Crypto mining companies set up digital energy committee to strengthen lobbying power in Washington

Cryptocurrency miners are finding a new voice in U.S. policy, forming the Digital Energy Council to lobby for friendly policies as regulators and Congress wrestle over the next steps for cryptocurrency regulation.

The member group will advocate for policies that "promote responsible and sustainable energy development, grid resiliency, maintain U.S. competitiveness, and protect national security," the group said in a statement on Tuesday.

Miners are already in hot water with President Joe Biden’s White House, which has called for a punitive 30% excise tax on mining operations because of the “harm they inflict on society.” Mining companies also face continued criticism from Democratic lawmakers who say they threaten the environment.

“Overlooked in the policy conversation has been how the digital asset mining and energy industries can collaborate and work together to strengthen energy infrastructure, increase resiliency, and support energy sustainability and efficiency,” said Tom Mapes, founder and president of the new organization, who works on energy policy at the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a broader cryptocurrency advocacy group.

“It’s important that both the energy and digital asset mining communities are key stakeholders in our nation’s electric grid and have a real voice at the federal level,” Mapes, who also served as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of International Affairs, said in a statement.

Based in Washington, D.C., and initially the group’s sole employee, he said a top priority was “to highlight that digital asset mining is a real-world tool that can be used to achieve America’s energy goals.”

“The Digital Energy Council is the only organization in Washington, D.C. that focuses solely on the intersection of mining and energy abundance,” said Zach Bradford, CEO of DEC member company CleanSpark (CLSK), a company that has been steadily expanding during the cryptocurrency bear market.

“Politics is a team sport, and the broader our coalition and the more focused our efforts, the better,” Bradford said in an emailed statement.