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To provide some idea of the scale of the Bitcoin network, consider this mind-boggling number from the report estimating the transaction rate. This problem is amplified by the fact that a large portion of cryptocurrency mining occurs in China where generating electricity results in higher carbon emissions compared to other countries.
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The high end of this estimate would equal the annual emissions of about three million passenger cars, according to the EPA’s calculator. With energy consumption comes related CO2 emissions, which during the study period for these four currencies was estimated at 3–15 million tonnes of CO2, with Bitcoin again being the biggest contributor. For example, Bitcoin, which is currently the largest existing blockchain, was estimated to consume about 17 megajoules of energy to mine, almost four times the amount of energy per dollar than gold and three times the amount versus platinum. The researchers estimated the amount of energy required to mine four popular cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Monero – over the period from Januto June 30, 2018. The ORISE report, which is the first to quantify the energy requirements on a cost-per-dollar basis, describes blockchain as a “potentially revolutionary new technology for securely transferring money.” At the same time, the authors are hoping “to encourage debate on whether these energy demands are both sustainable and appropriate.” No doubt, blockchain technology is gaining a lot of attention for its ability to create secure, transparent and virtually incorruptible ledgers of transactions. The miner with the fastest computer is more likely to win and reap more coin. But rather than using a pick and shovel, cryptocurrency miners use powerful, energy-hungry computers. Just like gold mining in the Wild West, mining currencies like Bitcoin is a competitive process. The first miner to determine the correct ‘answer’ adds a new block to the chain and is rewarded for this energy-intense calculation with several newly generated coin.” Mining is described in the report as “a process of consensus, or agreement, is performed by ‘miners’ through repetitive calculations using specialized computer hardware. In a new report they estimate that the amount of energy required to “mine” one dollar’s worth of Bitcoin is more than twice the amount required to mine the same value of copper, gold, platinum or rare earth metals.Ĭryptocurrency “mining” is the process by which new transactions are added to the digital ledger, also known as the blockchain, and new currency is created. That’s the conclusion of researchers from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Digital currencies, as in so-called cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, may represent the future of our monetary system, but so far, they’ve been terrible for the environment.