White House threatens to ban Bitcoin mining over its environmental impact

American lawmakers and regulators are weighing stringent measures against Bitcoin mining because of its large carbon footprint, according to a report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

According to the document, miners are urged to curb greenhouse-gas emissions with the involvement of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and other federal agencies.

The White House has also proposed that the government collect more data on the sector’s energy use, promote energy-efficiency standards, and ‘the use of environmentally safe technologies’ for mining.

If these measures fail to reduce the impact, energy-intensive Bitcoin mining could be banned.

‘If these measures prove ineffective at reducing the impact, the administration should consider executive actions, and Congress could consider legislation to limit or prohibit the use of energy-intensive consensus algorithms for mining crypto assets,’ the report says.

It also mentions the forthcoming transition of the Ethereum network from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. The White House called this move ‘the most notable response to calls to use less energy-intensive consensus mechanisms.’

Earlier in April 2022, the New York State Assembly’s lower chamber backed a moratorium on mining powered by electricity generated from carbon sources. The bill later gained approval from the state Senate.

In August, members of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent requests to mining companies Core Scientific, Riot Blockchain, Marathon Digital and Stronghold Digital for data on the environmental impact of their operations.

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