US lawmakers demand environmental data from cryptocurrency miners

Members of the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a data request to four cryptocurrency mining companies seeking information on the environmental impact of their activities.

The four are Core Scientific, Riot Blockchain, Marathon Digital and Stronghold Digital, all of which are publicly traded.

“Blockchain technology holds tremendous potential that could make our personal data more secure and the economy more efficient. However, the energy consumption and software required to support [Proof-of-Work]-based cryptocurrencies can, in some cases, generate meaningful externalities in the form of harmful emissions and excess waste,” the authors wrote.

They asked the miners to report how each of them mitigates the environmental impact. The companies should also outline steps they are taking to reduce the strain on the power grid.

In December 2021, the US Senator Elizabeth Warren requested detailed data from the mining company Greenidge Generation about its operations. In her view, electricity consumption in bitcoin mining is “comparable to the benchmarks of Denmark, Chile, Argentina and the state of Washington.”

Earlier the firm faced accusations of environmental harm. In 2022, the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the environmentalists’ claims against Greenidge.

In April 2022, the lower chamber of the New York State Legislature, backed a moratorium on mining powered by electricity generated from carbon-based sources. The bill subsequently gained approval from the state Senate.

Vitalik Buterin, Castle Island Ventures’ general partner Nick Carter, and other members of the community criticised the document.

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