United States To Ban Bitcoin?

By Kevin • September 8, 2022 10:17 pm • Comments

A new White House report was just revealed where it proposes a new ban on Bitcoin mining which would have large implications on the Bitcoin mining network.

If this ban does happen to get passed, it would likely shut down around 60% of the mining activity which would have a large impact on the price of BTC.

The reasoning behind this ban is due to the report’s claim that Bitcoin and other crypto assets are using a significant amount of electricity.

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As a result, the White House is concerned about the effects of crypto mining on the environment and is aiming to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

Watcher.guru reports:

The proposal from the report suggests that the government should collect more statistics and data regarding the power consumption of the cryptocurrency mining industry. The report also stated that if necessary results are not visible with the implementation of green crypto mining, the industry including BTC mining could face a ban.

“Should these measures prove ineffective at reducing impacts, the Administration should explore executive actions. Congress might consider legislation, to limit or eliminate the use of high energy intensity consensus mechanisms for crypto-asset mining,” the report remarked.

The report also highlighted that the industry consumed over 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year of electricity as of August 2022.

The report also spoke about the energy usage by different crypto assets. Bitcoin mining is a heavy energy-centric process that uses the PoW algorithm. Ethereum, which followed the same consensus, is switching to the PoS consensus with the merge coming up soon.

With that being said, there have already been multiple countries around the world that have banned the activity of Bitcoin mining.

Therefore, even if the White House managed to pass this proposal, it would not be anything new that the Bitcoin network hadn’t faced before.

Additionally, enforcing the ban of crypto mining is an entirely separate matter which may prove to be difficult due to the decentralized nature of blockchain.

The report continues to claim that the government is considering this ban as an option in order to help the fight against climate change.

WhiteHouse.gov reports:

However, some crypto-asset technologies currently require a considerable amount of electricity for asset generation, ownership, and exchange.

Electricity usage from digital assets is contributing to GHG emissions, additional pollution, noise, and other local impacts, depending on markets, policies, and local electricity sources.

Depending on the energy intensity of the technology used, crypto-assets could hinder broader efforts to achieve net-zero carbon pollution consistent with U.S. climate commitments and goals.

The U.S. government has a responsibility to ensure electric grid stability, enable a clean energy future, and protect communities from pollution and climate change impacts.

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