Workers install rows of new Bitcoin mining machines at the Whinstone US Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, on October 9, 2021.
AFP /AFP (via Getty Images)
Lawyers representing a cryptocurrency industry group that includes the nation's largest bitcoin mining company have won a preliminary victory in their fight to block the federal government's efforts to collect data on energy usage.
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled against implementing a government-mandated audit that would require companies to disclose how much electricity they use, which suppliers it comes from, and also the computing power of their mining equipment. was temporarily suspended.
The emergency hearing came just a day after the Texas Blockchain Council sued the Department of Energy and other federal agencies over the proposed study. The case will now be effectively stayed for at least the next four weeks.
Earlier this month, the EIA concluded that the cryptocurrency mining industry uses “approximately 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption” each year.
“Increased demand related to virtual currency mining may pose challenges to power grid operations,” the agency also wrote.
Chris Higginbotham, a spokesman for the Energy Information Administration, declined to comment on the matter.The Department of Energy did not respond. forbes'Requesting comments.
“This is a case of sloppy government procedures, contrived and self-inflicted.”
Urgent and invasive government data collection,” the Texas Blockchain Council wrote in its complaint.
According to one of the court filings, EIA administrators decided to accelerate the investigation due to the recent rise in the price of Bitcoin and increased demand for energy during the winter season.
In recent years, the cryptomining industry's increased energy usage has concerned many government officials at the local, state, and federal levels.
In 2023, the Pennsylvania Legislature launched a new effort to review the industry's impact on the state's environment.
Almost two years ago, the White House released a fact sheet on the impacts of cryptocurrency mining, stating: Efforts to meet the U.S. climate commitment to net-zero carbon pollution. ”
