Anna Gronewold reports for Politico that on Nov. 22 Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a partial cryptocurrency mining ban. The bill is the first-in-the-nation temporary pause on new permits for fossil fuel power plants that house proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining. “I am signing this legislation into law to build on New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the most aggressive climate and clean energy law in the nation, while also continuing our steadfast efforts to support economic development and job creation in upstate New York," Hochul said. The bill also includes a study by the state Department of Environmental Conservation of the impacts of the cryptocurrency mining industry on the environment. A super PAC funded by Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of recently failing cryptocurrency exchange FTX, spent up to $1 million on Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado's primary election campaign, the New York Post reported. At least one business group denounced Hochul's bill signing. “The Business Council does not believe the legislature should seek to categorically limit the growth and expansion of any business or sector in New York,” the group said in a statement. “We plan to further engage and help educate them regarding this industry and the benefits it provides to the local, regional and state economy.” Environmental groups, on the other hand, cheered the signing. "This first-in-the-nation law should set the standard for every other state where crypto miners are coming in, extracting resources, and wreaking havoc," said Liz Moran of the group EarthJustice. Read the full story at Politico.