bill protecting the right to mine Bitcoin, which is now heading to the governor’s office.
The Arkansas State House has passed an invoice intended to regulate the Bitcoin mining industry in the state. Already approved by the state Senate, the bill now heads to the governor’s office for approval. The Arkansas Data Center Act of 2023 would create guidelines for bitcoin miners and aim to prevent fraudulent business practices.
The bill proposes that a Bitcoin mining business may operate in the state if it complies with state laws regarding business guidelines and tax policies, ordinances regarding operations and security, rules, or fees for public services provided by or on behalf of a public entity. and state and federal employment laws. The bill also proposes that miners must pay applicable taxes and government fees in acceptable forms of currency and operate in a manner that does not stress the generation or transmission network capacities of an electricity utility. The bill further allows individuals to operate Bitcoin mining at home in accordance with applicable utility rules and fees.
The bill is intended to recognize that data centers create jobs, pay taxes, and provide overall economic value to local communities and the state. It clarifies the guidelines necessary to protect Bitcoin miners from industry-specific discriminatory regulations and taxes. The proposed bill has defined several key terms, such as “digital asset,” which stands for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It also defines “digital asset miner” as an individual who mines digital assets and “digital asset mining” as the use of electricity to power a computer for the purpose of securing or validating a blockchain network.
The proposed bill further clarifies that “digital asset mining business” means a group of computers working at a single site that consumes more than one megawatt (1MW) on an annual average for the purpose of generating digital assets by securing a network blockchain. It also defines “node” as a computing device that contains a copy of blockchain distributed ledger technology. The bill defines “residence” as a permanent dwelling place, unit, or accessory structure.
The bill has proposed that the legislative body mean the quorum court of a county or city council, the board of directors, the board of commissioners, or a similar elected governing body of local government, and that a person may have a digital asset mining business in one area. that is zoned for industrial use that has not been designated by the local government for other uses.
