The Biden Administration has proposed to impose a 30% digital asset mining energy (DAME) tax on cryptocurrency miners in order to address the environmental, human well-being, and power infrastructure issues believed to be caused by the cryptocurrency mining industry. According to findings, these costs are disproportionally greater in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Despite initiatives to use clean power for cryptocurrency mining the increased demand for electricity will affect the cost of all sources of power. The Treasury Department has found that this tax could reduce the amount of Bitcoin mining thus potentially reducing its environmental impact.

Noteverybody is in favor of this idea though. By casting doubt on the impact of Bitcoin mining as insinuated by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has come forward and declared that the tax is a bad idea, not a solution. Kennedy views cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and its underlying technology as an innovation engine and a tool for financial inclusion. A centralized system, such as a single currency, is vulnerable to crises and makes the US economy less robust. Such a system, according to the hopeful, restricts individual freedom.

In order to ensure freedom, Kennedy believes that cash and digital assets need to be utilized simultaneously. To him, a diversified ecosystem is more robust and resilient. Kennedy holds that the government should incentivize businesses to use clean energy when mining digital assets and actively promote innovation instead of suppressing it.



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