North Carolina County Stifles Innovation With Early Ban on Bitcoin Mining

This is an opinion editorial by Dennis Fasuliotis, founder of South Carolina Blockchain Inc. and co-founder of the South Carolina Emerging Technologies Association, Inc.

why is Bitcoin mining banned in Buncombe County, North Carolina extremely important?

Because they got caught.

An infestation is underway in western North Carolina and this time, we know it was man-made in a lab. This is called “Bitcoin mining moratorium”. its origins August 2022 date in Clay CountyAnd Buncombe County has turned it around in this latest strain on the basis of sweeping North Carolina zoning statutes to authorize the development moratorium.

When used correctly, North Carolina development moratorium law Strives to ensure that a new type of development does not proceed until regulations change or environmental issues are appropriately addressed, This allows for more effective planning and management of growth and development while reducing potential negative impacts on the community.

Since the moratorium is a draconian restriction on property rights, the statute lays down conditions that an administrative authority must satisfy in order to obtain it. However, such a stay can only be of a duration minimum 61 days and a maximum of one year, as specified by the Planning Commissioner during a recent public briefing,

In this case the commissioners of Buncombe County, Under the direction of Planning Director Nathaniel Penningtonargued they needed a one-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining in unorganized areas of Buncombe County so that they can study the industry And “Craft standard for newly defined use.,

But we already have a workable definition for a bitcoin mine, as confirmed in my previous opinion editorial, where I referred to a bitcoin mine as a “digital asset data center.” So, let’s just define a “Bitcoin mining center” as a data center that produces an intangible product.

This is where the rubber meets the road now. At the February 2023 commission meeting, armed with the American Planning Association’s “Zoning for data centers and cryptocurrency mining, Pennington argued Cryptocurrency mining centers do not meet the definition of a data center under current North Carolina law.

North Carolina statute that enables data mining center tax breaks was enacted in 2015, exactly six years after the birth of bitcoin. As a result, most states, including North Carolina, are living with laws designed for centralized data center operations and incentives that were designed to attract corporate data centers built by companies such as Google, which include large campuses, Consumes a large amount of water and requires a huge amount. of electricity. Eligible data centers receive a sales tax exemption on electricity.

As a result, North Carolina’s data mining center law in behaviour offer large sums of money for the benefit of a select few tech corporations, but the broader Intention The main purpose of this legal framework was to promote economic development in North Carolina. Rather than abiding by the original intent of the data center definition to create opportunity, it is now the club that is being used to discourage digital asset data centers in some western North Carolina counties.

However, in the rush to pass an ordinance where no permit applications were pending, the planning director failed to include a “statement of problems or conditions requiring the moratorium”. and (that is the operative word) what courses of action, alternative to a moratorium, were considered … and why those alternative courses of action were not sufficient,” as required North Carolina General Assembly’s Moratorium Guidelines,

Therefore, in my view, the Planning Commission has failed to carry out the due diligence required to legally enforce a moratorium and is acting with intent to discourage bitcoin miners from locating in Buncombe County.

Now that the Buncombe County infiltrator has been caught and called out, shall we hold and leave or seize the opportunity to fight baseless claims Was this moratorium overturned by the county commissioners or the court system due to e-waste, noise, water consumption and public safety concerns?

This ill-advised moratorium is low hanging fruit and bitcoiners need to put pressure on public officials in Buncombe County who do not do their jobs properly or are biased without doing their homework. Someone needs to be held accountable and in this case, all fingers point in the direction of the Buncombe County Planning Commission and the American Planning Association.

The way bitcoin mining is treated presents a watershed moment for Buncombe County’s innovation economy. With their hasty and ill-advised moratorium, the commissioners of Buncombe County failed to rise to the occasion.

Rather than ban an entirely legal activity they don’t fully understand, the commissioners could have created a countywide task force, but this was never presented as an option. A task force could study the pros and cons of digital assets, while the plan could have a seat at the table and serve all of their constituents, not just a vocal minority. That should have been the aim. Instead, the policy adopted stifles innovation and perpetuates a false narrative.

I know it’s state level and recently it’s gone unnoticed unanimity Vote to advance anti-central-bank-digital-currency (CBDC) bill later public commotion As a result of revising the previous anti-Bitcoin bill I recognize that progress can be made. Education is still important at all levels. Hopefully, the commissioners of Buncombe County will learn to join the cause or miss out on one of the most important emerging tech industries that will drive adoption of the best money ever invented.

This is a guest post by Dennis Fasuliotis. The opinions expressed are solely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.