Ted Cruz Introduces Bill to Use Flared Gas for Bitcoin Mining

Highlights:

• Ted Cruz has proposed a bill to use flared gas for Bitcoin mining.
• Bitcoin miners have supported the FLARE Act, seeing it as a way to reduce emissions and use wasted energy.
• Cruz also introduced a bill to stop the Federal Reserve from creating a digital currency to protect financial privacy.

Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill to repurpose flared natural gas for digital asset mining. The bill also supports other value-added uses. The FLARE Act proposes tax incentives to encourage companies to use gas that they would otherwise waste. The bill would allow full expensing, meaning businesses could immediately deduct the cost of qualified infrastructure instead of spreading deductions over several years.

My legislation, the FLARE Act, incentivizes entrepreneurs and crypto miners to utilize natural gas that would otherwise be stranded. https://t.co/fvb1nog3ix pic.twitter.com/8uCWtyOY29

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 1, 2025

Cruz highlighted that the proposal serves a dual purpose. It addresses emissions from the oil and gas industry while also promoting innovative uses of energy resources. The bill classifies digital asset mining as a value-added activity. This classification could change how tax policies treat mining infrastructure. The act does not introduce new subsidies but instead modifies existing tax laws to make private investment in flare gas repurposing more attractive.

The aim of the legislation is to reinforce environmental efforts with economic benefits. It offers incentives to convert natural gas that would otherwise be wasted into an energy resource. The bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where it will go through the normal course of legislation.

Industry Reactions and Potential Impact on Bitcoin Mining

Digital asset firms and policy groups that stand to gain from harnessing stranded energy resources support the bill. Matthew Sigel, who leads digital assets research at VanEck, welcomed the proposal. He noted that Bitcoin mining has an opportunity to help slash emissions by using energy that would otherwise go to waste.

The legislation was also praised by MARA Holdings, a Bitcoin mining firm. The company supports the bill’s provisions that allow full expensing for infrastructure used in flare gas repurposing. They believe it acknowledges the role of Bitcoin mining in reducing emissions while also making use of energy that would otherwise be lost.

The FLARE Act from Sen. @tedcruz allows full expensing for infrastructure that captures and repurposes flared gas into value-added uses—like Bitcoin mining.

MARA supports this legislation. It recognizes Bitcoin mining’s role in reducing emissions and unlocking stranded energy. https://t.co/7GhnGYQqXx

— MARA (@MARAHoldings) April 1, 2025

The Digital Power Network, a group representing mining and energy companies, has formally endorsed the bill. Hailey Miller, the group’s director of government relations, described the proposal as a major step for both the energy sector and the digital asset industry. She also emphasized that the bill provides a powerful incentive to capture natural gas that would otherwise be wasted, enables energy grid stability, and advances innovation in the use of energy.

Cruz’s Push Against Central Bank Digital Currency

Senator Cruz has also introduced another bill to stop the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The “Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act” would prohibit the federal government from providing digital financial services directly to individuals.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz introduces a bill to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar (CBDC).

The bill aims to ban the Fed from developing a retail CBDC, citing concerns over privacy, surveillance, and financial control.

It mirrors a similar bill in the… pic.twitter.com/KmxGwVFQ1S

— UBDegens (@UBDegens) March 28, 2025

The bill reflects worries that if the government issues a U.S. digital currency, it could lead to more financial surveillance and less personal privacy. The use of CBDCs would give the federal government the ability to track and control transactions, something that Cruz and other supporters consider to be too much power.

The legislation aligns with a similar CBDC bill that Rep. Tom Emmer introduced in the House of Representatives. Both bills emphasize that digital currencies should be open, permissionless, and private like physical cash.