More Trouble For Crypto Miners As White House Eyes Energy Curbs

The White House will draft policy recommendations to reduce energy consumption and emissions in cryptocurrency mining. The report will look into details about the benefits or loss of cryptocurrency mining, energy consumption, noise pollution, and carbon footprint, as well as, compare proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS).

Moreover, the report could be one of the first studies following President Joe Biden’s executive order urging federal agencies to oversee crypto mining, including Bitcoin. The report is expected to be ready by August.

White House Studies Crypto Mining’s Energy Consumption and Emissions

The Biden administration seeks policy recommendations to lower the energy consumption and emissions footprint of crypto mining operations. The detailed study will uncover facts about the poorly understood industry that critics claim threatens the country’s climate goals and power grid.

Costa Samaras, principal assistant director for energy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told Bloomberg Law on June 2:

“It’s important, if this is going to be part of our financial system in any meaningful way, that it’s developed responsibly and minimizes total emissions. When we think about digital assets, it has to be a climate and energy conversation.”

Moreover, the report will help the Biden administration understand the working and importance of crypto mining, as well as, the crypto space. In fact, the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency lack information regarding crypto mining. The inability of the EPA to control emissions draws criticism from the U.S. Congress.

The team will also look at the cost and revenue of miners and the energy sources that miners use. Recently, some reports have shown a switch to renewable energy sources by many crypto miners in the U.S.

Matteo Benetton, an Upstate New York’s crypto mining report author, thinks the White House should address the industry’s scale first. Crypto miners prefer cheap power and cool weather areas to establish their mining farms. It helps them reduce emissions and energy consumption. Besides, government subsidies and local impacts offer more benefits.

Bitcoin Mining Becoming Increasingly Less Profitable

Several Bitcoin miners have started selling their holdings, according to a report by Bitcoin miner Compass Mining. Moreover, the rise in mining difficulty and low Bitcoin prices have severely impacted the profitability of miners. In fact, Bitinfo’s data shows the Bitcoin mining profitability dropping to its lowest level since mid-2020.