Ephrata, Washington Imposes Year-Long Ban on New Cryptocurrency Mining Operation

[Adrian]

Ephrata, Washington Imposes Year-Long Ban on New Cryptocurrency Mining Operations

The city of Ephrata, Washington, will halt new crypto mining developments in the city for the next 12 months, Eastern Washington and North Idaho daily newspaper The Spokesman Review reports Friday, Oct. 19.

The recently announced suspension will only affect new crypto operations from being established in Ephrata, while the existing four businesses already there will continue operating. According to Ephrata city administrator Wes Crago, those four crypto operations — including two at the Port of Ephrata, one in an industrial area of the city, as well as one in a residential area — are being relocated at the moment.

The decision for the suspension was taken by a city council vote, with six council members voting in favor of the new cryptocurrency regulations, and only one commissioner, Matt Moore, voting against.

Moore noted that even a temporary ban can pose a threat for the city’s economic development since it puts the industry “outside the city’s expertise,” adding that he does not want to “surrender any economic opportunity big or small.”

Council member Kathleen Allstot clarified that the new ban implies taking a one-year “break” in order to see “see what’s going” in the sphere, as well as to find out how mining fits both in Ephrata and the Grant County Public Utility District (PUD).

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/ephrata-washington-imposes-year-long-ban-on-new-cryptocurrency-mining-operations

[Adrian]

Earlier in April, Chelan PUD council members ordered staff to enforce a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining following the discovery of unauthorized mining activities, which were considered as “unauthorized loads to law enforcement as power theft.” And in January, Cointelegraph reported on Washington’s Douglas County electrical infrastructure experiencing pressure from cryptocurrency miners.