The Energy Department, which issues efficiency standards and studies clean technology, was unable to provide a person to speak on cryptocurrency energy usage.
The decentralized nature of the Bitcoin blockchain means that a diverse group of miners—who last year earned more than $15 billion, according to data from The Block Research—would have to be brought on board.
Cryptocurrency mining depends on large amounts of energy.
They deploy raw computing power to solve a series of complex math problems, consuming more electricity each year than many individual countries, including Pakistan and Finland, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.
The study, published last year, found mining in the region pushed up monthly electric bills by about $8 for households and $12 for small businesses.
Such policies are crucial to meeting the Biden administration’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by 2035 and across the U.S.