US lawmakers begin investigation into the high energy use of Bitcoin miners
As many as eight US lawmakers have come forward to push Bitcoin mining companies into revealing how much electricity they use for crypto mining, as crypto currency mining’s impact on energy is being felt across the globe.
Mining certain crypto currencies, most notably Bitcoin, gobbles up huge amounts of energy. If that electricity is generated from fossil fuels, it comes with a lot of pollution that adds to the climate crisis.
Democratic lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachuttes have asked six crypto mining companies to answer questions about the impact of their operations on the environment and cost of electricity in the US.
In separate letters to the chief executives of each firm, the group has asked the companies to share the details on their electricity consumption, their scaling plans, and any agreements they have in place with local utility companies.
As per reports, the companies have been given time until February 10th to reply.
The US senators believe that the extraordinarily high energy usage and carbon emissions associated with Bitcoin mining could undermine their hard work to tackle the climate crisis. It could also have harmful impacts on local environments and electricity prices.
The reason Bitcoin uses so much electricity is that it relies on an energy-intensive process called “proof of work” to keep its ledger secure. It requires miners to use specialized computing equipment to solve ever-more-complex puzzles in order to verify transactions. The miners are rewarded with new coins in return.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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