The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) first attempted to investigate the energy use of cryptocurrency mining companies earlier this year, but was blocked by a lawsuit. The department is now preparing to open the investigation again, but will first seek input from cryptocurrency industry players. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which oversees energy statistics and analysis, hosted a public webinar on Wednesday to hear from interested members of the public, including crypto miners and industry participants, on how to develop such surveys ahead of the planned rulemaking proposal published in the Federal Register, with more than 100 attendees. Lee Bratcher, chairperson and founder of the Texas Blockchain Commission, suggested that the EIA also include traditional data centers in its investigation, rather than just limiting information requests to cryptocurrency-focused data centers. Jayson Browner, senior vice president of government affairs at Marathon Digital Holdings, echoed the recommendation, saying the industry would be "skeptical" of the investigation if it excluded traditional data centers from the request.