A report that New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a bill setting a two-year moratorium on proof-of-work cryptomining in New York state is being blasted by upstate advocates who have been pushing for the measure.
The group Seneca Lake Guardian on Monday knocked Adams after Crain’s New York reported the mayor will ask Hochul for the veto. Environmental organizations at the state and local level have called for the temporary ban in order to have the state Department of Environmental Conservation review the process.
Advocates have argued that the process to generate cryptocurrency uses a high amount of energy and is at odds with New York’s climate change goals.
“It’s frankly shameful to see the Mayor of the largest city in the country so nakedly in thrall to crypto cash in the middle of a climate crisis,” said Yvonne Taylor, the group’s vice president. “Our message to the Governor remains: lead with integrity, not like the Mayor of New York City who’s clearly flip flopping on his previous opposition to cryptomining because some extremely rich people told him to. We live and breath the climate killing effects of 24/7 cryptomining in the Finger Lakes, where our $3 billion, 60,000 job agritourism industry is under very real threat from a fake currency. The Legislature listened to the will of the people, and now it’s your turn: sign the cryptomining moratorium bill now!”
Hochul has not committed to signing the bill, but has said her administration will review it. She has previously said she wants to strike a balance on the issue of both protecting the environment and helping grow the economy in parts of upstate New York.
