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A bill that would force cryptocurrency mining businesses to provide emissions data for operations that consume more than five megawatts of electrical power has been reintroduced by US senators.
To encourage more openness about crypto mining and its effects on the environment, Congressman Jared Huffman and United States Senator Edward Markey announced plans to propose the Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act in Congress on Friday.
Sen. Jeff Merkley served as the bill’s cosponsor in the Senate when it was first introduced in December 2020 during the previous Congressional session.
The bill would specifically require cryptocurrency mining companies to disclose emissions for operations that use more than 5 megawatts of power or for multiple crypto-asset mining facilities owned by the same company that each have a power load that is less than 5 megawatts, but have a cumulative power load that is greater than or equal to 5 megawatts.
A multi-agency examination into the effects of crypto mining in the US would also be led by the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to the bill. Within 18 months of the bill’s adoption, the results of the study, which would have a $5 million budget, would be made public.
Senator Markey highlighted 16 government organizations that back the measure in a press statement, including the Sierra Club, Greenpeace USA, Food and Water Watch, and National Stop Crypto Coalition. He commented, saying:
“While we’re working together as a nation to face down an existential crisis that puts the health and safety of our people and our planet in jeopardy, crypto miners are sucking megawatt after megawatt from our public grids and emitting skyrocketing greenhouse gasses, just so they can make a buck for themselves.”
Markey will preside over the next meeting of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. He said that the primary focus of the meeting will be the urgent need to take action against the growing environmental impacts of crypto mining.
Although US politicians have lately stepped up attempts to regulate the cryptocurrency business in the aftermath of some high-profile failures last year, a new bill attempting to impose laws on crypto mining has been introduced.
Particularly the SEC has started taking action against cryptocurrency businesses. The organization and cryptocurrency exchange Kraken came to an arrangement early in February for the agency to stop providing staking services or programs to customers in the nation and pay $30 million in fines.
In addition, the commission has threatened legal action against Paxos, a US-registered company that produces Binance’s stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD), for its production of BUSD tokens. The agency asserted that BUSD is recognized as an unregistered security.
There have also been international initiatives to establish a thorough regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. According to reports, the United States and the International Monetary Fund supported India’s proposal to coordinate worldwide crypto legislation at the most recent G20 summit.
