With bitcoin prices breaking new records in recent months, fights over the cryptocurrency's energy usage and environmental impact are escalating across the United States.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is demanding the industry disclose how much electricity mining operations use, while cryptocurrency groups are pushing for legislation to shield mines from local regulations that limit their expansion.
Bitcoins are awarded to miners competing against each other to complete energy-intensive computations.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.