PANews May 15 report, according to Beincrypto, the Nebraska State Legislature passed LB 526 with a unanimous vote of 49, implementing light regulation on Bitcoin mining operations. The bill requires large mining companies to bear the costs of grid upgrades, disclose energy consumption data, and authorizes the government to interrupt power supply services at its discretion. The bill is now awaiting the signature of Governor Jim Pillen, who has previously expressed support for the crypto industry but did not specifically mention mining. The bill mainly addresses grid load issues and does not involve environmental issues such as carbon emissions. Currently, the only major mining company in the state is Marathon Digital, which has just completed equipment upgrades at its Kearney County mining site. Although the bill does not substantively restrict mining activities, the unanimous passage reflects the Republican-led state legislature's tendency towards 'limited regulation' of the crypto industry.
The bill is similar to Texas's previous grid restriction measures for mining operations, reflecting the contradictory positions of U.S. states on crypto regulation—despite being governed by the Republican Party, infrastructure pressures may still prompt policy tightening.
