Assessing the environmental impact of crypto mining
Conclusion
The big question is whether proof of stake can scale with the necessary security, as well as whether it will be able to significantly lower the environmental impact of crypto mining. Proof of stake needs to be tested at scale soon; otherwise, the ever-increasing energy demands of crypto mining could have a lasting, detrimental effect. Until cryptocurrencies begin the shift away from proof of work to proof of stake and other alternative methods, the technology will continue to undermine all efforts to reduce energy usage and forestall climate change.
Fortunately, cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum are in the process of making this migration. But until Bitcoin agrees to change its ways, power usage will continue to be a serious problem in the cryptocurrency industry.
Infos
- Bitcoin mining consumes 0.5% of all electricity used globally: https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-mining-electricity-usage-more-than-google-2021-9
- Every single Bitcoin transaction – even buying a latte – consumes over $100 in electricity: https://fortune.com/2021/10/26/bitcoin-electricity-consumption-carbon-footprin/
- Bitcoin Electronic Waste Monitor: https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-electronic-waste-monitor/
- Revisiting Bitcoin's carbon footprint: https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(22)00086-1
- Oil drillers and Bitcoin miners bond over natural gas: https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/oil-drillers-bitcoin-miners-bond-over-natural-gas-2021-05-21/
- Elizabeth Warren Senate webpage: https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/as-cryptomining-operations-grow-in-the-us-senator-warren-raises-concerns-over-exponentially-growing-energy-use-climate-impact-and-costs-to-consumers
- New York Senate Proof of Work Bill: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/s6486
- EU regulator calls for ban on proof of work bitcoin mining to save renewable energy: https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/01/19/eu-regulator-calls-for-a-ban-on-proof-of-work-bitcoin-mining-to-save-renewable-energy
- LeafScore: https://www.leafscore.com/blog/the-9-most-sustainable-cryptocurrencies-for-2021/
- SolarCoin: https://solarcoin.org/
- Powerledger: https://www.powerledger.io/
- Ethereum Proof of Stake: https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/
- Cardano: https://cardano.org/
- Proof of stake vs proof of work: https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/proof-of-stake-vs-proof-of-work
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