The Deborah Driggs Archives"good times" for crypto miners really do seem to be coming to an end.
Just last month it was reportedthat Bitcoin miners were selling off more Bitcoin than they were bringing in in order to cover their energy costs during the crypto crash, which saw the token plummet in value. With energy costs rising as well, mining companies were seeing profits dwindle from their mining endeavors.
Now, cryptocurrency miners have a new issue on their hands: U.S. Congress.
Congressional Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, are looking into crypto mining requirements that would force mining companies to report their energy usage.
Senator Warren, along with five other Democratic members of Congress, wrote a letterto the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy requesting that the two agencies work together to create rules requiring crypto mining companies to report on their energy use and emissions data.
The move comes, according to the New York Times, after an investigation into seven of the United States' largest Bitcoin mining companies. The inquiry found that these Bitcoin miners are heading towards using up "as much as 1,045 megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power all the residences in a city the size of Houston." Houston is Texas' most populous city and the fourth largest in the country with more than 2.3 million residents.
"The results of our investigation, which gathered data from just seven companies, are disturbing, with this limited data alone revealing that cryptominers are large energy users that account for a significant – and rapidly growing – amount of carbon emissions," reads the letter.
The letter points out that miners' energy use is also passing on additional costs for those who live and work in the cities where they are based. Notably, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates Texas' power grid has had to ask crypto minersin the state to voluntarily shut down operations when energy demands spike due to heatwaves.
The largely-unregulated cryptocurrency mining industry uses massive amountsof energy due to the high-powered computer processing power necessary in order to validate transactions on the blockchain. In exchange for successfully guessing the random string of numbers required to put a block on the chain, miners are rewarded with Bitcoin. As time goes on, this process becomes more difficult and the Bitcoin remuneration will be cut in half.
According to the report, one mining company, Marathon Digital Holdings plans to grow its operation from its current 33,000 mining rigs to 199,000 rigs by early 2023. Right now, the company powers its operation thanks to a Montana-based energy company that generates electricity by burning coal.
With crypto miners set to use up even more energy in the near future, it seems Senator Warren's letter is a step towards monitoring the industry and possibly passing regulations to curtail at least some of its more destructive behavior.
Topics Cryptocurrency Politics
Previous：Brand on the Run
Next：They Want New Blood
Seizing Socialism’s Moment
Who But the Sun? For the Solstice, Baudelaire Salutes That Ball of Gas
Twitter will only get worse in 2023
Where I Wasn’t When Manchester Bled
The Serve-Us Industry
When “Caca
A Note from Our Editor
Best indoor pizza oven deal: $200 off the Breville Pizza Oven
Putting People First in Pennsylvania
Reading Isadora Duncan’s Pulpy Autobiography
Julian Assange and the Banality of Access
Charles and Ray Eames’ Films Shine a Light on Their Design Philosophy
Politics and ‘The Paris Review’: Announcing Our Summer Issue
The Case of the Purloined Portrait
Friends in Stupid Places
A New Museum Memorializes the Commercial World’s Biggest Failures
Got your Spotify Wrapped for 2022? Treat it like a shopping list and support artists directly.
Et tu, Spotify? The 13 best tweets from Wrapped week
Don’t Troll, Organize
Interview with the Neanderthal
How TikTok and internet culture shaped 'Bodies Bodies Bodies'Wordle today: Here's the August 4 Wordle answer and hintsThe internet mocks Donald Trump's new superhero alterAntifa Gritty gets his own children's bookMotorola cancels Razr 2022 event at the last minutePuma reissues 1986 RSWatching YouTubers use paintTrump's 'Smocking Gun' tweet gets mocked by people that know how to spellFortnite and Stormy Daniels dominated Pornhub in 2018Meet Flambo, the newest adorable sports dogThousands of Solana crypto wallets drained in yet another massive hackPETA's campaign to stop antiAntifa Gritty gets his own children's book29Rooms: Can an Instagram museum convince you to put away your phone?The internet mocks PETA after it suggests we stop using 'antiPeople are divided over Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran's clashing outfitsPuma reissues 1986 RSJury orders Alex Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages after Sandy Hook trialThe skate culture parody of Instagram poets calls out bad menWordle today: Here's the August 5 Wordle answer and hints Did AT&T freak you out with an email about your phone? Don't worry ... yet. 'Destroy All Humans!' reboot is fun until you feel like a jerk: Review A couple of towering Transformers are standing guard outside a Buddhist temple in Thailand Colossal mine in fat bear country just passed a major hurdle WornOnTV: The charming fashion blog tracking all your favorite TV outfits Netflix's 'Love on the Spectrum' will give you butterflies: Review Bored? Here's how to play 70 Xbox One demo games for free. The internet thought Chrissy Teigen was pregnant thanks to this tweet TikTok decides it's had enough of QAnon (sort of) Garmin confirms massive cyber attack connected to Russian hackers Adorable little dog was reportedly saved by mouth Taylor Swift announces new album 'folklore' Kelly Clarkson helps this couple propose during a meet and greet Elon Musk announces next Tesla factory location Men can't wear shorts to work, so they're wearing skirts China is shaming jaywalkers through facial recognition Friendly koala walks into a restaurant full of diners like it's NBD No royal wants to be king or queen says Prince Harry 'The Kissing Booth 2' is a slight improvement on the first: Review John Green announces new book "Turtles All The Way Down"
1.9635s , 10129.109375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Deborah Driggs Archives】,Prosperous Times Information Network