The US government has proposed a tax on cryptocurrency miners in an effort to reduce the industry’s sizeable environmental impact, but experts warn that the move could simply shift the problem elsewhere.
As such, the budget proposes a 30 per cent tax on miners’ total energy costs, applying to both power from the grid and any electricity generated by the miners themselves. It would be phased in, with a 10 per cent charge starting in 2025, a 20 per cent charge in 2026 and, finally, a 30 per cent charge in 2027. An identical tax was proposed by Biden last year, but it failed to pass the House of Representatives and Senate and become law – hurdles that this second attempt now faces.