The leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate is launching a task force to examine how federal policy changes relating to digital currency could benefit Pennsylvania.
The task force would include the state treasurer, along with representatives of the state’s major public employee pension funds and other financial and policy experts, announced Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Bellefonte).
“Digital assets like Bitcoin are here to stay, and it is only a matter of time before Congress takes action to regulate their use nationwide,” Corman said. “While we await further guidance from the federal government, it makes sense for Pennsylvania to do our due diligence so we are ready to take advantage of the economic opportunities that will open up.”
Roughly 2,300 U.S. companies already accept Bitcoin as payment, including major companies like Microsoft, Home Depot, and Starbucks, Corman said. Additionally, the Biden administration issued an executive order in March calling on federal agencies to study the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies. Earlier this month, California became the first state in the U.S. to formally begin analyzing how to adapt to digital currencies.
Corman said Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to be a leader in Bitcoin mining because of the state’s abundant natural resources. State lawmakers created a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of computer data center equipment as part of last year’s budget negotiations, paving the way for data mining companies to come to Pennsylvania. Virginia created a similar program in 2017 and it has created more than 45,000 new jobs and leveraged $10 billion in private investment.
“Mining Bitcoin requires a great deal of energy and computational power. As a global leader in energy, Pennsylvania could be an ideal location for Bitcoin mining operations in the future,” Corman said. “We should always look for economic development opportunities to make our state more prosperous, and Bitcoin mining presents an interesting possibility for our Commonwealth.”