Cryptocurrency miners have received letters from the U.S. Energy Department’s statistics arm, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), requesting information about their mining sites’ layout and energy usage. One of the letters shared on social media states that miners have until February 23 to disclose any information on the activities that took place in January.
The US EIA has begun gathering information from cryptocurrency miners.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has begun stepping up its monitoring of bitcoin miners’ operations. Dennis Porter, the CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, has reported that EIA letters requiring cryptocurrency miners to provide information on their energy consumption in January have been sent out.
To be more precise, the EIA requires that miners complete the EIA-862 Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities Report. This report asks questions about the name of the cryptocurrency mining company, how much electricity each mining facility uses, and which energy providers provided the energy used during the reference period.
Further, the form asks about the hash rate generated by these devices as well as the features, age, and electric load of the mining equipment.
The data delivery is also subject to an ultimatum in the letters; it must reach the EIA by February 23. According to EIA-862, “failure to comply may result in criminal fines, civil penalties, and other sanctions as provided by law.” Responding to these questions is required.
Porter said he vehemently disagreed with the EIA’s actions on the matter because of the significance of the cryptocurrency mining business. Porter is also spearheading a push to regulate Bitcoin at the state level in the United States. He said:
This is NOT the appropriate way for the federal government to engage in a nascent but highly promising company.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gave the organization permission to conduct these surveys in January, citing the possibility that bitcoin operations could cause harm to the general population. However, a number of organizations that support bitcoin mining have condemned the move, arguing that it is an abuse of power.
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