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ARTICLE · 14 FEBRUARY 2022

House Committee Hearing Explores Cryptocurrency Energy Use, Bringing To Mind ESG Issues And Opportunities

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On January 20, 2022, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce (the "Committee") held a hearing on the energy consumption associated with cryptocurrency activity.

United StatesTechnology
Jason Finger
Jason Finger
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On January 20, 2022, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce (the "Committee") held a hearing on the energy consumption associated with cryptocurrency activity. In announcing the hearing on January 12, 2022, Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Oversight and Investigations Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) stated: "In just a few short years, cryptocurrency has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. It's time to understand and address the steep energy and environmental impacts it is having on our communities and our planet."

By the close of the hearings, committee members received a two-hour lesson about a wide range of topics: blockchain (and its varying types of consensus mechanisms) and its energy impact to the climate; how crypto mining can affect utilities' management of energy resources and ultimately the price consumers pay for their electricity; how utilities work with energy-intensive miners; and where to strike the balance between green energy goals and

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