White House Suggests Outlawing Bitcoin Proof-of-Work Mining

In a new study released Thursday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy urged the U.S. to conduct further research on the energy effects of Bitcoin mining to develop rules for the sector. In response to President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto, the office provided specifics on how it will address the issue of the environmental effects of crypto mining, including the scope of the damage and how different cryptocurrencies vary in their energy requirements. The research calls for federal authorities, like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, to collaborate with local and state governments to set rules for the industry’s effect on the environment. It includes intensity and source of energy that goes into it, noise pollution, water usage, and how to develop carbon-free energy to balance out crypto mining’s use. According to the study, cryptocurrency mining, especially Bitcoin (BTC) mining, consumes power and completely undermines American sustainability goals. Safeguarding The Grid Additionally, the Biden administration wants grid operators and energy regulators to prevent cryptocurrency mining from endangering the reliability of electrical systems and raising consumer electricity costs. Bitcoin miners, in contrast, contend that they may improve the stability of electrical grids by acting as a base load consumer that can shut down during periods of high demand, as was the case l...