Bitcoin mining energy consumption is equally with some countries. This statement is often mentioned as one of the main Bitcoin defects, as consumption negatively affects the environment. However, Bitcoin’s advocates argue that things are not so simple, and in some respects, Bitcoin is an environmentally friendly technique. How does it come, and who is correct?
Proof of work
Bitcoin network is protected from random post attacks with a mechanism known as “proof of work”. The oldest batch of this algorithm was created by Senteya Dawar and Moni Nour in 1993, long before Bitcoin appeared. The essence of this mechanism is the condition of conducting accounts (doing “work”) in order to obtain permission to throw treatment (originally, to send an email).
Checking the validity of transactions requires calculations to liquidate bad actors. The network is equivalent to Bitcoins, which was not in circulation to motivate auditors. This is how Bitcoin is “bomb”; For this reason, the health verification process is called “mining”.
In the early days of Bitcoin, mining was not required. Anyone can extract it with a regular computer. However, with the growth of the demand for bitcoin, the mining increased, which requires more and more energy to complete mathematics tasks.
These days, mining operations have an industrial range. Mining farms occupy wide facilities from the devices created for the only purpose – to break bitcoin puzzles at the highest possible speed (to solve the puzzle before the rest of the mining workers and obtain the reward). By 2018, Bitcoin’s energy consumption has reached a similar level to Nigeria and Denmark.
Bitcoin’s environmental impact
Bitcoin mining operations affect the environment in four main directions:
- Mining has carbon printing
- Mining consumes a lot of water
- Mining consumes a lot of electricity
- Mining creates electronic waste
Based on all these measures, bitcoin has a serious effect on the environment. These standards indicate that bitcoin consumes a lot of electricity and water and leaves a lot of harmful waste as in some countries.
Although it may be difficult to understand what this means when you read that Bitcoin consumes a lot of energy like Poland, you may grow and see what is equivalent to the effect of each Bitcoin treatment. It depicts a more vibrant picture. According to DigiconomistBitcoin consumes one more than 1100 kWh (as much as the American medium family in 38 days), consumes 17500 liters of fresh water (as much as a swimming pool in the backyard), and creates more than 280 grams of electronic waste (more than 1.5 iPhones 12) YouTube).
It provides Statista Similar estimates. Moreover, gold mining is less harmful to the environment than BTC mining if we compare the amount of BTC and the amount of gold with the same value expressed in US dollar. Although there is no accurate history of these estimates, the articles appear to be based on the data that was revealed in 2023 or before.
Tesla cited an environmental impact as a reason to stop supporting Bitcoin payments in 2021, shortly after the launch of this option. Etherum moved from proving work to the algorithm of the proof of deception in 2022.
Fossil fuel works on the strength of most mining facilities. Various sources evaluate the use of fossil fuels to run bitcoin mining within 50 to 90 percent.
What bitcoin advocates say …
First, the Digital Asset Research Institute denies that data and articles about the environmental damage to Bitcoin are correct. According to this study, defective research 2018, which indicates that Bitcoin’s high environmental damage was transferred thousands of times until 2024. only 2 % of all pieces of all pieces on this topic were. Dary’s paper claims that 2022 was characterized by a more striking coverage of the subject of the environmental impact of Bitcoin.
Since the environmental impact of mining is a serious problem, the various mining processes began to search for more green bitcoin mining methods, and the research was successful. The 2020s initiatives have witnessed companies that use excess energy to extract bitcoin instead of wasting this power and resources that are spent on their production.
Another way to make Bitco Mining is more green is to rely on renewable resources. For example, Ethiopia uses the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to extract clean bitcoin.
2024 Studies show This, recently, bitcoin mining played a positive role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and it becomes directly opposite in terms of environmental impact.
Although some companies are already proud that they are neutral bitcoin mining operations, most institutions only recognize energy consumption. Due to the lack of an institution that studies the environmental impact of Bitcoin on all information about mining operations, we do not have all the data related to carbon dioxide emissions associated with mining. We cannot say how much pollution level has decreased in the past two years.
Pierre Rohardd appeared from riot platforms in a video where he restricted the level of carbon dioxide at the mining facility using a special device. It has sparked some criticism, as some users have indicated that emissions do not come from mining devices, but are linked to excessive electricity production.
Another line of defense that some bitcoin defenders use is to compare the environmental effect of Bitcoin with the banking system, indicating that banking transactions are not more suitable for the environment of bitcoin. This argument may be logical if Bitcoin will change the banking system, but this does not happen.
Who is the correct?
Although Bitcoin mining industry is far from environmentally friendly, many participants are looking for ways to make them more green or even reduce carbon dioxide emissions through bitcoin mining so that mining has a negative carbon fingerprint. According to the hadith a report By Mica Crypto Alliance, 70 % of the Bitcoin network will be operated by sustainable energy by 2030. To conclude this, we may mention that some mining processes are green while others are not. However, the environmentally friendly trend is high.
