What was said in the Crypto Hearing in Congress just now: Cleaning Up Cryptocurrency: The Energy Impacts of Blockchains: Introduction of the members. (Questions in part 2)
5 min read
The hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWg731-3id8
First speaker: Diana Degette: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_DeGette
She said the focus of the hearing is on energy consumption, she also recognized the value of Blockchain technology for many aspects of our modern human life.
She then spoke about POW and described it. She made a reference to the lone miner who won the Bitcoin mining lottery recently. She underlined that some Crypto mining company are using expensive renewable energy but some other companies are using coal mining and fossil fuel.
She also explained that the demand in energy from crypto miners can help balance and manage the powergrid. For example reducing the mining when there is a lot of demand. These can be vital in day to day variation of green energy production and during crisis like in Texas last year.
The electronic waste is another focus: The machine which can’t be recycled, disposed of, or repurposed are a problem.
She says that Mining needs to thrive to reduce the energy spending and be greener and greener.
Second speaker: Morgan Griffith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Griffith
He recognize the power of blockchain and shows good understanding of the value of decentralization. He recognize the importance of lawmakers understanding cryptocurrencies. He describes mining rapidly. He also explains what is a halving. He also explains what is Proof of stake and how it may be a problem to not have as many validators as POW.
He explains also how Bitcoin miners have been helping to deal with waste of energy and with green energy development. Blockchain is a transformative event for the US society according to him.
Third speaker: Frank Pallone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Pallone
He explains what are cryptos rapidly and explains that they don’t want to stifle the growth of the sector yet he emphasize that there is a need to fight the climate crisis and wants to know what the crypto mining industry brings to the table to reduce emissions
He is very critical of miners bringing back old fossil fuel plants…
He pushes the Bring back better plan to build more green energy. He wants to know if Miners can help consumers to pay less expansive energy during crisis like in Texas when people were over billed on the spot market
Fourth speaker: Cathy McMorris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_McMorris_Rodgers
She makes a hardcore takedown of the Biden administration which is not related to crypto.
For minutes she speaks about unrelated issues such as covid, China, Russia, Vaccines, the CDC, Teachers Unions, Masks, Children. She is angry because this committee hasn’t been meeting which is the first reasonable thing she said
She finishes by giving support to crypto and the tech behind it.
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We go back to the first speaker who list the invitees except one who is introduced by a woman who is very pumping him and bullish about him all invitees accept to speak under oath without representation which shows big balls
Fifth speaker: Ari Juels https://golden.com/wiki/Ari_Juels (couldn’t find a wikipedia for the lad)
He is a teacher in blockchain and smart contract. He starts to say that blockchain isn’t equal to bitcoin and that blockchain doesn’t need bitcoin to survive. He explains rapidly grossly simplified how blockchain works.
He explains how Bitcoin Mining works. The lad coined the term proof of work (or so he says) he also explains what is proof of stake. He explains that Proof of stake and smart contracts are at the forefront of the DeFi and the progress of the tech. He also explains how 4 mining pools are controlling the majority of Bitcoin hashrate. He seems to be very against bitcoin.
Sixth Speaker:John Belizaire https://startupsusa.org/people/john-belizaire/ (No wikipedia for this chad)
He is developing data center of for mining. He explains how energy consumption is a feature and not a bug and how it can help with energy management, jobs, and ecological consumption. He actually works in repurposing the energy wasted by wind farms.
Up to 30 % of the wind and solar power is wasted currently this energy can be pushed into crypto mining. He explains how Bitcoin is currently used by millions of people he also explains how crypto mining can be paused to introduce flexible load to the grid as a solution for the waste of renewable energy.
Data centers are now catalyst in the development of green energy plants and some projects wouldn’t exist without these data centers.
Seventh speaker Brian P. Brooks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_P._Brooks
He starts by speaking how green bitcoin has become, he also explains how Bitcoin’s energy consumption should be compared to Gold and traditional finance. Bitcoin was 58% green last year. He explains how much production is wasted due to inefficient production and how Bitcoin can make solar and wind power profitable.
He explains how Proof of stake and proof of work should both exist and that proof of work is very important. He also explains how bitcoin mining uses less energy per economic value than air travel and other industries.
Eighth speaker: Steve Wright https://www.ase.org/biography/steve-wright No wiki again
The dude makes a long tangent about the perception of Bitcoin mining. He is Boring AF and explains how crypto mining is young but will evolve and question the value of crypto as a whole long term. Still he sees a big value to reduce carbon emission in POW.
Ninth speaker: Greg Zerzan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Zerzan
He explains that Bitcoin is not the blockchain. He says that the blockchain is the true vision of the internet and empowers the consummer. He explains that innovation is the drive of the US economy. He explains that Bitcoin is only one of cryptocurrency and that regulations should be discussed on a case by case because some blockchains are not financial products.
See you in part 2 for the questions !
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