u.today
In a Sunday tweet, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive voice in the Democratic Party, urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to use their authority to require that crypto miners disclose their energy use and emissions.
The lawmaker's tweet comes amid growing pressure on the cryptocurrency industry to address the impact of mining on the environment.
Mining for cryptocurrency requires vast amounts of energy to facilitate transactions and maintain the blockchain, leading to criticism of its contribution to global warming and carbon footprint.
Critics of cryptocurrency mining have highlighted the substantial energy consumption required to process transactions and maintain the blockchain, and its resulting carbon footprint and contribution to global warming.
Warren's call for transparency from miners is the latest move in ongoing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the cryptocurrency industry.
Democratic lawmakers have pressed the DOE and the EPA to require crypto mining firms to report their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
There is concern over the impact that crypto mines are having on the environment, and despite their growth across the US, there are no concrete data sets as to their power usage.
These disclosures would allow regulators to better monitor pollution from crypto mines, which have been a concern due to their significant energy usage and the lack of data on their environmental impact.
The DOE and EPA confirmed they have the "clear authority to require emissions and energy-use disclosures" from crypto mining firms.
The latest move by the lawmakers comes after the seven biggest crypto mining companies in the US failed to provide full responses to the Democrats’ questions.
The debate around the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies is likely to intensify in the coming months, as more attention is paid to the issue by politicians and regulators.