Cryptocurrency and Climate Change

Cryptocurrency was an obscure concept when it was introduced. Today, more than a decade after its inception it is the most popular transaction technology. The crypto market has grown substantially over the years. Today we have more than 1000 different cryptocurrencies with various features offering us scope to improve the transactional network all over the world.

Multinational corporations like Tesla, Square Inc. have invested in crypto assets for transactions. Financial institutions like PayPal and JP Morgan have at their disposal the numerous benefits the crypto infrastructure has to offer.

The automated cryptocurrency trading platforms have taken over the market. Everyone is using these intelligent trading systems to make more money from the crypto market.

After reading comments posted by crypto traders on internet forums, it is apparent that many expert crypto traders have also made the switch to start trading with the automated cryptocurrency systems.

However, new investors in the crypto sector have complained that they need more information about these systems before investing. This is why the BitQH review was necessary.

Trading with automated crypto systems is the best way to earn an income from the crypto market, so it is a good thing that many people have discovered these platforms.

There is a lot of data to test how the blockchain technology in cryptocurrency has contributed to the progress of the digital age. With the manifold increase of activities within the crypto sectors new concerns have risen regarding its impact on the environment.

Why Invest In High-Speed Internet Amidst Pandemic

Tips for Launching Your Business Career

Bill Gates has expressed his concern regarding the power consumption of the blockchain technology. Elon Musk the CEO of Tesla has come forward to make the world aware of the harmful effect cryptocurrency might have on the climate.

This might necessitate careful examination of the impact of this new technology on our environment. In this article we will explore the impact cryptocurrency has on our climate and if it can be a part of sustainable development.

Cryptocurrency and climate

Climate action is one of the 17 goals of sustainable development as envisaged by the United Nations. As we are all aware how the activities of man have contributed to the degradation of the environment around us creating a lot of climatic calamities like global warming, floods, disturbance in the ecosystem, and so on.

With the increase in investment and trading activities due to the proliferation of cryptocurrencies and new trading website, The amount of energy that goes into the maintenance of the crypto sector has increased substantially.

Let us look at the available data on the energy consumption of crypto in order to understand its impact on the environment.

The impact of mining on climate change

Bitcoin mining is the process through which miners audit transactional data, verify it against the existing ledger and approve them by adding them to the blockchain ledger. The mining rigs are high-powered computers that compute complex equations in order to verify transactions.

According to existing data:

The carbon footprint generated from the computation of a single Bitcoin transaction is equal to the carbon emission of almost, 735, 121 Visa transactions. This is due to the fact that all the computers within the network work simultaneously in order to create a block.

The mining rigs require high computation and graphics processing power. The total energy that goes into the process of mining Bitcoin is greater than the power consumption of many countries. Bitcoin mining consumes 118.9 TWh/year, whereas the entire power consumption of a country like the Netherlands is 117.1 TWh/year.

The power consumption in terms of electricity usage of Bitcoin mining is almost around 133 TWh/year. Whereas the electricity consumption of Sweden is 131.80 TWh per year, and for Ukraine, it is 128.81 TWh per year. This can provide us a perspective regarding the energy consumption of mining.

The wastage in terms of computer hardware from crypto mining activities is also immense.

These are some of the factors that raise concern regarding the impact of mining on our environment.

How to check the negative impact of crypto technology.

Attempts should be made to shift from non-renewable power sources to renewable and clean sources of power.
Impose emission norms in order to reduce the overall carbon footprints from mining activities.
Recycling hardware can prevent the accumulation of non-degradable waste.

Conclusion:

Crypto supporters may have arguments to counter the critique of the blockchain technology. Every technology from Defense R&D, nuclear tests to the transportation system, home appliances have generated carbon footprints over years, compared to which crypto energy consumption may seem appropriate. Nevertheless, from our current awareness regarding our environment, climate action is a necessity. Every attempt to reduce the negative consequences of man’s action on the environment is important.

Author Profile

Scott Baber: Senior Managing editor

Manages incoming enquiries and advertising. Based in London and very sporty. Worked news and sports desks in local paper after graduating.

Email Scott@MarkMeets.com