According to a new report, U.S. president Joe Biden and his
administration are focused on proof-of-work (PoW) mining. The principal
assistant director for energy for the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy (OSTP) discussed the research report on July 2, 2022.
The OSTP official, Costa Samaras, said if digital currencies plan to
stick around then it is important that these financial systems are
“developed responsibly and minimizes total emissions.”
White House Eyes Bitcoin Mining and the Industry’s Emissions
A new report will be published by the White House in August according
to the OSTP principal assistant director, and the study will focus on
proof-of-work (PoW) mining and its effects on the environment.
Constantine (Costa) Samaras detailed
on July 2 that the Biden administration’s energy team plans to look at
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).
“It’s important if this is going to be part of our financial system
in any meaningful way, that it’s developed responsibly and minimizes
total emissions,” Samaras told reporters at the news outlet Bloomberg
Law. “When we think about digital assets, it has to be a climate and
energy conversation.”
Bitcoin mining has received a lot of negative attention
over the energy consumption used to confirm transactions and secure the
PoW blockchain. However, two recent studies have shown contrarian views
that highlight how BTC mining could actually be beneficial to the environment. For instance, one specific study
shows that the Bitcoin network leverages 50 times less energy than the
traditional banking system. Another environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) report
highlights findings showing bitcoin mining could potentially eliminate a
significant amount of leaked methane, and stressed that no technology
could do it better.
OSTP Official Says the White House Needs to Look at the ‘Appropriate
Policy Responses Under a World That Shifted to Proof-of-Stake’ and the
Security Benefits of Proof-of-Work
Despite positive studies, Samaras has seen the negative reports that
have been published over the past year that say there’s “noise, local
pollution, older fossil generators being restarted in communities —
These are not trivial loads.” Samaras explained that the White House
energy team plans research policy response concepts that are appropriate
for PoW and PoS algorithms. “We need to think about what would be the
appropriate policy responses under a world that shifted to
proof-of-stake, or a world that has some continuous mix of proof-of-work
and proof-of-stake,” Samaras remarked during the interview. The White
House’s principal assistant director for energy added:
Proof-of-work is energy-intensive by design, but it also increases security.
The statements from Samaras follow U.S. president Joe Biden’s crypto executive order (EO) issued
during the first week of March 2022. The crypto EO establishes a
“national policy for digital assets across six key priorities.” The
White House was supposed to establish the crypto-focused EO in February,
but the Ukraine-Russia war started. In April 2022, U.S. representative
Michael McCaul (R-TX) urged
Biden to create a “robust strategy” so crypto cannot be used by
international enemies to avoid financial sanctions. Currently, the
upcoming White House report concerning crypto mining seems to be simply
research, but many wonder if government policies could come out of the
new study and Biden’s aggressive climate change strategy.
