Officials pass bill to protect households from harmful impact of crypto industry: 'Provides the guardrails needed'

Late last month, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a bill designed to preserve electrical service to homes, businesses, and other customers by imposing regulations on cryptocurrency mining operations.

What bill did Nebraska pass to protect the power grid from the crypto industry?

Nebraska has seen a significant increase in crypto mining, driven by the state's cheap electricity and abundant renewable energy. To address the growing energy demand, lawmakers passed LB526, which will allow utilities to limit the power consumption of these facilities and require them to pause operations during peak demand.

According to a press release from the governor's office, the bill notifies power utilities in advance and offers financial help for costs needed to cover infrastructure improvements.

Why does LB526 matter?

Crypto mining requires massive amounts of electricity — much of which comes from dirty fuels — along with water, rare earth metals, and land for infrastructure, sparking concerns among residents who live near these facilities.

For example, citizens of Iran's capital city, Tehran, suspect illegal crypto mining is behind rolling blackouts that impacted the city in late 2024. In Tennessee, residents worry about how a planned crypto facility would affect their utility bills and water quality. One Texas community even filed a lawsuit against a bitcoin mining facility, alleging that its operations have caused serious health problems, including permanent hearing loss, severe vertigo, and insomnia.

According to 2023 data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index compiled by Anadolu, bitcoin mining consumed more energy than 167 countries that year, an astonishing figure that reveals just how much of an energy hog the industry is.

Watch now: How bad is a gas stove for your home's indoor air quality?

While it's moving toward using cleaner fuels to power operations — such as in Bhutan, where hydropower will supply 100% of energy for crypto — mining uses an incredible amount of electricity.

Bills such as LB526 are crucial to maintain control over crypto companies and ensure their power consumption doesn't cause blackouts or strain the electric grid.

"With the opportunity in expanding this emerging industry, comes responsibility," Pillen said in the news release. "This bill provides the guardrails needed to ensure that our electrical grid can handle the increased demand. By requiring mining operations to contribute to grid upgrades and be transparent about their energy use, we're protecting our infrastructure."

How to choose sustainable cryptocurrencies

If you want to invest in crypto, focus on projects with energy-efficient consensus mechanisms such as proof of stake — which use much less energy than proof-of-work systems such as bitcoin — that are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint. One such crypto network is ethereum, which achieved a 99.95% reduction in energy use when it made the transition to proof of stake in 2022.