🔥🔥🔥 #bitcoinpump prompts ‘#emergency ’ review of US #cryptominer energy use
Starting next week, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) is set to collect data on the energy consumption of U.S. crypto miners for the next six months. This initiative comes in response to concerns about a recent surge in Bitcoin's price, currently at $42,135, leading to an increased interest in crypto mining.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has initiated a survey to evaluate the electricity consumption of domestic crypto mining companies, requiring miners to disclose their energy usage details.
The Office of Management and Budget approved an emergency request from the EIA for a survey on crypto mining. The request, citing Bitcoin's recent 50% price surge, suggests that increased mining activity due to higher prices could lead to elevated electricity consumption.
Bitcoin's rise, as per Cointelegraph Markets Pro, was slightly over 18.5% in the three months leading up to January 24.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) plans to collect public comments on crypto miners' energy usage. The survey aims to understand the evolving energy demand for cryptocurrency mining, identify areas of high growth, and quantify the sources of electricity used for meeting this demand.
The U.S. government is actively monitoring the crypto mining industry, prompted by a surge in mining activities following China's ban in 2021. Congressional hearings in 2022 raised concerns about energy consumption and emissions, leading to a call for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate the environmental impact of crypto mining in early 2023.
U.S. President Joe Biden proposed a 30% incremental tax on crypto miners' electricity costs last year to reduce mining activity in the country.
In 2021, global Bitcoin miners used a record 121.13 terawatt-hours of electricity, surpassing Belgium's 2022 consumption of 93.8 terawatt-hours. The IEA anticipates mining consumption to hit 160 terawatt-hours by 2026.
Source - cointelegraph.com
