A source familiar with the matter told The Block that ” recent events in New York State “related to the rise of Bitcoin mining a process where blocks are added to a blockchain, verifying transactions. It is also the process through which new bitcoin or some altcoins are created. have prompted concerns among lawmakers.
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The U.S. Congress is holding a hearing to discuss the environmental impact of cryptocurrency cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that use cryptographic technologies to secure their operation. mining, especially the mining of Bitcoin the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency in the world. It is a decentralized digital currency that enables users to make trustless peer-to-peer transactions. . This was reported in a report byThe Block a file containing information on transactions completed during a given time period. Blocks are the constituent parts of a blockchain..
According to the media, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee is working on the hearing. Three people familiar with the matter toldThe Block that the subcommittee is preparing a list of witnesses to account an account is essentially a whose purpose is to track the financial activities of a specific asset/ for the mining energy usage used by test work networks (PoW), such as Bitcoin .
The exact schedule for the hearing and the list of witnesses who will participate have not yet been determined, but sources said the discussion could take place later this month. Members of the Oversight subcommittee did not respond to the media to deny affirming plans for such a hearing.
The news comes a few weeks after cryptocurrency industry leaders met in another congressional hearing . This meeting was intended to answer questions from legislators about the growing space, as well as to raise possible regulatory strategies for the sector.
U.S. Lawmakers Express Concerns
The issue of the carbon footprint of mining Bitcoin made headlines for several months last year. The discussion was initially prompted by Elon Musk’s decision to suspender payments with Bitcoin in your car company Tesla which was driven by concerns about the network’s high energy consumption. The entrepreneur had added the option a contract giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price. payment system previously in March, and had also announced a large investment in the cryptocurrency.
Then, in mid-2021, China’s ban brought attention back to the issue as hundreds of miners contributors to a blockchain taking part in the process of mining. They can be professional miners or organizations with large-scale operations, or hobbyists who set up mining rigs at home or in the office. in the region opted to move their operations overseas, including to the U.S. The mining of Bitcoin left China and turned the North American nation into the leading cryptocurrency center in terms of hashrate .
According to a informe University of Cambridge published in October, the U.S. now accounts for about 36% of the world’s hashrate total de Bitcoin . China’s participation in the mining of Bitcoin dropped close refers to the closing price; similar to the same term used in stock trading. to zero after accounting for more than 70% of the network’s total global hash a hash is the output result of a hashing algorithm, which creates a unique, fixed-length string to encrypt and secure a certain selection of arbitrary data. rate. Bitcoin during 2019.
The positioning of the US in the mining market an area or arena, online or offline, in which commercial dealings are conducted. attracted media and political attention towards the end of the year; especially as some operations moved to former power plants in upstate New York.
In October, dozens of environmental groups petitioned U.S. House and Senate leaders for greater oversight of the industry. Then, in December, Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Greenidge a well-known mining operation in New York, expressing concern about the company’s environmental impact.
That was followed by a report del New York Times who criticized the crypto mining boom in that state. State legislator Anna Kelles has added to these concerns since the beginning of 2022. It’s worth noting that other states in the country, such as Texas and Wyoming, have also seen an influx of cryptocurrency mining operations in recent months.
One of the close sources who spoke toThe Block said that “ recent events in New York State ” was what sounded the alarm bells of legislators.
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Sources:The Block , CoinDesk , archive
Article versioned by Hannah Estefania Perez / DiarioBitcoin
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