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.”
