New York State Senator Liz Krueger has introduced a bill targeting crypto mining operations that consume large amounts of electricity, proposing a tiered excise tax based on annual energy usage.
The bill, unveiled Wednesday, seeks to charge miners up to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) depending on their consumption levels.
Those consuming between 2.26 and 5 million kWh would pay 2 cents per kWh, with higher tiers facing steeper charges: 3 cents up to 10 million kWh, 4 cents up to 20 million, and 5 cents for those exceeding that threshold. Krueger’s bill arrives at a time when mining costs are surging. The median cost to mine one Bitcoin topped $70,000 in Q2 2025, driven by increased network hashrate and difficulty, according to TheMinerMag.
Under the proposal, mining firms using less than 2.25 million kWh per year would be exempt.
The bill underscores New York’s ongoing scrutiny of crypto mining’s environmental footprint as lawmakers weigh economic incentives against sustainability goals.
Electricity remains the single most critical cost in Bitcoin mining. With margins already thin, the proposed tax may accelerate an exodus of mining firms from New York to lower-cost jurisdictions, unless they transition to clean energy.
In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Nunn pointed to opaque ownership structures, potential state ties, and risks to national infrastructure as grounds for a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) investigation.
In September, Congressman Zachary Nunn asked the US Treasury to launch a national security review of Chinese firms Bitmain and Cango, citing concerns over their expanding presence in the US crypto mining sector.
