U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration are looking at proof-of-work (PoW) mining, according to a new report. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) principal assistant secretary for energy discussed the study report on July 2, 2022, and Costa Samaras, an OSTP official, said that if digital currencies are going to take root, it is important that these financial systems are “developed responsibly and that total emissions are minimize,” he said.
The White House looks at bitcoin mining and industry emissions.
A new report will be released by the White House in August and will focus on proof-of-work (PoW) mining and its environmental impact, according to OSTP Principal Deputy Constantine (Costa) Samarasdetailed on July 2 that the Biden administration’s energy team will be looking into mining farms working with applied demand response programs, and the two most popular crypto consensus models, proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS He detailed that he plans to look into the
Samaras told reporters at news outlet Bloomberg Law, “If this is going to be part of our financial system in any way, it is important to develop it responsibly and minimize the total emissions.” When we think about digital assets, it has to be a conversation about climate and energy.”
Bitcoin mining has received a lot of negative attention regarding the energy consumption used to verify transactions and secure the PoW blockchain. However, two recent studies show a paradoxical view that highlights howBTCminingmay actually be beneficial to the environment. For example, one particularstudyshows that the Bitcoin network utilizes 50 times less energy than the traditional banking system. Another environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report highlighted research showing that bitcoin mining can potentially remove a significant amount of leaking methane, highlighting that there is no better technology.
OSTP Official Says White House Needs to Look at ‘Appropriate Policy Responses Under a World that Shifts to Proof-of-Stake’ and the Security Benefits of Proof-of-Work
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Despite positive research, Samaras has seen negative reports published over the past year that “noise, local pollution, old fossil generators being restarted in communities – these are not trivial loads.” Samaras explained that the White House energy team plans to study policy response concepts suitable for PoW and PoS algorithms. Samaras remarked in an interview, “In a world that has moved to proof-of-stake, or a continuous mix of proof-of-work and proof-of-stake, we need to think about what the appropriate policy response is.” The White House principal assistant secretary for energy added:
Proof-of-work is energy intensive by design, but it also improves security.
Samaras’ remarks follow U.S. President Joe Biden’s Crypto Executive Order (EO), issued the first week of March 2022. The crypto EO establishes a “national policy for digital assets across six key priorities.” The White House had planned to enact a crypto-specific EO in February, but the Ukraine-Russia war began; in April 2022, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) urged Biden to create a “robust strategy” to ensure that crypto is not used by international enemies to avoid financial sanctions He urged him to do so. While it now appears that the upcoming White House report on crypto mining is simply a study, many wonder if government policy could emerge from the new study and Biden’s aggressive climate change strategy.
What do you think about the Biden administration’s plans to release a report on crypto mining and its environmental impacts? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.
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