White House Seeks Public Commentary On Crypto’s Environmental Impact And Energy Use

White House

  • White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is seeking public comment on the impact of crypto on energy use and the climate.
  • President Joe Biden, in his crypto order, gave the task of preparing a report on the potential for digital assets to impede or advance efforts to tackle climate change and the transition to a clean and reliable electricity grid,” to White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
  • Lawmakers around the world are coming up with proposals to ban proof of work mining, crypto’s energy impact, particularly of proof-of-mining, which is energy-intensive; the topic has become a flashpoint in recent years. 

The science and technology team of the White House is calling for public commentary on the impact of crypto on energy use and the climate. 

Earlier this month, in his crypto order, President Joe Biden assigned the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) of White House to prepare a report on the “potential for digital assets to impede or advance efforts to tackle climate change and the transition to a clean and reliable electricity grid,” as per the document published on Friday in the Federal Register. 

With lawmakers around the globe bringing in proposals to ban proof-of-work mining, the energy impact of crypto-, especially of proof-of-work mining, which is energy-intensive, has become the flashpoint in recent years. 

Meanwhile, industry proponents dismissing these concerns have declared the data used for crypto energy usage projections – the majority of which say that more energy is used in proof-of-work mining than some industrialized nations, irrelevant or unreliable. 

Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology, blockchain, are also offered as a potential solution to environmental challenges such as reducing emissions from gas flaring and carbon accounting. The upcoming report of the OSTP represents one attempt to deep dive into the environmental impact of crypto

Whoever is interested feels free to share their thoughts with the White House until May 9. 

On March 9th, the White House released the specifics of the long-awaited executive order on digital asset treatment. The White House was pressed to take a leading role in regulating digital assets.

The White House was under constant pressure to take a key role in the drafting and regulation of cryptocurrency regulations.

The sanctions placed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, as well as concerns that businesses and individuals could use cryptocurrencies to get around them, have only added to the pressure.

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Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/03/26/white-house-seeks-public-commentary-on-cryptos-environmental-impact-and-energy-use/