On July 23, Senator Cynthia Lummis released a report arguing against the Biden administration’s proposed 30% excise tax on the energy consumed by Bitcoin miners.
The report, titled Powering Down Progress: Why A Bitcoin Mining Tax Hurts America, put the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry into sharper focus, highlighting the benefits of the critical mining infrastructure to the United States' energy grid.
Lummis cited the Bitcoin Energy and Emissions Sustainability Tracker as evidence that Bitcoin mining is cleaner than is commonly imagined, noting that up to 52.6% of BTC mining might be emissions-free.
The pro-crypto senator then turned her attention to the increasing role of Bitcoin mining facilities in securing the energy grid. Mining facilities represent large, dynamic electrical loads that can be used to balance and redistribute energy to electrical grids during times of need.
Perhaps no other example illustrates this more than the ongoing efforts between the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Bitcoin miners to stabilize electrical grids. The GOP lawmaker explained that in 2022, Bitcoin miners were able to sell 1500 megawatts of energy back to the grid during peak demand. A similar pattern played out in 2024, with Bitcoin mining infrastructure acting as a Controllable Load Resource for Texas’ grid during winter storm Heather.
Related: Bitcoin mining to boost UK’s renewable energy grid.
A 30% tax would hurt the environment that regulators claim to protect
The Wyoming senator explained that levying a 30% excise tax on Bitcoin miners would disincentivize them from seeking sustainable forms of energy and novel energy recycling techniques. Although Lummis gave the example of sequestering methane from trash dumps to mine Bitcoin, similar examples can be seen in El Salvador, where the government mined 474 Bitcoin using volcanic energy.
Another example of the energy efficiencies introduced by Bitcoin mining can be found in the Satakunta region of Finland, where an entire community of 11,000 individuals is warmed by excess heat produced by a Marathon Digital mining facility.
The mining giant also signed an agreement with Kenya’s government earlier this year to further develop the country’s renewable energy sector, a thriving industry already delivering up to 80% of the country’s energy needs.
The Laffer Curve will get the final laugh
Lummis concluded her report by arguing that increasing taxes on Bitcoin miners will lead to the industry leaving the United States, reducing the sought-after tax revenues. This inverse relationship between tax rates and tax revenue is known as the Laffer Curve.
The senator pointed out that this has already happened in China, where the 2021 mining ban drove out the once-thriving mining industry.
Before the ban, Chinese miners controlled a majority of the Bitcoin network’s hashrate.
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