New Arkansas laws regulate cryptocurrency mining

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed two laws regulating cryptocurrency mining in Arkansas, following months of outcry from lawmakers and their constituents.

Much of the push for mining regulation comes from a woman named Gladys Anderson. She lives next to a crypto mine in Bono, a neighborhood near Greenbrier. It’s a rural farming community, where residents say they woke up one day to hear a constant shrieking and humming sound coming from the mine.

Anderson lives closest to it, just a few hundred feet away. Her story has since gone national; speaking on CBS News, she called the noise “torture.”

New Arkansas laws regulate cryptocurrency mining

Crypto company wins judgment in lawsuit against Arkansas County

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A settlement has been reached in a case between Arkansas County and Jones Digital, LLC, a company which owns a cryptocurrency mine in DeWitt.

On Wednesday, the county agreed to a consent decree allowing the mine to resume operations and ordering the county to pay $90,000. This comes as two new laws regulating cryptocurrency mining in Arkansas passed in the state legislature.

Nearby residents allege the mine is loud and has unclear ties to foreign governments. Last October, the Arkansas County Quorum Court attempted to pass an ordinance banning noise above 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night. Jones Digital then sued the county, represented by Little Rock-based law firm Wright Lindsey Jennings.

Crypto company wins judgment in lawsuit against Arkansas County

Sound complaint lawsuit against Arkansas crypto mine company continues

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Several Arkansans who live near a cryptocurrency mines are suing to stop the noise.

Crypto mines are large groups of computers designed to harvest cryptocurrency. They typically take up a full plot of land the length of a house. The noise from fans needed to keep the computers cool can be quite loud, emitting a constant high-pitched humming sound, audible from several blocks away.

Members of the Bono community of Greenbrier and Damascus are suing Newrays One LLC, one of many companies operating crypto mines in Arkansas. Residents seek punitive damages and are asking the company to stop mining in their community. The lawsuit alleges they are breaking sound laws and behaving negligently by not showing concern for their neighbors.

Sound complaint lawsuit against Arkansas crypto mine company continues

Mark Lennihan/AP

In this 2014 file photo, a man arrives for the Inside Bitcoins conference and trade show in New York.

Fed governor: Banks looking to get into crypto

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Banks are wanting to offer cryptotechnology services, so the Federal Reserve is studying how those activities should be supervised while reminding them to manage risks and act legally, said Michelle Bowman, one of the Fed’s seven members of the Board of Governors.

Bowman spoke Wednesday (Aug. 17) in Little Rock at the inaugural VenCent Fintech Summit. The summit is a gathering of banking and information technology professionals sponsored by The Venture Center, an entrepreneur support organization based in Little Rock. “Fintech” stands for “financial technology.” Bowman first spoke and then answered questions from Arkansas State Bank Commissioner Susannah Marshall and from the audience.

Bowman said banks want to better understand and potentially provide cryptotechnology services in light of consumer demand. Deposits are flowing to crypto firms, so banks want to offer those services themselves. But before a bank offers crypto services, it needs to consider the risks to itself and to its customers.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/08/fed-governor-banks-looking-to-get-into-crypto/