The Future of Crypto and Energy Policy with Sanjeev Kumar and Kathryn Carpenter

Lawmakers are ramping up pressure on Bitcoin miners who use fossil fuels to operate. 

On January 20, 2022, CEO John Belizaire was invited to testify at the House Oversight Subcommittee hearing called, “Cleaning up Crypto, the Energy Impacts of Blockchains”   During that hearing our Members of Congress were seeking information about the sector’s energy use. 

On January 27, 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the top six crypto companies demanding information about their energy use and impacts “Top Bitcoin Miners Pressed by U.S. Lawmakers to Detail Climate Impact, Power Consumption” 

Previously, On July 27, 2021, the Senate held a hearing called, “Cryptocurrencies, what are they good for?” hearing.  

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In this episode, Soluna Computing CEO John Belizaire is talking about crypto energy policy with Sanjeev Kumar, an expert advisor in the renewable energy space, and Kathyrn Carpenter, Founder of Cecilia Energy, a green hydrogen start-up.

Together, John, Kathryn, and Sanjeev answer:

• Is there a reasonable policy compromise that would increase pressure on ‘dirty’ energy mining and promote innovative practices of using renewable energy excess instead?
• What’s at stake at the ‘PoW vs. PoS’ tension that has been brought into policymakers' focus?
• Is an aspect of this policy debate that the crypto community can rally around?
• What will happen next on the crypto and energy policy fronts?

This episode was recorded on February 4, 2022. Since then, President Joe Biden has released an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets to which John has responded for Blockworks.

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If you enjoyed this conversation and want to read more on this subject, check out Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption is a Feature, Not a Bug on our blog! 

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