US Cryptomining's Energy Consumption Affects Rising Utility Bills? Lawmakers Say Investigation's Results are Disturbing

The U.S. cryptomining industry is believed to be one of the major reasons why the nation is suffering from utility bill inflation.

Some Democratic lawyers conducted an investigation, with results leading to this claim. As of writing, cryptomining activities are still being criticized by various experts and government officials.

This is because acquiring these digital coins consume a lot of energy.

Although there some researchers are trying to find more eco-friendly blockchain mining methods, the majority are still using a lot of electricity.

Now, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren leads Democratic lawyers to require cryptomining companies to disclose their carbon emission data as their results show negative effects on electrical bills, as well as the worsening global warming.

US Cryptomining's Energy Consumption Affects Rising Utility Bills?

According to The Guardian's latest report, Warren is working with five more Democrats to investigate the effects of the U.S. cryptomining companies.

They even sent a letter to the Environment Protection Agency to reveal their findings. Based on their latest investigation, the impact of cryptomining on electric bills was already seen in upstate New York.

They claimed that blockchain activities increase the residents' utility bills by around $79 million. When it comes to small businesses, their electrical bills are now around $165 million.

"The more crypto mining that comes into the state, the higher the residents should expect the electricity prices to become," said Eric Hittinger, a Rochester Institute of Technology professor.

Results are Alarming, Say Lawmakers

Involved Democratic lawmakers said that the results of their investigation are quite alarming.

"The results of our investigation ... are disturbing ... revealing that cryptominers are large energy users that account for a significant - and rapidly growing - amount of carbon emissions," they explained in their letter.

The New York Times reported that one of the major Bitcoin miners in the U.S. is Greenidge Generation Holdings, which specifically operates in upstate New York.

Previously, the company announced that it will increase its mining capacity in various locations, such as Texas and South Carolina, around 2025.

If you want to see more details about other large U.S.-based cryptomining firms, you can visit this link.

On the other hand, the EU's MiCA claimed that they will help protect blockchain consumers from rising crypto scams.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's $20k markdown happened as the pressure on crypto market continued.

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Written by: Griffin Davis