The environmental costs of cryptocurrencies, of which bitcoin is by far the largest, has become a key point in plotting the sector’s future.
The environmental cost of producing bitcoin places the digital asset alongside some of the world’s most environmentally unfriendly industries, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports on Thursday, amid increasing scrutiny over the sector’s environmental footprint and debate over the sustainable future of cryptocurrencies.
The environmental costs of cryptocurrencies, of which bitcoin is by far the largest, has become a key point in plotting the sector’s future. In 2021, the researchers estimated bitcoin mining used more energy than countries like Austria or Portugal.
Sustainability has become a target for regulators around the world and China, which previously dominated the sector, sent miners scrambling in 2021 when it cracked down on the industry, at least partly for environmental reasons.
There are more efficient alternatives available to create and use cryptocurrencies out there. Ethereum, the blockchain underpinning vast swathes of the crypto ecosystem and ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, recently switched to this more sustainable system, a massive undertaking dubbed the “Merge.”
It’s possible the bitcoin ecosystem could undergo a similar shift in the future and others are trying to make the industry cleaner by using greener energy to mine.
This article was first published on forbes.com
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