The new York state Department of financial services (NYDFS) today sent out letters to all regulated entities, including cryptocurrency firms, writes CoinDesk. The document States that it is time for them to start assessing the financial risks associated with climate change and develop strategies to overcome them. In September, the regulator gave similar instructions to insurance companies.
According to the NYDFS, a one-degree Celsius increase in global temperature causes 1.2% damage to US GDP. This, in turn, can lead to increased insolvency, reduced credit activity, asset depreciation, and losses.
Addressing representatives of the cryptocurrency industry, the regulator mentions studies that say that mining, including bitcoin, can have a significant impact on the environment.
"The energy consumption for mining virtual currencies significant in relation to the value of virtual currency, – he writes. Firms in the field of virtual currencies should consider the possibility of increasing transparency in mining hardware to mine bitcoins".
Earlier, similar concerns about mining and its impact on the environment was expressed by the Chairman of the Commission on trade commodity futures (CFTC) Heath Tarbert.