Senator Elizabeth Warren has written a letter to the CEO of the New York bitcoin mining firm Greenidge Generation, Jeff Kirt, asking for details on the company’s emissions. Warren’s letter insists “Greenidge and other [bitcoin mining] plants raise concerns about their impacts on the global environment.”
Elizabeth Warren takes aim at Bitcoin Mining Operations
After she had criticized recent digital currency markets, Elizabeth Warren (ex-law professor, United States Democratic Party senator) has now taken aim at cryptocurrency mining operations. Warren demanded that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC), chairman, investigate the issue of increasing oversight for digital currencies in mid-September. Warren has also denounced cryptocurrency mining in the past and she has cited bitcoin mining’s environmental impact on many occasions.
Warren, who was writing to Jeff Kirt, CEO of New York-based bitcoin mining firm Greenidge Generation Holdings on December 2, shared her letter with Bloomberg. “Given the extraordinarily high energy usage and carbon emissions associated with bitcoin mining, mining operations at Greenidge and other plants raise concerns about their impacts on the global environment, on local ecosystems, and on consumer electricity costs,” Warren’s letter explains. She also tweeted about the Bloomberg article from her official Twitter account. said:
Crypto mining has huge environmental costs & is raising energy prices for consumers. Bitcoin consumes more energy than Washington. I’m calling on Bitcoin company [Greenidge Generation] to provide information on its operations & environmental impact.
Warren: ‘We Need to Better Understand How Much Energy Facilities Like Greenidge Are Using’
According to Bloomberg’s contributing author, Josh Saul, this “is the first time Warren has queried a specific miner.” The Massachusetts senator further told Bloomberg that lawmakers need to understand these mining facilities more. “We need to better understand how much energy facilities like Greenidge are using, how much they’re emitting into the environment, and what impact they’re having on electricity prices for American consumers,” Warren stressed.
Greenidge Generation claims that they use green methods to mine bitcoins (BTC) on multiple occasions. The Greenidge Generation power plant in Dresden, NY uses “natural gas to generate electricity.” Furthermore, “Greenidge Generation runs at new levels of thermodynamic efficiency, achieving historic lows in the cost of producing power,” the company details.
Greenidge is operated by Atlas Holdings, and the firm’s website explains that the firm purchases carbon offset credits. Many bitcoin mining operations use renewable energy and carbon credit solutions.
Let us know what you think of Elizabeth Warren’s criticisms of the Bitcoin mining industry. She also sent a letter to Greenidge CEO. Please comment below to let us know your views on the subject.
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