including Jack Dorsey, Tom Lee and Michael Saylor Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency The biggest names in the world came together and wrote a letter to refute the claims made by US Democratic politicians in their call to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate the environmental effects of crypto mining.
As it is known, BTC works with the Proof of Work mining model and this model is criticized by some people for using high energy.
US Democratic Politicians Called EPA Agency to Inspect Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Miners
Democratic representative Jared Huffmann and more than 10 members of the House of Representatives in their letters to the EPA agency last week asked to ensure that cryptocurrency mining companies are operating in compliance with the “Clean Air and Clean Water Act”.
In addition, these politicians cited concerns that cryptocurrency facilities in the US are polluting communities and causing excessive greenhouse gas emissions.
Industry Representatives Submit a Counter Letter to EPA
In a counter-letter sent today to EPA chief Michael Regan, Bitcoin miners and crypto industry experts said Democratic politicians misunderstood the basics of Proof of Work mining. Among those who signed the counter letter are companies such as Benchmark Capital, Fidelity Investments and Fortress Investment Group.
In the letter, it was stated that politicians wrongly lumped together data centers and power generation facilities.
“We Are No Different From Amazon, Apple, Google or Microsoft”
On the subject, it was explained in the letter that the “miners” in the data centers are no different from the data centers operated by companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft. According to the letter, both types of facilities use electrical energy for computer operations within a building.
The letter also stated that “limiting what data centers can do will mean a major deviation in US policies”.
One of the main authors of the letter, Darin Feinstein, founder of cryptocurrency mining operator Core Scientific, said that the cause of the pollution was energy production centers, and stated that the EPA will not control energy production, but other institutions have the authority in this area.
“EPA Cannot Involve What Processes Are Taken in Data Centers”
Nic Carter of Castle Island Venture, who helped write the letter, said:
“It would be extremely odd for the EPA to regulate computer processing in a data center. This is definitely outside their remit.”
In the letter sent by the Democrats to the EPA, it was also claimed that Bitcoin mining companies produce 30,700 tons of electronic waste per year. In the letter sent by industry representatives, this claim was rejected. It was stated that the report claiming that the used mining equipment was thrown away after only 1.3 years was completely untrue.
*Not investment advice.