ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
Buncombe County Commissioners will consider extending a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining next week, as the issue also is being debated in the North Carolina legislature, too.
The county enacted a one-year moratorium in May 2023, hoping to buy time for staff to research the impacts of the process of using high-powered, energy-intensive banks of computers to “mine” bitcoins out of complicated mathematics.
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of creating virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, by solving complicated math problems that verify transactions. The process involves massive computer systems that have sparked environmental and energy-related concerns.
Those concerns have prompted moratoriums on new cryptocurrency operations around the country. The one Buncombe County enacted last year was set to expire by May 1. Buncombe County Planning and Development officials have recommended commissioners pass an ordinance extending it until April 30, 2025.
Officials want to “mitigate any negative impacts associated with cryptocurrency mining,” according to planning documents urging commissioners to continue the moratorium. “Buncombe County staff require additional time to complete their study of this relatively new technology in light of the unique zoning and resource requirements.”
Commissioners meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at 200 College St., Room 326, in downtown Asheville.
At the state level, Sen. Tim Moffitt (R-District 48) is the primary sponsor of a bill that would allow Henderson, Polk and Rutherford counties to prohibit or regulate cryptocurrency mining. If Senate Bill 774 is passed, the law would only apply to those three counties and their municipalities.
As explained at fidelity.com, “Put simply, crypto mining is really just guesswork with a monetary incentive — aka proof of work. But you need a lot of computing power to do it.”
Blockchain is the technology that powers many cryptocurrencies. Groups of approved transactions form a block and are joined to create a chain. A miner earns 3.125 Bitcoin (about $196,875 as of April 2024) for successfully validating a new block on the Bitcoin blockchain, according to bankrate.com.
The strain to power grids and noise from the machines has environmentalists and elected officials at all levels concerned.
But some see cryptocurrency mining operations as an opportunity and want lawmakers to reconsider the bans.
In a letter to Moffitt, the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative said SB 774 and similarly drafted bills will significantly curtail the growth of a promising industry in North Carolina and infringe upon digital property rights.
The initiative has suggested working with lawmakers to develop alternate solutions to bans.
“Our findings indicate that the proliferation of mining and blockchain computing companies may share a similar trajectory to the proliferation of data centers throughout the 1990s that led to many of the cloud computing providers that provide good paying jobs to many North Carolinians today,” the letter said.
Efforts to reach Buncombe County commissioners and planning officials and Moffitt on Friday were unsuccessful.