The U.S. Senate is putting legislation in place that will compel the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to Congress on cryptocurrencies and their usage across the globe.
The bill, jointly introduced by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), directs the Secretary of the Treasury to commission a report examining global cryptocurrency mining activity with the help of other offices and agencies.
Part of the report should contain information on the world’s largest public and private cryptocurrency miners and the impact of mining activity on countries practicing it.
“[The report shall] assess how foreign countries use and mine virtual currencies, including identifying the largest state and private industry users and miners of virtual currency, policies foreign countries have adopted to encourage virtual currency use and mining, and how foreign countries could be strengthened or undermined by the use and mining of cryptocurrencies within their borders…”
The bill states that the types and values of various cryptocurrencies mined over a six-year period, both domestically and internationally, should also be included in the report.
“[The report shall] identify, to the greatest extent practicable, the types and dollar value of virtual currency mined for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2022 within the United States and globally, as well as within the People’s Republic of China and within any other countries the Secretary of the Treasury determines are relevant…”
The Secretary of the Treasury’s report should also reveal the impact of cryptocurrency mining on the supply chain.
“[The report shall] identify vulnerabilities, including those related to supply disruptions and technology availability of the global microelectronic supply chain, and opportunities with respect to virtual currency mining operations.”
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