The Mississippi Digital Asset Mining Act was passed by the state senate on February 8, 2019, bringing the US state of Mississippi one step closer to safeguarding the rights of cryptocurrency miners. There is a parallel measure that is now being deliberated in the State House of Representatives.

Domestic mining of digital assets and the operation of mining companies in areas designated for industrial use are legalized by a measure proposed in the state Senate and sponsored by state Senator Josh Harkins. The state of Mississippi, which has some of the cheapest residential energy rates in the United States, is already home to cryptocurrency miners. The measure, on the other hand, said that “the mining of digital assets has frequently encountered regulatory obstacles at the state and municipal levels.”

Additionally, the bill prohibits imposing requirements on miners that are greater than those that apply locally to data centers; changing the zoning of a mining center without due notice and the opportunity to appeal; limit domestic mining noise beyond existing limits; and limit noise from domestic mining beyond existing limits. Makes it illegal for the Public Utility Commission to impose discriminatory charges on mining companies and exempts home and commercial miners from the requirements that apply to money transmitters.

Additionally, the measure provides a legal definition of the term “virtual money” for use within the state.

The Satoshi Action Fund has been active in Mississippi, among other states across the country. During his presentation before the Mississippi Senate Finance Committee in January, the fund’s CEO, Dennis Porter, raised the possibility that cryptocurrency miners could tap abandoned oil and gas wells as a source of electricity.

Orphan wells are mentioned in both the Senate bill and the House version. According to the provisions of the house bill, a State Board of Digital Asset Mining would be established. During the course of the year, its members would deliberate on issues such as the feasibility of using the wells as a source of electrical energy for mining operations. The Ways and Means Committee voted to pass the house bill, but the measure has yet to be taken up in the full house.

The proposed measure in Mississippi is in stark contrast to the two-year ban on cryptocurrency mining that was passed in New York in November and later signed into law.