{"id":1488690,"date":"2024-02-08T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T09:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=629247"},"modified":"2024-02-08T09:15:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T09:15:00","slug":"bitcoin-mining-uses-a-lot-of-energy-the-us-government-is-about-to-find-out-how-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/02\/08\/bitcoin-mining-uses-a-lot-of-energy-the-us-government-is-about-to-find-out-how-much\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin mining uses a lot of energy. The US government is about to find out how much."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2021, when China banned bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies<\/a>, crypto miners flocked to the United States in search of cheap electricity and looser regulations. In a few short years, the U.S.\u2019s share of global crypto mining operations grew from 3.5 percent to 38 percent<\/a>, forming the world\u2019s largest crypto mining industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impacts of this shift have not gone unnoticed. From New York to Kentucky to Texas, crypto mining warehouses have vastly increased local electricity demand to power their 24\/7 computing operations. Their power use has stressed local grids, raised electricity bills for nearby residents, and kept once-defunct fossil fuel plants running. Yet to date, no one knows exactly how much electricity the U.S. crypto mining industry uses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s about to change as federal officials launch the first comprehensive effort to collect data on cryptocurrency mining\u2019s energy use. This week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an energy statistics arm of the federal Department of Energy, is requiring 82 commercial crypto miners<\/a> to report how much energy they\u2019re consuming. It\u2019s the first survey in a new program aiming to shed light on an opaque industry by leveraging the agency\u2019s unique authority to mandate energy use disclosure from large companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is nonpartisan data that’s collected from the miners themselves that no one else has,\u201d said Mandy DeRoche, deputy managing attorney in the clean energy program at the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice. \u201cUnderstanding this data is the first step to understanding what we can do next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin bypass the need for financial institutions by adding data to a public ledger, or \u201cblockchain,\u201d to verify all transactions. To win money, computers using energy-intensive mining software race to confirm additions to the blockchain. According to initial estimates published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration last week, cryptocurrency mining could account for between 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent<\/a> of total annual U.S. electricity use. To put that into perspective, in 2022, the entire state of Utah consumed about 0.8 percent of electricity<\/a> consumed in the U.S. The state of Washington, home to nearly 8 million people, consumed 2.3 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n