Scientists have estimated the environmental contribution of bitcoin mining, the process of creating new cryptocurrency units. They concluded that within 16 years, the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the development of this technology could warm the climate by 2 °C. The article was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency based on the ideas of cryptography, decentralization and the possibility of confirmation of each transaction by other participants of the system. The creator of this cryptocurrency protocol, known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, published the first article describing the development exactly ten years ago, on October 31, 2008. There can be a limited number of bitcoins – no more than 21 million. They can be mined by mining – energy-consuming calculations on a computer. The complexity of mining is constantly increasing, which makes the formal costs of “mining” each new bitcoin increase. In recent years, the cryptocurrency has become a popular means of payment in some communities, as well as an asset in which investors are investing money because they hope to get rich from the growth of the rate.
In a new paper, researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the United States analyzed the energy consumption needed to keep bitcoin running, suggesting that it will evolve similarly to other widespread technologies such as cell phones and credit cards. The researchers concluded that it would require so much electricity that the carbon dioxide emissions associated with it could cause a global warming of 2°C as early as 2033.
“Right now, the main emissions contributing to global warming are thought to be related to transportation, residences, and food production, but our study shows that bitcoin should be added to that list,” says paper co-author Cathy Taladay. The researchers also note that the situation is already becoming alarming today, as bitcoin use in 2017 alone is associated with emissions that are equivalent to 69 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Cryptocurrency experts have already criticized the study, saying it relies on “naive assumptions.” They also doubt that bitcoin’s rate of proliferation will match that of other everyday technologies such as the Internet, television, radio and so on.
