On Thursday, November 17, the Strauss Center hosted a panel of experts in energy and cryptocurrency as part of its inaugural Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Policy Week.

Dr. Carey King, Assistant Director at UT Austin’s Energy Institute joined UT research scientist Dr. Joshua Rhodes and Strauss Technology, Security, and Global Affairs Fellow Sina Kian in discussing energy consumption involved in cryptocurrency mining and the implications of this consumption.

Are cryptocurrencies the next frontier in innovation or a threat to national security?  How will decentralized finance, the metaverse, and other “Web3” applications affect counterterrorism, sanctions, and intelligence gathering? 

Is Bitcoin a danger to the climate or a better way to finance green energy?  Strauss Center experts considered these and other questions during the inaugural Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Policy Week.

This event was free and open to the public. No RSVP was required. Lunch was served. For more information on this event, contact Susan Crane at [email protected].

Biographies

Dr. Carey King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. Dr. King’s research goals center on rigorous interpretations of the past to determine the most probable future energy pathways. He is a  research scientist at The University of Texas at Austin and Assistant Director at the Energy Institute. He also has appointments with the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy within the Jackson School of Geosciences and the McCombs School of Business. He has both a B.S. with high honors and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published technical articles in the academic journals Environmental Science and Technology, Environmental Research Letters, Nature Geoscience, Energy Policy, Sustainability, and Ecology and Society. He has also written commentary for American Scientist andEarth magazines as well as major newspapers such as the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and Austin American-Statesman. Dr. King has several patents as former Director for Scientific Research of Uni-Pixel Displays, Inc.

Dr. Joshua Rhodes is a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, a non-Resident Fellow at Columbia University, and a Founding partner of IdeaSmiths LLC. His current work is in the area of smart grid and the bulk electricity system, including spatial system-level applications and impacts of energy efficiency, resource planning, distributed generation, and storage. He is interested in policy and the impacts that good policy can have on the efficiency of the micro and macro economy. He is a regular contributor to Forbes and is an AXIOS Expert Voice. He also sits on the boards of Catalyst Cooperative. He holds a double bachelors in Mathematics and Economics from Stephen F. Austin State University, a masters in Computational Mathematics from Texas A&M University, a masters in Architectural Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Sina Kian is Chief Strategy Officer & General Counsel at Aleo, a startup building a decentralized blockchain that uses cryptography to provide significantly enhanced data security and privacy capabilities. Sina’s background is in law, policy, and finance. He graduated from Stanford Law School and clerked on the D.C. Circuit for Judge Thomas B. Griffith and Judge David S. Tatel, and on the Supreme Court for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. Sina then practiced law at WilmerHale, where he worked on appellate litigation in federal courts around the country, including the Supreme Court, and with the Strategic Response Group, a bipartisan group that assists clients in navigating multifaceted challenges with legal, public policy, and media dimensions. Following his time at WilmerHale, he transitioned to an investing role, working as a Vice President at Blackstone, and then as a Director at Kennedy Lewis, where he led investments in technology across sectors. Sina has also served as an advisor at the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and currently serves as an advisor to SentiLink, a company that provides identity verification and fraud prevention services. He is a Term Member on the Council of Foreign Relations.

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