Bitcoin Miners Are Not Polluters Industry Group Tells EPA

Key Insights:

• Industry leaders and executives have refuted claims by politicians that crypto mining is an environmental disaster.
• The power generators are the polluters, not the miners, they argued.
• More education regarding crypto mining is needed for lawmakers.

The original letter was penned by Chair of the Natural Resources Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee and member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Jared Huffman, and co-signed by a raft of anti-crypto policymakers in late April.

On May 2, industry leaders and executives, including MicroStrategy boss Michael Saylor, Block’s Jack Dorsey, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, Nic Carter from Castle Island Ventures, and Fidelity Investments Senior Vice President Tom Jessop responded with their own letter to the EPA.

The letter, co-signed by 55 industry experts and chief executives, stated that Democratic Representative Huffman’s request for the EPA to increase its oversight on crypto mining was “premised on several misperceptions.”

Bitcoin Mining Misconceptions

The letter made eight points in total, with the crux of the argument being that it is the power generators responsible for the pollution, not the miners’ data centers.

“Emissions are created at the power generation source upstream from data centers. Digital asset miners simply purchase electricity from the grid, the same as Microsoft and other data center operators.”

Huffman and co claimed to have “serious concerns” regarding Bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities across the country “polluting communities” and having an “outsized contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.”

The response explained the difference between a data center and a power generation facility since there appeared to be some confusion from the politicians.

There were other instances where the lawmakers expressed concern over mining facilities reopening previously abandoned coal or gas facilities. This was refuted with the argument that these two examples comprise less than 2% of the Bitcoin network. The business leaders explained that sustainable energy usage was increasing:

“In reality, the majority of digital asset miners are migrating away from fossil fuel-based electricity generation and increasingly targeting renewables.”

More Education for Politicians Needed

Claims that crypto mining produces mountains of e-waste were also refuted. The group stated that there is no evidence anywhere of massive junkyards containing obsolete ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), the hardware used to mine crypto.

“To be clear: the claim that Bitcoin miners produce enormous quantities of e-waste is a purely academic fantasy.”

The group concluded that public officials needed more education before making wild accusations about the environmental impact of the industry.

“It is clear that education is required to ensure that public officials understand that the digital asset mining sector does not contribute to the environmental issues raised in the Letter.”