New Crypto Lobbyist Group Emerges in Washington, Seeks to Allay Misconceptions in the Sector

Cryptocurrency miners are getting a dedicated mining lobbyist group tasked with dispelling fears around the activity among citizens and policymakers.

The group, the Digital Energy Council was unveiled on Aug 15 and will now open up discussions with policymakers in Washington on the sustainability of crypto mining whilst advancing key policies to spark growth in the sector.

Being hailed along community lines as the major collaborative effort, the team stressed commitment to fostering the cause of miners while protecting energy laws in the country.

“…that promote responsible and sustainable energy development, grid resilience, maintain United States competitiveness, and protect national security,” the statement read.

Although miners have issues with regulators globally, Thomas Mapes, the founder and President of the group noted that it would be based in the United States for now before a possible expansion overseas.

He further added that this move was “long overdue” to change the narrative from the pieces of anti-industry legislation against the sector in recent years. 

Mapes was a former Energy Director at the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of International Affairs where he saw virtual assets mining companies as part of the energy industry noting their utilities and described them as “energy companies of the future.” 

“I see energy companies, utility companies, power providers — the big majors — all taking a look at this new technology and figuring out ways they can get involved in this.”

A tide of negative legislation

A major setback crypto miners faced this year was the proposed 30% digital asset mining tax by the Biden Administration based on crypto environmental reports. 

Before the White House statement, several climate change activists and politicians had released strong statements on digital asset mining calling miners greedy as they harm the environment by consuming almost the same energy as Argentina.

In March, lawmakers in the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee announced the possible introduction of laws after it accused miners of “sucking megawatt after megawatt from our public grids just so they can make a buck for themselves.”

Away from the United States, the Chinese mining ban which slowed the growth of the sector and gave the market a bearish outlook was an eye-opener for major mining firms on the need to push for positive legislation around digital assets. 

Although the government cited cites missing their climate quota, industry executives argued that other sectors like the video game industry consumes similar amounts of energy without sanctions.

It is worth stating that Mapes revealed that members of the new crypto mining lobbyist group include major digital asset firms and mining companies with some being publicly listed.