The Chamber of Digital Commerce applauds Congressman Pete Sessions’ (R-TX) for introducing a Congressional Resolution highlighting the importance of Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining. This is the first-of-its-kind signal in support of the digital asset mining industry in the United States Congress.

The Resolution affirms that it is the sense of the U.S. Congress that PoW mining can help the U.S. achieve its energy goals. PoW mining involves using very powerful computers to attempt to solve complex computations that are necessary to create a new block in the Bitcoin blockchain. This process verifies the legitimacy of every transaction and is essential to the security of the cryptocurrency industry.

The Chamber’s Mining Initiative has fought vigorously for the opportunities that PoW mining can afford to achieve the U.S. economic, technology, and energy security goals. PoW mining is often misunderstood and attacked with misinformation around its energy consumption. However, PoW mining’s energy usage is transparent, verifiable, and represents only .14% of the global energy usage. That’s less than the total electricity output lost in transmission and distribution on the grid each year.

Today’s resolution is an important step towards recognizing the potential of PoW mining as a tool for developing U.S. energy opportunities and understanding the future of energy development requires collaboration and innovation across multiple sectors and industries, including the blockchain industry. We hope the entire Congress will rally behind Congressman Sessions’ Resolution and support PoW mining’s role in cementing the U.S.’ leadership in technology and energy development.

We commend Congressman Sessions for working with the Chamber’s members to formally support this industry on the House floor. We will continue to refute the misinformation around this industry through smart, common sense policies.