Mississippi lawmakers successfully passed new laws to uphold the rights of bitcoin (BTC) miners and node operators in the southeastern US state.
Mississippi Presents Right to Mine
Mississippi senate lawmakers have approved a new bill that may not only legalize bitcoin mining operations, but could protect the rights of node operators in the state if it becomes law.
The bill, previously sponsored by Senator Josh Harkins in January 2023 and titled “Right to Mine,” is seen by lawmakers as a necessity to encourage cryptocurrency-based investments in the state. It will provide legal protection to individuals or companies who wish to engage in proof-of-work (PoW) mining in Mississippi.
“The State of Mississippi wants to explore the potential for digital asset mining in our state, protect the right of individuals and businesses to mine digital assets in our state, and provide legal certainty for the digital asset mining industry.”
“Right to Mine” bill.
Satoshi Action Fund founder Dennis Porter expressed his elation at the historic event, stating, “I am proud to have been a part of this historic step in Mississippi. There is still more work to do.”
Cryptocurrency Acceptance on the Rise in the US
The new pro-bitcoin law in Mississippi signals a shift in the right direction in accepting blockchain technology and its applications. However, not everyone agrees to accept bitcoin mining and all that it entails, with many sectors citing its adverse effect on the environment as one of their main concerns.
In December 2022, British Columbia authorities suspended electricity supply to bitcoin (BTC) mining startups in the region for 18 months.
Despite the challenges, the future looks quite bright for PoW mining, as the recent rise in the price of bitcoin and other crypto assets has significantly improved revenue from BTC mining. As of this writing, the bitcoin network hash rate is 269.95 million, which is an increase of 32.12% from last year, according to YCharts.
With some analysts already predicting that the bull season is almost upon us, quite a few players in the bitcoin mining sector have started making strategic moves aimed at positioning themselves to take full advantage of the impending crypto summer.
As crypto.news recently reported, publicly traded bitcoin miners Hut 8 Mining and USBTC have come together to form Hut 8 Corp, a heavyweight bitcoin mining corporation with a capacity of 825 MW.
