The White House said in a recently published report that cryptocurrency mining, which consumes enormous amounts of electricity and produces considerable carbon emissions, could hamper U.S. commitments to climate change. The report also suggested that if the environmental impact of the mining industry cannot be effectively mitigated, the White House or Congress may need to resort to the last resort – legislation to restrict or ban cryptocurrency mining.
In March of this year, U.S. President Biden officially signed the first executive order on cryptocurrencies, requiring major agencies to assess the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies and formulate policy recommendations to pave the way for future regulation.
In response to the executive order, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a study last week on the impact of cryptocurrency mining on energy policy and potential mitigations.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy believes that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies based on proof-of-work (PoW) mining mechanisms consume a lot of electricity and have a negative impact on the ecological environment.
According to the report, cryptocurrency miners primarily use electricity purchased from the grid, which could disrupt the distribution of electricity among U.S. households. On the other hand, air pollution from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, noise from mining facilities, and pollution from wastewater and waste discharges also threaten the environment and human health.
The report also mentioned that among the current PoW-based cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum account for about 60%~77% and 20%~39% of the total electricity consumption of global cryptocurrencies, respectively. In addition, it is estimated that domestic cryptocurrency mining activities will increase the total carbon emissions in the United States from 0.4% to 0.8%.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy therefore called on cryptocurrency miners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the help of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other federal agencies, and suggested that the government collect more data on electricity usage from the industry. As well as introducing electricity standards for very low energy intensity, low water consumption, low noise, and clean energy usage for mining operators.
But the White House also said that if these measures are not effective in reducing the environmental impact of mining, the U.S. government should take executive action, and Congress may need to consider legislation to limit or ban PoW cryptocurrency mining.
Notably, in making the recommendation, the White House also praised the proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, specifically mentioning Ethereum’s upcoming merger upgrade.
Post time: Sep-24-2022