Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The green case for Bitcoin, Cryptos aren't causing climate change

The green case for Bitcoin, Cryptos aren't causing climate change

Of all the arguments against Bitcoin, one of the most popular these days is that it is bad for the planet. People who know nothing about cryptocurrencies are often heard saying that Bitcoin mining is such an energy-intensive process that it has become a major contributory factor to climate change.
This is largely bunkum. Far from being a major polluter, Bitcoin could in fact prove to be an environmental solution. But understanding that requires a little deeper knowledge of what Bitcoin is and how it is mined. So here goes.

Spelt with a small “b,” bitcoin is a digital monetary asset. Spelt with a big “B,” Bitcoin is the peer-to-peer network that timestamps bitcoin settlements (around 300,000 of them per day) while hashing them into an ongoing immutable ledger (the blockchain). Performing the significant cryptographic work of registering transactions on the distributed ledger is called mining, and miners are paid with network fees and the issuance of new bitcoin (hence, the word mining). Of course like everything else involving computers, Bitcoin mining and hashing uses electricity. And yes, it uses a lot of electricity.

According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which is linked to Cambridge University, the Bitcoin network is currently gobbling up about 116TWh (terawatt hours) of electricity every year. In terms of energy consumption, that puts Bitcoin ahead of US-based TVs (60 TWh) and somewhere in the vicinity of the Netherlands (111 TWh) and gold mining (131 TWh).

Bitcoin’s consumption is however considerably less than the global cement industry (384 TWh), data centres worldwide (200 TWh), or simply what’s lost in transmission in America (206 TWh). And Bitcoin’s 108 TWh is a pittance if you compare it to the global chemicals or iron and steel industries (1349 and 1243 TWhs, respectively) or the planet’s air conditioning systems (2199 TWh).

In energy usage terms, then Bitcoin is, as the civil engineer Hass McCook put it, ‘a rounding error in the global scheme of things.’ And in carbon emissions terms, by McCook’s calculations, Bitcoin emits less CO2 per kilowatt hour than finance, construction, healthcare, heavy industry, or the military. Why is this so?

Bitcoin may be on course to reach its own net zero by 2031
If you look at the energy mix used to operate Bitcoin, you’ll find it’s cleaner than the overall grid’s average — and getting cleaner by the day. Bitcoin may be on course to reach its own net zero by 2031.

According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, a voluntary group of Bitcoin miners, 56 per cent of the network is already powered by sustainable sources (solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, geothermal and other renewables). When the balance of power in mining shifted from China to the USA this summer, the Bitcoin network’s average greenness rose, as Chinese coal-powered mining went offline en masse.

Bitcoin also uses energy that would otherwise go to waste or not be produced in the first place. Iceland, for instance, sits atop a volcano. Hot water is free there, and clean electricity is therefore cheap and theoretically boundless. Unfortunately, you can’t easily transport Iceland’s gorgeous, emission-less electricity to Europe or North America. But you can mine Bitcoin there, and quite easily: 8 per cent of all bitcoins ever minted have originated in Iceland, thanks to geothermal and hydroelectric power.

In places like Texas there’s something called stranded gas: pockets of natural gas that are too far from the pipelines to be economically attached to the network. When set alight ('flared'), this otherwise useless methane is now being used to mine bitcoin in an environmentally friendly way, using electricity that’s effectively free.

Globally, according to Cambridge, the potential electrical generation from gas flaring stands at 688 TWh — more than 6 times what the Bitcoin network currently needs. That means that soon, say five to ten years, Bitcoin’s carbon footprint will trend toward zero – and it might even become negative, owing to Bitcoin’s special suite of energy attributes.

Jack Dorsey’s Square, his Bitcoin business, put it rather well in a recent statement:

“Bitcoin miners are unique energy buyers in that they offer highly flexible and easily interruptible load, provide payout in a globally liquid cryptocurrency, and are completely location agnostic, requiring only an internet connection. These combined qualities constitute an extraordinary asset: an energy buyer of last resort that can be turned on or off at a moment’s notice anywhere in the world.”

In other words, Bitcoin is great for the grid.

One of the drawbacks of the sun and wind is that they are intermittent: they are not constant sources of energy. A related issue is that the timing of when people demand power doesn’t always sync nicely with solar and wind’s daily and seasonal rhythms (to oversimplify: there’s no sun at night, there’s more wind in winter, etc). In short, an energy grid capable of supplying the right amount of energy to humans at peak hours will have too much energy on it at off-peak times, becoming overloaded and congested; that’s a grid, therefore, that can’t be built. Thus, like batteries, Bitcoin mining rigs can become crucial factors in load stabilisation, thereby making renewable energy use possible in ways and in places it wouldn’t otherwise be.

All of this is to say, when it comes to the environment, Bitcoin is a boon, not a bother. McCook’s calculations indicate that “Bitcoin’s carbon intensity will go from 280g [of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour] today, to around 100g in 2026, and zero by 2031, and maybe, finally, we’ll be done with this debate.”

Sadly, as long as cryptocurrencies remain so feared and loathed, the argument about Bitcoin’s environmental harm, though thoroughly discredited, will remain in circulation. We can expect to keep hearing it until, like refrigerators (which use 104 TWh annually in the US alone), Bitcoin becomes another mundane phenomenon we take for granted in everyday life.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “The Current Welfare State Can No Longer Be Financed”
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
Wizz Air passengers screamed as storm-battered flight diverts to Bologna
European postal services halt U.S. deliveries after Trump imposes new tariffs
Urban explorer finds abandoned luxury restaurant left to decay
Fidesz leader labels Péter Magyar a ‘bluffer’ amid escalating political spat
French rope park operator arrested for denying entry to Israeli children
Újpest thrashes Zalaegerszeg 4-1 to secure first win in five matches
Profit-margin cap costs retailers 13 billion forints a month, warns trade group
Curiosity rover finds coral-like rock on Mars hinting at watery past
U.S. green policy rollback drives investors to Europe’s sustainable finance market
Special funerals rise in Hungary: boat, aerial and forest burials gain popularity
Hungary’s Kiskunság region turning into semi-desert after extreme drought
Kopasz Bálint wins world kayak 1000 m title in Milan, making him triple world champion
Budapest’s Keleti railway station to close for four weeks for track overhaul
Balaton could be unfit for swimming by 2035 and dry by 2050, scientists warn
Leaked guidelines show Meta’s AI allowed flirty and racist interactions with children
Filming of ‘Emily in Paris’ halted after assistant director dies on set
Filipino guest workers sue after Hungary moves to deport them for pregnancy
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
×