The Subcommittee on Oversight and the Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce has scheduled a hearing for January 20 to discuss the impact of energy consumption in the crypto mining industry.
The investigation title is Clearing Cryptocurrency: The Energy Implications of Blockchains. Committee members are interested in learning about energy consumption in blockchain and its effect on the environment. They will also hold the meeting live on YouTube.
The American Committee on Energy and Trade, which began in 1795, is linked to the U.S Congress. It debates topics on public health and international commerce. Moreover, it discusses the market interests of the leading economies in the globe.
More investors are concerned about climate change
After the U.S developed an energy committee, the committee now addresses energy consumption in organizations. In addition, more investors are aware of climate change thus want to adopt funds that hold sustainable companies under the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) body instead of making fossil fuel investments.
The committee has also noted the re-entry of miners into the U.S after China cracked down on cryptocurrency and forced miners to exit the country. The U.S is now the most extensive miner in the world. Several mining firms intend to increase their capacity in the country this year.
Critics of Bitcoin are concerned about climate change
Bitcoin has been a source of scrutiny for the last 13 years. The currency has faced many questions of being a scam. The latest accusation against Bitcoin is that mining consumes high amounts of energy which is bad for the environment.
However, people who support Bitcoin have painted out that many critics don’t acknowledge the energy consumed in transferring paper money worldwide. They might also have not considered the technological costs differences between Bitcoin and traditional banking systems.
In 2021, the U.S mining industry came up with the Mining Council, which proponents of cryptocurrency such as Elon Musk and Michael Saylor oversee. This move was a response to the increase of mining operations in the U.S after China’s crackdown on the industry.
The U.S government will not implement the same prohibitions as China since most mining companies are already publicly-traded. However, the hearing could lead to more regulations in the cryptocurrency sector.
