The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) has published its mandate, and fears of a centralized takeover of Bitcoin appear unfounded.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor described it as an open forum for miners. He said the organization’s purpose is to advance Bitcoin mining transparently and educate the public.

“The Bitcoin Mining Council is a voluntary and open forum of Bitcoin miners committed to the network and its core principles. We promote transparency, share best practices, and educate the public on the benefits of #Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining. Join us.”

The BMC first came to the public’s attention towards the end of last month following the energy-FUD perpetrated by Elon Musk.

The Tesla CEO criticized the Bitcoin network saying a significant proportion of miners use environmentally damaging non-renewable energy sources, particularly coal.

But to address those concerns, Saylor hosted a meeting with Musk and executives from several Bitcoin mining firms. From that meeting came the formation of the BMC.

“The miners have agreed to form the Bitcoin Mining Council to promote energy usage transparency & accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide.”

As innocuous as that sounds, the BMC has drawn fire on several fronts. Marty Bent, the co-founder of Great American Mining, called the BMC a power grab. He also rubbished Musk’s claims saying Bitcoin mining has the highest proportion of renewable energy sources of any industry.

“absolutely nothing to do with green energy or climate. It has everything to do with CONTROL. If the Musks or Saylors of the world actually cared about energy use they would be loudly celebrating the Bitcoin mining industry due to the fact that it has the HIGHEST PENETRATION OF RENEWABLES AS AN ENERGY SOURCE OF ANY INDUSTRY ON THE PLANET.”

BMC critics also raised objections over the meeting being held behind closed doors. Saylor dismissed this concern as a non-event. He said if it were a secret meeting with dubious intentions, he wouldn’t have mentioned it to millions in the first place.

With the official launch of the BMC, details on its operations are now available on its website.

They say they intend to hold quarterly presentations discussing trends in mining and share best practices to facilitate industry growth.

Dispelling notions of underhand play, the BMC says they do not impose ideas and concepts on others. Instead, they intend to provide dialogue and education.

“The BMC is not designed to have “teeth” or tell anyone what to do – we’re all trying to contribute and build a decentralised economy… The idea of the BMC is to first and foremost share best practices and to educate the public about the work that we’re doing.”

Although Musk was involved with the inaugural meeting, to the relief of many, he has no role in the Council.

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