llew Claasen, Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, the oldest and largest Bitcoin advocacy organization, has asked cryptocurrency miners affected by the recent moratoria in the State of New York to come forward.
The Foundation would like to engage with the mining community to better understand the impact that the recent string of moratoria is having on our industry and more specifically, on Bitcoin mining in New York. In March 2018, the city of Plattsburgh, New York implemented an 18-month moratorium banning cryptocurrency mining activity.
The Village of Lake Placid, Village of Sherrill, Village of Tupper Lake, and Village of Rouses Point quickly followed suit, as well as the New York Power Authority. However, the Village of Tupper Lake, the Village of Rouses Point, and the New York Power Authority have not made their moratoria public and have not publicly disclosed the legal grounds forming the basis of these moratoria decisions.
Through counsel, the Foundation filed several Freedom of Information Law or “FOIL” requests regarding the recent implementations of moratoria on cryptocurrency mining activities in New York. N.Y. Pub. Off. Law sec. 84 et seq.
Following the filing of these FOIL requests, Llew Claasen stated:
“The implementation of moratoria on cryptocurrency mining activity in the State of New York is a grave legal, political and business decision. The State of New York has already pushed many cryptocurrency businesses out of New York following the promulgation of the New York BitLicense. These moratoria only further push cryptocurrency activity out of New York and the state continues to express hostility towards this industry.”
“Given this position, the Bitcoin Foundation has followed two courses of action. One, it has filed FOIL requests to understand the legal basis for such moratoria and two, it is encouraging miners from the State of New York to come forward and work with us to understand the impact of the moratoria.”
The legal basis for the moratoria and the miner’s input will determine the Foundation’s next steps on how to best support and advocate for our industry on this matter.