On Friday, New York lawmakers passed a bill banning crypto mining operations that utilize carbon-based power sources. If this bill becomes law there will be a two-year prohibition on cryptocurrency mining operations. The bill is now before Governor Kathy Hochul who can either sign or veto it.

According to Perianne Boring, the founder and president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, this bill would make New York the first state in the country to ban blockchain technology infrastructure.

As explained in the bill, the state of New York implemented the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to help regulate and improve the future of the environment. Since cryptocurrency mining operations require a great deal of energy, a new section of the environmental conservation will be added. It states that new applications, new permits and the renewal of existing permits will not be approved “…for an electric generating facility that utilizes a carbon-based fuel and that provides, in whole or in part, behind-the-meter electric energy consumed or utilized by a cryptocurrency mining operation that uses proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions…”

Boring mentioned how the bill could have a negative impact on the economy of the state. “Bitcoin mining operations are providing high-paying and high-grade, great jobs for local communities. One of our members, their average pay is $80,000 a year.”

Boring further addressed how New York is a leader when it comes to state legislation. Whether the rest of the country is going to try and copy New York’s lead in this industry is another topic of discussion.

Others in the crypto space are not happy with the possible new law. Former executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation, Bruce Fenton, tweeted, “No government has the right to tell you what software to run.”

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum founder, agreed with Fenton’s tweet and replied with, “The government picking and choosing which specific applications are an okay use of electricity or not is a bad idea. Better to just implement carbon pricing, and use some of the revenues to compensate low-income users.”

The Ukrainian government voted to legalize the use of digital assets on Wednesday, as the future of their fiat-based economy is in question pending the intentions of over 100K Russian troops at their borders. The ruling passed without abstention.

The country has had a murky past with crypto, primarily mining, for years. With much debate back and forth about the legality, environmental ethics, and government regulation surrounding bitcoin mining in Ukraine’s recent history, the political climate in the country looks to have sparked a desire to give the economy and its citizens every chance of financial survival should a foreign superpower take over their country.

Should the Russians invade, Ukrainian citizens may turn to digital assets in order to purchase the goods they need. Digital assets have been used as a mechanism to preserve the personal assets of millions of displaced citizens across war-torn areas like Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Palestine.

In the skirmishes that have taken place with Russian-backed separatists, some reports even claim that the fighting is being partially funded to the tune of $500K by crowdfunded bitcoin.

The tie between political conflicts in Ukraine and the global digital asset market is yet to be known. The legitimacy and practicality of the institution as a truly ‘decentralized’ form of finance is facing its biggest test as of yet.