On March 3, United States Senator Edward Markey and Representative Jared Huffman announced their intention to reintroduce the Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act in Congress. Ahead of a Senate hearing on crypto mining’s environmental impact—set for March 7 and chaired by Markey—the bill was initially proposed in December 2020 during the last Congressional session, with Sen. Jeff Merkley acting as its cosponsor in the Senate.

US bill on crypto mining emissions

The proposed bill would require crypto mining companies to divulge emissions data for operations that utilize more than five megawatts of electrical power. Additionally, it calls on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator to spearhead an interagency examination into the impact of crypto mining within the United States. Also, the investigation will be provided a budget of $5 million and is required to publish results within 18 months of its passage.

Markey outlined the support for his bill from 16 public organizations, including the Sierra Club, Greenpeace USA, and the National Stop Crypto Coalition.

“Crypto miners are taking massive amounts of energy from our public grids and emitting a huge amount of greenhouse gases to increase their profits. We must end this industry’s exploitation of our communities.”

Senator Edward Markey

Senator Ed Markey is set to chair a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety meeting, focusing on addressing increasing environmental consequences associated with crypto mining. This echoed similar sentiments expressed by Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Jared Huffman, in a letter sent to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in February.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren led the charge of this letter, which called for both agencies to work together to gain more insight into the energy use and environmental impacts of crypto mining, as well as a separate letter sent to the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas requesting similar information.