Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act of 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 6, 2023
Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act of 2023
This bill establishes greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reporting and related requirements for certain crypto-asset mining operations, such as facilities that mine Bitcoin.
The bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise reporting requirements under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to require crypto-asset mining operations that consume five megawatts of electricity or more to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA. The EPA must also designate such operations as a source category of GHG emissions that is subject to greenhouse gas reporting requirements and related monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Read full official summaryShow less
In addition, the EPA must request information from crypto-asset mining operations and assess the extent to which any operations are improperly operating without a valid and current permit under the Clean Air Act.
The bill also expands the meaning of data center under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to include facilities in which two or more computers are mining crypto-assets. Thus, such facilities are included in the scope of energy efficiency programs for data centers under that act.
Finally, the EPA must study the environmental impacts of crypto-asset mining.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.661 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.661 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.661 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.661 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.