New Hampshire Senate stalls crypto mining deregulation bill after split vote

A vote from the Senate Commerce Committee on a bill aimed at deregulating crypto mining in New Hampshire was split on Thursday, after senators reported public feedback on the bill had surged since it was last debated.

After being deadlocked twice, once on advancing the bill and again on rejecting it, the committee ultimately voted 4–2 to send the measure for further review in interim study, as first reported by the New Hampshire Bulletin.

House Bill 639 would prevent municipalities from creating restrictions on crypto mining, such as rules around electricity use or noise, as well as prohibit state and local authorities from levying taxes unique to digital assets.

The bill, if approved, would also affirm the right of individuals and businesses to mine cryptocurrencies, and calls for creating a dedicated blockchain docket within the state’s superior court, where crypto-related disputes would be handled by a governor-appointed judge.

During the bill’s first vote in May, senators returned the measure to committee to fine-tune its language and rally more backing. The bill is sponsored by Republican Representative Keith Ammon and is expected to come before the full Senate in 2026.

On Thursday, Senator Tara Reardon of Concord told the New Hampshire Bulletin that the proposal had generated the most emails she had ever received for a single bill.

Related: US crypto miners may rush to buy rigs in tariff pause despite ‘clear disadvantage’

Crypto mining in the US

Crypto mining uses computing power to verify transactions and secure proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin, rewarding miners with newly created coins in the process.

While it has been criticized for its high energy consumption and environmental impact, the industry has made substantial progress from the early days.

A new report from the MiCA Crypto Alliance and data firm Nodiens found that coal’s share in Bitcoin mining has fallen from 63% in 2011 to 20% in 2024. Over the same period, the use of renewable energy in mining has grown steadily, rising by an average of 5.8% annually.

Still, some US states are trying to offset the energy consumption with state taxes. On Oct. 2, New York State Senator Liz Krueger introduced a bill to impose a tiered excise tax on energy used by crypto mining operations. 

The measure would exempt miners consuming up to 2.25 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, while those using between 2.26 million and 5 million kWh would face a 2-cent tax per kWh.

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