Kentucky Welcomes Bitcoin Mining
Summary
Kentucky Incentivizes Crypto Mining Operations with Tax Breaks
Crypto Mining is Good for the Environment
Bullish Signal on Bitcoin for the Remainder of 2021 & Beyond
Background
Bitcoiners,
On March 2nd, 2021, Kentucky House lawmakers approved House Bill 230, which “provides sales and use tax exemptions on the tangible personal property directly used and the electricity used in commercial mining of cryptocurrency…”.
Translated in plain english, Kentucky approved a bill to give Bitcoin miners a tax break on electricity. Bitcoin mining is simply the way the Bitcoin network is ran behind the scenes.
The cost of passing this mining incentive is estimated to be $1 million per year, which is paid by income tax & property tax. The lawmakers suggest this investment will spur job creation as the industry matures within the state of Kentucky. The flip side is the vast amounts of energy Bitcoin mining consumes. The lawmakers realized the investment into welcoming cryptocurrency mining far outweighs the potential negative side effects.
Below is a video of what a modern Bitcoin Mine looks like:
Quick Story
I graduated from Penn State University in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Energy Engineering. I love to think about different forms of energy and how we use energy in our society.
Bitcoin mining originally peaked my interest because it directly deals with energy consumption. You can mine bitcoin with energy sources that are bad for the environment (i.e. coal or oil) or good for the environment (i.e. wind turbines). There has been lots of negative press lately about how crypto mining is bad for the environment, but I truly believe it will be one of the single most important ways we fight human caused climate change.
Why is this Important?
The approval of this bill in Kentucky gives tax incentives to businesses in efforts of bringing mining operations into the state. Kentucky is passing other pro-mining bills such as Senate Bill 255 to further incentivize not only new mining operations, but clean energy based mining operations.
Let’s digest this idea for a second.
Kentucky is one of the first U.S. states making it very clear they are welcoming to crypto miners. This legislation allows for new mining businesses to pop up. As these businesses compete in the mining industry, they will come up with new efficient ways to mine crypto. New technologies will be created. The Bitcoin network will be strengthened.
An industry is being birthed in the United States. I like to place my bets on the side of innovation. It seems like no better time to place some bets on Bitcoin, as its inherent network is being strengthened in front of our eyes.
Happy Wednesday,
-Pod
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Eric Podwojski
Founder, Bitcoin EDU
Twitter: @epodrulz