White House Zeroes In on Bitcoin's Climate Impact

Bitcoin's energy needs have attracted scrutiny from the Biden administration, which is currently working on policy recommendations on crypto mining, according to a report published by Bloomberg Law.

CMU professor Dr. Costa Samaras, who joined the White House as principal assistant director for energy and OSTP chief advisor for energy policy last November, says that it is vital to minimize total emissions if Bitcoin becomes a "meaningful" part of the financial system.

Details about the administration's approach to regulating cryptocurrency mining remain scant, and it is not clear whether any actual policy will be enacted.

In January, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) as well as several Democratic members of the House of Representatives, expressed their concerns over Bitcoin's high energy usage in letters sent to various cryptocurrency mining companies.

Warren has repeatedly stated that Bitcoin's massive carbon footprint could undermine environmental goals. The flagship cryptocurrency now consumes more electricity than countries like Argentina.

Input Output CEO Charles Hoskinson has already seized the opportunity to pitch Cardano as an environmentally friendly alternative in a recent tweet.

As reported by U.Today, President Biden signed an executive order on cryptocurrencies in March. The move attracted praise within the cryptocurrency community since the order was perceived as generally supportive of the industry, including of miners.

Independent investment bank Jefferies Group opined that the official recognition of the crypto industry by the White House was bullish for leading U.S. mining companies such as Marathon Digital and Argo Blockchain.