Crypto miners have taken a step to establish a new voice in U.S. policy, launching the Digital Energy Council (DEC) to advocate for policies that promote responsible and sustainable energy development, grid resilience, and protect national security. The organization is the first of its kind to focus on the intersection of mining and energy abundance.
Tom Mapes, the DEC’s founder and president, said in a statement that “it’s important that energy and digital asset mining communities, both key stakeholders in our nation’s grid, have a real voice at the federal level.” Mapes, who had worked on energy policy at the Chamber of Digital Commerce, added that “the focus on how both the digital asset mining and energy industries can collaborate and work together to bolster energy infrastructure, increase resilience and support energy sustainability and efficiency has been lost in policy conversations.”
The DEC is facing a difficult position with President Joe Biden’s White House, which has proposed a 30% excise tax on mining operations for the “harms they impose on society.” Zach Bradford, the CEO of one of DEC’s member companies, CleanSpark (CLSK), said in an emailed statement that “politics is a team sport, and the broader our coalition and the more dedicated the efforts, the better.”