In exclusive comments to Breitbart News, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) slammed the Biden administration’s “absurd” plan to investigate the cryptocurrency mining industry’s power consumption.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) boot A “preliminary” survey of power consumption by virtual currency miners. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the study on January 26 as part of an emergency data collection request.
While the study may appear to be just an attempt to better understand the burgeoning financial industry, crypto advocates balk at the detailed information required by the industry. to call It’s “Orwellian”.
The investigation requires information such as specific mining hardware and hash rate data.
The study was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy by Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), known as an anti-cryptocurrency activist, and is asking cryptocurrency miners to disclose their energy consumption. This follows a letter calling for enforcement. data.
Lummis, an avid supporter of cryptocurrencies, said in a statement to Breitbart News that the Biden administration should focus on lowering energy costs rather than cornering the country’s burgeoning industry.
“The same administration that believes every American should drive an electric car and have an electric stove wants to blame the problems with the power grid on the crypto mining community. This is absurd. “The Biden administration is extremely focused on picking winners and losers to advance the priorities of the Green New Deal,” she explained in a written statement.
“The latest announcement that the Department of Energy wants to start a database to track crypto mining activity is extremely concerning. It’s time to streamline processes so that energy projects can get started sooner rather than stifling emerging industries,” Lummis continued.
The cryptocurrency industry has also been shocked by this move.
Brian Morgenstern, head of public policy at Riot Blockchain, a publicly traded cryptocurrency miner, said: called The move is a “politically motivated attack on Bitcoin by the self-proclaimed ‘anti-cryptocurrency’ Sen. Warren.”
Perian Boling, president of the industry group Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC), and Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, said: I have written A Coindesk editorial states that the move will likely be used to pressure energy providers to stop doing business with Bitcoin miners.
Bowling and Bratcher write:
This is an attack on legitimate American businesses, and the government is faking an emergency to score political points. The White House has made clear that it wants to “limit or eliminate” the activities of Bitcoin miners in the United States. Although the Bitcoin network is resilient to a potential ban, the government is making life too difficult for Bitcoin miners, their employees, and their communities to operate in the United States. This is very concerning.
As the Biden administration moves to scrutinize the digital currency mining industry, Bloomberg analyst Jamie Coutts says: report By the second half of 2023, Bitcoin mining was found to be sourcing more than 50% of its energy from renewable sources.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter at Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
