Arkansas has taken the next step of approving a bill protecting the right to mine bitcoin, which is now heading to the governor’s desk.
Arkansas State Assembly has passed law Project It aims to regulate the bitcoin mining industry in the state. The bill has already been passed by the Senate, and is now headed to the governor’s office for approval. The Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023 will set guidelines for bitcoin miners and aims to prevent fraudulent business practices.
The bill proposes that a bitcoin mining business may operate in a state if it complies with state laws regarding labor guidelines and tax policies, any ordinances regarding operations and safety, any rules or rates for utility service provided by or on behalf of a public entity, and federal and state labor laws. The bill also proposes that miners would be required to pay applicable government taxes and fees in acceptable forms of currency and to operate in a manner that does not cause any strain on the utilities’ electric generating capacity or transmission network. The bill further allows individuals to operate bitcoin mining at home subject to applicable facility rules and rates.
The bill aims to recognize that data centers create jobs, pay taxes, and provide overall economic value to local communities and the state. It outlines the guidelines needed to protect bitcoin miners from discriminatory industry-specific regulations and taxes. The proposed law defined several key terms such as “digital assets,” which stands for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. He also defines a “digital asset miner” as an individual who mines for digital assets and “mining of digital assets” as using electricity to power a computer for the purpose of securing or verifying the blockchain network.
The proposed bill further clarifies that a “digital asset mining business” means a group of computers operating in a single location that consumes more than one megawatt (1 megawatt) on an average annual basis for the purpose of creating digital assets by securing a blockchain network. It also defines a “node” as a computational device that contains a copy of distributed ledger technology via the blockchain. The bill defines “residence” as a permanent residence, unit, or additional structure.
The bill suggested that a legislature means a county quorum court, city council, board of directors, board of commissioners, or similar elected administrative body of local government, and that a person may have a company mining digital assets in an area that are designated for industrial uses that the local government has not designated for uses. other.