Proof-of-work protocols have been under fire for years due to their massive energy consumption – particularly hurting the battle against climate change.
Another twenty-two House Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, signed the letter in support of Huffman’s tough stance against the mining industry.that immediate actions are required to address the environmental risk and pollution associated with the crypto mining industry as its popularity embodied by the Bitcoin protocol has soared in recent years.
Despite acknowledging that facilities have switched to using “coal refuse” – a cleaner energy source – for crypto mining, Huffman still considered coal-fired power plants “emitting hazardous air pollutants and leaking toxic contaminants into our waterways.” He wrote:The letter also outlined the electronic waste caused by PoW mining as devices quickly become obsolete, noting that “Bitcoin mining alone produces almost 30,700 tons of electronic waste every year.