The law would allow the mining of digital assets at home and the establishment of mining firms in areas designated for industrial use. Furthermore, it would prohibit the Public Service Commission from imposing discriminatory power rates on mining businesses.
The Mississippi Digital Asset Mining Act was approved by the state Senate on February 8, putting the state of Mississippi one step closer to safeguarding the rights of cryptocurrency miners. Companion legislation is being considered in the state House of Representatives.
State Senator Josh Harkins’s measure legalises the mining of digital assets at home and the establishment of mining firms in industrially designated regions. Mississippi, which has some of the lowest energy costs in the nation, is already home to cryptocurrency miners. Nevertheless, the bill stated:
“The mining of digital assets has often encountered regulatory obstacles at the state and municipal levels.
In addition, the measure forbids restricting noise from home mining beyond current restrictions, putting requirements on miners beyond those locally applied to data centres, or modifying the zoning of a mining centre without sufficient notice and an appeals process.
In addition, it forbids the Public Service Commission, which supervises utilities, from imposing discriminatory prices on mining companies and exempts home and commercial miners from money transmitter status.
The measure also gives a legal definition of “virtual money” for the state. Mississippi is one of the places where the Satoshi Action Fund has been active, with CEO Dennis Porter addressing the Mississippi Senate Finance Committee in January, when he discussed the possibility of crypto miners using abandoned oil and gas wells as a power source.
Both the Senate measure and the House bill discuss orphan wells. The bill would establish a state Digital Asset Mining Council that would review the use of wells as a mining energy source and other concerns during the course of the year. The Ways and Means Committee has approved the House measure, but it has not yet been considered on the House floor.
Mississippi’s measure contrasts with New York’s two-year crypto mining ban, approved in November and signed into law.
