The White House is currently seeking public opinion on crypto’s impact on the climate. Following Joe Biden’s executive order last month, the president entrusted the Office of Science and Technology Policy [OSTP] with drafting a report that examines whether digital assets “impede or advance efforts to tackle climate change” and makes moves toward a “clean and reliable electricity grid.”
While releasing the report recently, the team explored the climatic concerns, calling for the public to weigh in on the same. The report will also analyze any potential benefits of crypto and blockchain technology. According to a document published in the Federal Register, the office noted,
“It also seeks comment on implications that digital assets have for U.S. policy including as it relates to electricity grid reliability and greenhouse gas intensity. The office will also explore if digital assets could improve the reliability of verifying carbon offsets and accounting for greenhouse gas emissions.”
At the beginning of the year, a House committee held a discussion on crypto’s carbon footprint. Experts unanimously agreed that solutions that ensure crypto doesn’t fry the planet should be top of regulators’ minds as digital assets become more widely used.
In an executive order signed earlier this month, President Joe Biden had directed the government to study how to reduce crypto’s negative impacts on the climate. This came after several environmental groups put pressure on the government’s perceived inaction.
Revising crypto tax rules will generate $11B in revenue in 10 years
In the latest development, the US government’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year said that modernizing tax rules around digital assets will yield roughly $11 billion in revenue over the next decade.
The budget from the Biden administration which was released by the White House on 28 March noted that modifying the tax rules on digital assets will reduce the deficit by $10.9 billion from 2023 to 2032.
It is also estimated that revising tax rules to include digital assets will bring the government $4.9 billion in revenue in 2023. Apart from that, the budget sanctioned $52 million to combat “the misuse of cryptocurrency” by expanding the Department of Justice’s ability to address cyber threats to the United States.