Following significant opposition, the United States has halted efforts to collect energy consumption data from Bitcoin miners.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced plans to collect information on energy usage by cryptocurrency miners.
Bitcoin mining investigation halted
EIA’s move drew immediate backlash from the mining community and various U.S. lawmakers who found it intrusive. As a result, prominent Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms and the Texas Blockchain Council took legal action against authorities, claiming the investigation was illegal and politically driven.
According to a February 23 court order shared by Riot’s Vice President of Research, Pierre Rochard, the court ruled in favor of Bitcoin miners. The report found the Department of Energy’s actions lacking justification and criticized its actions as arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion.
As a result, the court issued a temporary restraining order halting the investigation and ordering the EIA to sequester data it had already collected from Bitcoin miners. The EIA also confirmed it would suspend mandatory investigations and quarantine any data collected for a month.
“EIA will not enforce the requirement to file Form EIA-862 and will not pursue or impose fines, penalties, or other adverse consequences based on failure to respond to the survey by March 22, 2024.” EIA decided.
The recent ruling was praised by many in the cryptocurrency community. Environmental activist and venture capitalist Daniel Batten emphasized the importance of fair treatment for all energy consumers. Batten further criticized the discriminatory nature of harsh penalties for Bitcoin data centers compared to the lenient approach to energy use in AI data centers.
In line with this view, Republican Majority Representative Tom Emmer applauded The decision to suspend the survey blamed pressure from the EIA to require Bitcoin miners to disclose proprietary data.
In recent years, cryptocurrency miners have come under increased scrutiny for their environmental impact and high energy usage. However, stakeholders have argued that BTC mining activities contribute to the stability and efficiency of the power system.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis particularly praised Bitcoin mining for its positive contribution to the U.S. energy grid and the exploration of new energy sources.
“As I have said for years, Bitcoin mining is good for America’s energy grid and the development of new/distressed energy resources. “We are pleased that EIA has temporarily suspended its intrusive and ill-advised investigation,” Lummis said. said.
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