Senate Bill Targets Crypto Miners and AI Data Centers with Climate Penalties
A new U.S. Senate proposal, the Clean Cloud Act, could bring significant regulatory changes to crypto miners and AI data centers.
The bill, introduced by Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman, aims to impose emissions limits and financial penalties on data centers that exceed federally set environmental benchmarks.
These include powering blockchain and artificial intelligence models, which could impact major mining firms like Galaxy, CoreScientific, and Terawulf. Under the proposed legislation, facilities with over 100 kilowatts of installed IT capacity would be subject to regionally based emissions standards, requiring an 11% annual reduction.
Critics argue that the bill unfairly singles out crypto mining, calling it a 'Losing 'Blame the Server Racks' Strategy.' The proposal also risks clashing with former President Donald Trump's deregulatory stance, which included repealing a 2023 Biden executive order on AI safety.