Ever since it came into existence a little over a decade ago, Bitcoin has faced various obstacles on its way to becoming the world’s de facto leader in the crypto space.
Being the pioneer crypto coin, BTC was designed in the earliest and most resilient blockchain design – which happens to be the proof-of-work architecture. With the PoW system, miners are rewarded when they use their nodes’ computing power to solve complex mathematical problems. This increases the network’s hash rate, which in turn keeps the system secure.
The use of PoW systems for crypto mining has been a contentious issue of late, with some claiming that it is too energy intensive and unreliable. Now, the US government seems to be joining this bandwagon, and it is now contemplating a ban on all PoW mining systems.
For “Environmental Protection”
Apparently, PoW systems are claimed to have become an environmental hazard due to their heavy energy consumption. A statement released by the state department to this effect mandates the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the Department of Energy (DOE) to collaborate with entities in the crypto industry to come up with “environmental performance standards” to govern energy usage in crypto mining.
Basically, these standards are aimed at capping energy consumption to maintain a low energy usage level and minimize the environmental impact of PoW mining systems. However, if these efforts fail, the State Department may forward a motion to the US Congress to ban Proof-of-Work mining systems in the crypto industry. At this point, it’s worth noting that the notion of banning PoW is only an option on the table and not an express decision per se.
The BTC Market
While this happens, the BTC market seems to be on the uptick. The crypto asset has gained by around 10.5% over the last 7 days while maintaining a 39% market dominance. Bitcoin is now worth $20.8k per coin.
