A recently passed bill would enact a two-year moratorium on specific types of cryptocurrency mining in New York and require an environmental impact assessment of mining operations if signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. On the latest episode of Policy Outsider, NYS Assemblymember Anna Kelles, the bill's sponsor, joins host Alex Morse to discuss what's in the bill, what the legislature hopes to learn from its proposed impact analysis, and how the bill fits with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), New York's landmark climate and environment legislation.

Guest

Honorable Anna Kelles, New York State Assemblymember 

Points of Conversation

03:02 - Blockchain Basics and Cryptocurrency Validation: Proof-of-Stake vs. Proof-of-Work

13:43 - Understanding Decentralized Financing

16:51 - Pause for Examination: How Cryptocurrency Mining Operates and its Potential Impacts

26:17 - The Fracking Playbook

30:54 - How Cryptocurrency Mining Relates to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

38:00 - How Recent Environmental Policy Decisions Affect Future Policymaking