On September 9, the White House Office of Science and Technology policy (OSTP) released a Report titled “Climate and Energy Implications of Crypto-Assets in the United States.” Climate is one of the key pillars of the Biden administration and the Chamber of Digital Commerce shares the administration’s goals of promoting clean, renewable energies. It is why we advocate so hard for digital asset mining and the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism, as can be seen in our response to OSTP’s Request For Information on this subject from May.
After reading the Report, it was clear what federal agencies will play a crucial role in the maturation of this industry. The Report’s recommendations are directed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Let’s take a look at those recommendations:
- Recommendation: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and other federal agencies should provide technical assistance and initiate a collaborative process with states, communities, the crypto-asset industry, and others to develop effective, evidence-based environmental performance standards for the responsible design, development, and use of environmentally responsible crypto-asset technologies.
- For improved analytical capabilities that can enhance the accuracy of electricity usage estimates and sustainability, the National Science Foundation, DOE, EPA and other relevant agencies could promote and support research and development priorities that improve the environmental sustainability of digital assets, including crypto-asset impact modeling, assessment of environmental justice impacts, and understanding beneficial uses for grid management and environmental mitigation.
- DOE, in coordination with FERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and its regional entities, should conduct reliability assessments of current and projected crypto-asset mining operations on electricity system reliability and adequacy.
- For improved analytical capabilities that can enhance the accuracy of electricity usage estimates and sustainability, the National Science Foundation, DOE, EPA and other relevant agencies could promote and support research and development priorities that improve the environmental sustainability of digital assets, including crypto-asset impact modeling, assessment of environmental justice impacts, and understanding beneficial uses for grid management and environmental mitigation.
In 2022, the Chamber of Digital Commerce has engaged each one of these agencies and is committed to working even closer with them as they dissect these policy recommendations from the White House. We look forward to continued dialogue and collaborating as the rules and regulations are developed for the digital asset mining industry.
As these issues move forward, we look forward to having continued dialogue with these agencies and collaborating as the rules and regulations are developed for digital asset mining industry.