U.S. House Committee Discusses Crypto Mining

• The United States House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing regarding how lawmakers should address the energy consumption of cryptocurrencies.

• During the hearing, former Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks contended that the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining was “economically productive”, given that other assets such as gold require about the same amount of energy for mining but also include “a host of other environmental concerns.”

• Brooks also added that the traditional global banking system consumes roughly 2.5 times the amount of power to produce the same amount of value BTC does at its current capitalization.

• A major topic of discussion at the hearing was the use of renewable energy sources in crypto mining. Cornell Tech professor Ari Juels, who has often criticized crypto mining practices in the past, spoke fondly of the crypto space as a whole and the possibilities blockchain tech offers. But in regards to Bitcoin, Juels was less favorable. “Bitcoin does not equal blockchain. The tremendous promise of blockchain technology does not require Bitcoin or its energy intensive component called proof-of-work.”