Rhode Island proposes crypto rewards for green home builders

cointelegraph.com:

A bill was proposed in Rhode Island’s House of Representatives that would credit a house builder in a “green coin” cryptocurrency for reducing the project's carbon footprint.

The Green Housing Public-Private Partnership Act would oblige the state’s public utility commission to issue annual reports on the utility costs and carbon emissions of a housing project. If the project has been able to reduce its utility costs, the state will award a cryptocurrency credit to the property owner.

Funds for the initiative would come from $500 million in donations from local private banks and $125 million from the state which would be known as the “Green Housing Fund.”

It is not clear what blockchain network the “green coin” would use, but it would likely be a less costly proof-of-stake (PoS) network favored by mainstream environmentalists these days.

The bill is designed to tackle both the sudden spike in housing demand in the Ocean State and to further incentivize home builders to stay in compliance with environmental standards. The proposal states: 

The newly proposed bill is meant to stimulate new housing developments in the state that suffers from a housing shortage exacerbated by increased prices year-on-year according to a report from local news outlet The Providence Journal.

Housing data tracker Redfin confirms that Rhode Island’s housing supply has been on a steady decline over the past 5 years, with February 2022 marking a 5-year low.

Related: Go green or go home? What the NY State mining moratorium could mean for crypto industry

While the Rhode Island legislature’s plan to reward environmentally conscientious builders with crypto is fairly novel, crypto in the housing market is not a new idea. It is becoming increasingly common to