At the 11th hour of this year's session, New York legislators passed a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations in the state.

Despite environmentalists calling for her signature, Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to sign the legislation, which crypto advocates are hoping she will veto.

Adrian Hale, director of community and economic development at Foundry, told Capital Tonight that two years “might as well be a lifetime” in the technology world and would send an unfriendly message that New York will “ban first, study later."

Environmentalists and lawmakers have cited concerns about water temperatures and the energy demands of cryptocurrency mining as reasons for the moratorium. Hale argues that most mining operations are run with renewable sources of energy and that concerns about the mining comes from a lack of understanding of the process.

Despite the recent downturn in the cryptocurrency marketplace, Hale said the market has been “trending upward for a number of years” and that people DYOR (do your own research) before jumping into currency trading.

The moratorium, which was sponsored by state Assemblywoman Anna Kelles and Sen. Kevin Parker, has not been delivered to the governor for her signature or veto yet.