TDLR
The Montana state senate has passed a bill called “Right to Mine” designed to protect cryptocurrency mining companies from unfair utility rates. The bill is a significant step forward for crypto mining and aims to encourage mining operations within the state.
In the United States, crypto mining has long been a contentious issue, with state governments often clashing with the industry. However, Montana has taken a major step in encouraging the development of crypto-mining infrastructures within its borders.
The Montana state senate has officially passed a bill, known as the “Right to Mine” crypto bill, to protect Bitcoin and crypto mining rights. The bill was led by Dennis Porter and the Satoshi Action Fund and was passed by a landslide vote of 37-13.
The “Right to Mine” Bitcoin bill aims to protect crypto mining companies from “discriminatory digital asset mining utility rates,” according to the bill. Specifically, it is designed to protect crypto mining operations from being overcharged by energy companies, thus encouraging mining practices in the state.
The passing of the bill was welcomed by Dennis Porter and the Satoshi Action Fund, who worked with lawmakers to establish this vital legislative action. “Satoshi Action Fund is pleased with the result in Montana. It is critical to provide regulatory certainty for the mining industry,” Porter said. “We have been working diligently to ensure that bitcoin miners have the right to mine across the USA. There is still more work to be done in Montana, but as a new organization we feel confident about the progress we have made.”
Montana’s “Right to Mine” bill officially prohibits “local government powers related to digital asset mining,” as well as “taxation on the use of cryptocurrency as a payment method,” it states. Additionally, it notes that “Digital asset mining provides positive economic value for individuals and companies throughout the United States.”
State Senator Daniel Zolnikov praised the bill’s passage, stating that “These protections, along with clarifying tax law in relation to digital assets when used as payment, will plant a flag in Montana that we are open to embracing the digital asset mining industry.”
The passage of the “Right to Mine” crypto bill is a significant step forward for crypto mining, which should encourage crypto mining companies to embrace Montana as a viable setting for their operation. Porter and the Satoshi Action Fund are determined to get similar legislation passed in multiple states to create a more consistent legislative approach to mining practices throughout the country.