Cryptocurrencies with high energy intensity consensus mechanisms (e.g., bitcoin) might be prohibited in the US if authorities fail to limit their impact on the environment, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy wrote in a Thursday report.
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The White House says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other federal agencies should provide technical assistance to develop effective, "evidence-based" environmental performance standards for crypto mining. However, should this assistance prove to be ineffective in reducing impacts, the authorities should explore executive actions to "limit or eliminate" the use of such activity, the report notes.
In June, the White House started working on a new report that will examine how much crypto mining affects global climate and the power grid in the US. The Biden administration wants to assess all the areas that might be impacted by crypto mining, starting from noise pollution to the energy efficiency of using different mining algorithms.
Costa Samaras, the Principal Assistant Director for Energy at The White House, said the administration wants to be sure that the industry is "developed responsibly and minimizes total emissions" in case this is going to be "part of our financial system in any meaningful way."
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