U.S. Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Force Crypto Miners to Disclose Emissions

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill to require crypto miners to disclose their emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency to report on the effects of crypto mining.

The Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act, which was first introduced in December and which is cosponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), would mandate the EPA to conduct a study on what impact miners using more than 5 megawatts of power have on greenhouse gas emissions and require the miners to disclose information about the emissions.

The reintroduction of the bill comes ahead of a hearing on Tuesday on the environmental impact of crypto mining. A list of witnesses scheduled to testify at that hearting wasn't immediately available.

The pollution generated by the crypto mining industry "is growing," Markey said in a statement.

“While we’re working together as a nation to face down an existential crisis that puts the health and safety of our people and our planet in jeopardy, crypto miners are sucking megawatt after megawatt from our public grids and emitting skyrocketing greenhouse gasses, just so they can make a buck for themselves," he said. "We can’t afford to let this industry run roughshod over our communities any longer.”

The bill itself is largely similar to last year's version.

In the press release, Markey noted that several senators asked the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) about the impact crypto miners have on its energy grid.

Jesse Hamilton contributed reporting.