Bitcoin [BTC] mining has been a hotly debated topic over the past few months. While activists are trying to restrain the whole mining process, certain platforms have been coming up with efficient ways of mining BTC. As this divide between both these parties persisted, governments across the globe have been left in a conundrum.
China was the epicenter of Bitcoin mining. All the big mining firms resided in the Asian subcontinent. However, they were soon ousted following China’s big crypto crackdown. Soon after this, an array of them flocked into different parts of the globe, and Bitcoin’s hashrate coming from the United States peaked at 35.4%, beating China for the 1st time.
Unlike most countries. the U.S. does not have an energy problem. Certain parts of the country produce about 14% more energy than what is consumed. Therefore most of the miners particularly across North America have been employing renewable energy to mine Bitcoin.
Despite this, there exists a divide in the country. While few states like Texas were seen embracing the Bitcoin mining industry, regions like California turned a blind eye instead.
Will Bitcoin mining thrive in the US?
Texas has time and again expressed interest in Bitcoin. Most of the politicians in the region including the governor, Greg Abbott have been pro-crypto for the longest time now. Abbott wasn’t just big on crypto, he also promoted Bitcoin mining.
Cheap electricity in the State has managed to lure an array of major players into its borders. Even though the region has been battling the fear of blackouts caused by excessive energy consumption, the government seemed to be highly bullish on Bitcoin mining.
Unlike Texas, California reportedly missed out on about $700 million of revenue last year by overseeing Bitcoin mining. The CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, Fred Thiel pointed out that the U.S. state had an excess amount of renewable energy that was shut off instead of being used for Bitcoin mining.
Elaborating on the same, he said,
Pro crypto but dead against mining?
While several people across the globe remain pro-crypto, the chances of them being against mining cannot be negated. For instance, the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams expressed his inclination towards the industry by accepting his first three paychecks in Bitcoin and Ether [ETH]. More recently, he made a statement saying “I support cryptocurrency, not crypto mining.”
Adams, similar to other mayors from different U.S. cities pledged to make New York City a crypto hub. However, his latest statement caused a commotion in the community. Anthony Pompliano took to Twitter to call out the mayor. He tweeted,
Furthermore, with an array of different opinions and preferences, the government could find it rather challenging to properly regulate the Bitcoin mining industry.