Six members of Congress have called on the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to require cryptocurrency mining companies to disclose energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The Democratic lawmakers asked DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm and EPA Administrator Michael Regan in a letter to submit information by Aug. 15 regarding their authority to impose a reporting requirement for the environmental impacts of cryptomining.
Their missive cites data from a congressional study of seven large cryptomining businesses that indicated the sector uses huge amounts of electricity.
“Our investigation suggests that the overall U.S. cryptomining industry is likely to be problematic for energy and emissions. But little is known about the full scope of cryptomining activity,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Given these concerns, it is imperative that your agencies work together to address the lack of information about cryptomining’s energy use and environmental impacts, and use all available authorities at your disposal … to require reporting of energy use and emissions from cryptominers.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Edward Markey, D-Mass.; and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich, also signed the written communication.
