Montana Senate Approves Bill To Protect Crypto Miners

On Thursday, the Montana State Senate passed a bill aimed at safeguarding the crypto-mining industry from a range of actions that could harm it. Bitcoin miners have faced criticism from environmentalists and lawmakers concerned about the impact of their activities on carbon neutrality goals and electrical grids. The proposed legislation passed with a vote of 37-13 in the Senate and is now headed to the state’s House for approval. The bill has several provisions that aim to protect crypto miners, including protections for at-home mining, prevention of discriminatory utility rates, and stipulations that cryptocurrency used as payment will not be subject to additional taxes. Additionally, the law takes power from local governments, preventing them from moving against at-home mining or retroactively using zoning laws to shut down active operations. Bitcoin miners have faced criticism from environmentalists and lawmakers concerned,