A survey revealed that companies use enough energy to power Houston and contribute to increased carbon dioxide emissions
The largest US cryptomining companies have the potential to use as much electricity as almost every house in Houston, Texas. Energy use means an increase in electricity bills, according to a survey of Democratic lawmakers.
THE cryptomining is an extremely energy-intensive process, which involves the use of specialized computers, which work continuously to solve complex mathematical problems in order to create new virtual currencies, writes the “Guardian” newspaper.
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The US has become the center of cryptomining after its ban in China. More than a third of the world’s computing power devoted to mining bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, comes from the US, the senator said Elizabeth Warren and five other Democrats in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“The results of our research … are alarming … revealing that crypto machines are heavy energy users responsible for a significant – and rapidly increasing – amount of carbon dioxide emissions“, the letter states. “It is imperative that your agencies work together to address the lack of information about the energy use and environmental impact of cryptomining.”
Lawmakers requested information from seven of the largest cryptomining companies, including Stronghold, Greenidge, Bit Digital, Bitfury, Riot, BitDeer and Marathon, about their energy sources and consumption and the impact of their activities on the environment .
The evidence revealed that the industry uses a significant amount of electricity, increases production and creates significant carbon dioxide emissions at a time when the US must drastically reduce emissions to combat the climate crisis.
Emissions data from three companies, Bit Digital, Greenidge and Stronghold, showed that their operations generate 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the amount produced by almost 360,000 cars. Their environmental impact is significant, despite industry claims about clean energy use and climate commitments, the lawmakers wrote.
In Texas, which has become a cryptomining hub, the industry is expected to continue to expand significantly in the coming years, increasing the amount of electrical load to almost a third of the current peak capacity of the grid within the next four years and straining the system , according to a report by the Verge. The cryptocurrency market has crashed in recent months.
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