A U.S. House subcommittee hearing on “Cleaning Up Cryptocurrency” and the energy usage of blockchains kicked off Thursday with one representative calling the energy consumption of some Bitcoin mines “deeply concerning.” The hearing comes as the outsized power consumption of cryptocurrency mining is increasingly questioned by politicians and climate advocates. Mining companies run thousands of computers to solve the calculations that underpin certain cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, said in her opening statement Thursday that blockchain technology has ... (full story)