US Cryptomining Capacity Rivals Houston's Power Consumption, Findings Show

Congressional investigation findings underscore how increased activity has driven up consumer electricity bills and makes more fighting global warming is difficult.< /p>

Seven of the largest Bitcoin mining companies in the United States are set to use almost as much electricity as homes in Houston, according to data released Friday as part of an investigation by congressional Democrats who say miners should be required to report their energy use.

States The United States has seen an influx of cryptocurrency miners, who use powerful, power-hungry computers to create and track virtual currencies, after China cracked down on the practice last year. Democrats led by Senator Elizabeth Warren are also asking companies to report their emissions of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is the main driver of climate change.

“This limiting data alone reveals that cryptominers are energy-intensive consumers that account for a significant — and rapidly growing — amount of carbon emissions,” Sen. Warren and five other members of Congress wrote in a letter to the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. . "But little is known about the full extent of cryptomining activity," they wrote.

Research has shown that an increase in cryptomining also dramatically increases energy costs for local residents and small businesses, and has added to the strain on the power grid in states. how e Texas, the letter notes.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have grown exponentially since their introduction a decade ago, and in recent years there have had concerns about cryptomining, the process of creating a virtual coin. This process, a complex guessing game using powerful and power-hungry computers, is very energy-intensive. Worldwide, Bitcoin mining uses more electricity than many countries.

Earlier this year, a group of congressional Democrats launched a survey of energy consumption in the largest cryptomining companies in the country. They asked seven cryptomining companies for data on their operations, and the group's findings, released on Friday, are based on the companies' responses.

ImageSeven of the largest Bitcoin mining companies in the United States could use as much electricity as almost any house in Houston.Credit...NASA

This data showed that the seven companies alone had installed up to 1,045 megawatts of electricity, enough electricity to power all residences in a city in the size of Houston, the fourth largest city in the country with 2.3 million people. The companies also said they plan to expand capacity at a blistering pace.

One ​​of the largest cryptomining companies in the United States, Marathon Digital Holdings, told the poller it was operating nearly 33,000 highly specialized, power-hungry computers, called "mining rigs," in February, up from just over 2,000 at the start of 2021. next year it intends to increase that number to 199,000 platforms, a nearly 100-fold increase in two years, he said.

The company currently operates a cryptomining center powered by the Hardin Power Plant in Montana, which generates electricity by burning coal, the dirtiest fuel. But in April, Marathon announced it would move those operations to "n...