LIVE BLOG: Congressional Hearing Puts Crypto Energy Use in the Crosshairs
Crypto mining’s energy use will be in the crosshairs Thursday as the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee discusses its environmental impact. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will question five witnesses about proof-of-work consensus mechanisms, how crypto networks are powered and what tools or solutions exist to mitigate environmental impacts. The hearing comes one day after E&E News, a Politico subsidiary, revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency blocked two coal-powered power plants primarily focused on bitcoin mining from continuing to operate coal ash, a “toxic slurry produced from coal power.” “The profitability of mining and the increase of…