U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Jared Huffman introduced the bill on Thursday. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be directed to study energy usage and the environmental impact of crypto mining.
The Environmental Transparency in Crypto Assets Act will direct the EPA to produce a report examining the impact on greenhouse gas emissions of miners using more than 5 megawatts of electricity.
The bill itself cites concerns about climate change and its growing ecological impacts, including droughts, wildfires and unusual weather events.
Bitcoin consumes more energy per year than countries like Chile or Bangladesh, the bill says. It also suggested that the EPA’s rules could cover the crypto mining industry to ensure they are subject to greenhouse gas emissions reporting and other similar rules, and to assess whether any mining facilities are operating without the necessary permits.