For the last decade, the expansion of digital currencies like bitcoin have taken hold with some investors. But environmental advocates like Liz Moran of Earthjustice have concerns about the massive amount of energy used by some cryptocurrencies through continuously operating computers. 

Environmental groups are saying a moratorium is needed for the digital mining of bitcoin — a halt they say is necessary for New York state to enact aggressive goals to combat climate change. 

"They're all competing amongst one another so they operate these computers 24-7, so they have a better chance of completing the equation and winning the coins," Moran said. "That's why it's so energy consumptive."

At issue is the process used to generate cryptocurrency, which environmental organizations in New York worry will have a detrimental effect on the state's ability to combat climate change and reach targets for reducing carbon emissions. At the moment, investing in bitcoin remains a niche market, but it has been around for the last decade, and digital operations like one on Seneca Lake has drawn the concern of environmental organizations. 

"Technology has advanced significantly since 2009," Moran said. "So cryptocurrency does not have to be mined through this energy intensive process. There are now other forms of validating and mining for cryptocurrency."

Moran said state lawmakers and the Hochul administration need to take notice of the issue given the climate change stakes in the coming years. 

"We have to take dramatic action to cut greenhouse gas emissions," Moran said. "And a big part of doing that is reducing our energy consumption."

Putting a pause on the digital mining operations that utilize the energy-consuming technology, she said. 

"We can't play whack-a-mole with this," Moran said. "There are potentially a lot more operations that we don't even know about and there are a lot more that come on line."