Bitcoin Daily: US Senate Mulls Gov’t Blockchain; Australians Pay Bills Via Crypto

Bitcoin went red again on Tuesday (Aug. 21), with a slip of about 50 basis points on the day to a bit more than $6,000. The crypto world, of course, is waiting with bated breath to see what might happen with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decision to approve or decline a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

The dip comes against other government scrutiny of cryptocurrencies. The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources looked into the costs that are associated with crypto mining and how the blockchain might be used in public applications.

As reported by CoinDesk, “Like other crypto-related hearings on Capitol Hill, the hearing — which featured a range of public and private sector speakers — served in part as an informational session for lawmakers who aren’t very familiar with the technology.”

Among those who testified were Robert Kahn, CEO and president of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives; Paul Skare, chief cybersecurity and technical group manager of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and other executives and academics across private and public entities both serving and observing energy and blockchain. CoinDesk noted that the testimony delved into energy use tied to mining.

The public blockchain may use as much as one to five gigawatts worldwide, according to some witnesses. Elsewhere, the discussion turned to transaction privacy and whether it might be possible for blockchain to be utilized to track shipments between nations.

Separately in Australia, Gobbill, an automated billing service, has linked with exchange CoinTree to let households and small businesses pay bills with crypto. That announcement came Monday (Aug. 20). Through the partnership, consumers and firms can use the digital tokens stored in wallets to pay those outstanding bills. The statement between the firms noted that those entities and individuals holding Gobbill accounts can add the links to the exchange’s wallet and pay bills across cryptos or cards. For now, the only crypto accepted is bitcoin, as Cryptovest noted.