At the end of April 2022, representatives in the U.S. House wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanding, among other things, increased scrutiny of crypto mining operations across the country. The legislators’ letter alluded to “serious concerns regarding reports that cryptocurrency facilities across the country are polluting communities and are having an outsized contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.”
Crypto financiers have grown accustomed to some degree of fearmongering over the last several years. But for some of Bitcoin’s biggest players, including Jack Dorsey, Michael Saylor, Tom Lee, and firms such as Fidelity Investments, the letter by lawmakers crossed a line into misinformation. In response, these individuals released their own letter rebutting the charges by House Democrats.
Among other things, the letter writers argued, the lawmakers misunderstood fundamental facets of crypto mining such as proof of work. More egregiously, the original letter unfairly tarred Bitcoin miners by portraying them as a unique threat to the environment while ignoring similar data center operations.
“It is clear that education is required to ensure that public officials understand that the digital asset mining sector does not contribute to the environmental issues raised in the letter,” they concluded. “It is imperative that elected officials in the United States recognize that Bitcoin, and the innovation of Proof of Work, is the most important financial, economic, and accounting innovation in the history of humanity.”
