In a bold move to deal with the environmental effect of digital infrastructure, the US Senate has released a new draft bill that would fine data centers that serve blockchain networks and AI models for their emissions. The Senate Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman are leading the “Clean Cloud Act” bill. If the bill passes, it could change how big players in both industries work, especially Bitcoin miners, shifting their focus more and more towards high-performance computing (HPC) to handle AI tasks.
The Clean Cloud Act
A story from April 11 by Bloomberg says that the proposed law requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set performance standards for emissions for buildings with over 100 KW of IT nameplate power. The guideline would consider the “regional grid emissions intensities” and aim for a “11% annual reduction.” If data centers break the pollution limit, they will have to pay a penalty of $20 per tonne of CO2e, which will go up annually by inflation plus $10. Lawyers say the change is needed because “crypto miners” and “AI centers” use more energy than green energy is growing.
Crypto and AI at Crossroads
The passing of this law comes at a time when companies that mine Bitcoin, such as Galaxy, CoreScientific, and Terawulf, are actively moving into the AI field. After the 2025 “Bitcoin halving” and falling cryptocurrency prices, these businesses have expanded into “AI data center hosting” to keep making money. Coin Metrics research shows that these pivots helped stabilize incomes in early 2025.
Political and trade headwinds make it complex
Aside from that, the Clean Cloud Act might not work with current government rules set by President Donald Trump. Trump removed safety rules for AI from the previous administration and wants to make the US the world’s center for AI and crypto innovation. Concerns about trade wars and retaliatory taxes are also growing, which could worsen blockchain infrastructure.
Conclusion
The Clean Cloud Act starts a very important debate in the Senate about how to balance innovation with environmental responsibility. The bill aims to reduce pollution, but it could make things very hard for the crypto and AI industries, which are changing quickly.
