The Dark Side of Bitcoin: Climate Damages Shot Up 126 Times Since 2016

[{"selector":"#anim-5f2fa8fc-b8c6-4a96-9245-99f5cb398767","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-4b57b619-f66e-4ff8-a91f-206eb87436b2","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 332.25623%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Through December 2021, BTC had a market value of over $960 billion (US$) and a global market share of nearly 41% among all crypto currencies.

[{"selector":"#anim-c09050b7-09c1-417e-96f1-f0f9addb5d8d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1cddbd14-114d-49c6-b12e-ffc99ea28f68","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 489.29140%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-07850062-0089-44e1-8d79-68c7ccf08971","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2ca13799-3b46-4718-8263-d222691e0108","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-120.41666%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The energy consumption of Bitcoin mining has significantly increased from January 2016 to December 2021, with a peak usage of 75.4 TWh per year in 2020. This amount of energy is equivalent to the annual consumption of countries like Austria and Portugal.

[{"selector":"#anim-ee22fc68-5221-4b9d-90f4-ceccb42b9496","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ef4f3616-0c06-4238-9d6e-c8b68955036a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 637.00223%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6c232c5f-972a-470e-ad1f-c7169675edc9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8103e2cd-f96e-448d-9441-26a8fab28677","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.18988%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Prior to the ban in China, hydropower was a significant source of electricity for mining. The energy usage of Bitcoin mining, which is largely powered by coal and natural gas, is closely related to the cryptocurrency's exchange prices, with a decrease in both observed in 2021 due to China's ban on cryptocurrency transactions.

[{"selector":"#anim-f87a9316-bafd-42ad-aa5a-60fd368989df","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f47c270d-a2be-4cf1-9e18-3da6f82b15ca","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 582.08802%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2685195e-3737-446c-b208-e2085edf5bd2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b86c4098-67c6-4d21-aa47-0f85443cf920","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.18988%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, primarily power POW cryptocurrency mining, though 39% of it is powered by renewables. This has significant carbon emissions and associated environmental damage, with estimates showing that each $1 of market value created through mining in 2018 resulted in $0.49 in combined health and climate damages in the US and $0.37 in China.

[{"selector":"#anim-cc974c89-e0b2-400d-bbd0-88e560eaa987","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bacbb255-5c3a-4fb0-b738-27433fbde47b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 261.71406%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Monero are estimated to have contributed 3-15 million tons of CO2 emissions between January 2016 and June 2018, equivalent to the emissions of countries such as Afghanistan, Slovenia, and Uruguay in 2018.

[{"selector":"#anim-c522ec09-fe04-47e9-ae88-f9d8c2c82245","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-36bc1067-c09b-4f61-9878-9292b18d5d5d","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 637.00223%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-df84d216-8b1d-465a-92a1-bfbdcc309b7f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6d96fb18-dd63-4bf5-b3ca-8e5c8a1c10c6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.50632%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Bitcoin mining's CO2e emissions per coin increased 126 times from 2016 to 2021. Bitcoin mining's carbon footprint significantly increased from 0.9 to 113 tonnes of CO2e per coin from 2016 to 2021, according to estimates based on global estimates of the location of BTC miners and the local electricity mix and regional CO2e emission coefficients by generation type.

[{"selector":"#anim-3ef47d5d-b11e-4c66-bba8-b3d13774e914","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1c7e992c-9185-4558-ae11-fb4796a77427","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 262.73239%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The CO2e emissions and climate damages of Bitcoin mining have increased significantly, with each coin mined in 2021 causing an average of $11,314 in damages and total global damages for 2021 exceeding $3.7 billion.

[{"selector":"#anim-85c9e8ab-c08b-4065-9f86-648071582057","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-192c0396-bdee-4df7-a984-ecd40c1808b3","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 240.29258%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Bitcoin mining has caused $12 billion in global climate damages from 2016 to 2021, with each coin created in 2021 resulting in an average of $11,314 in damages and global damages for all coins mined in 2021 exceeding $3.7 billion, according to estimates.

[{"selector":"#anim-d52164a1-833a-4041-9926-0c17b3e836cc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b39223d3-aff6-4af7-94d1-8c6d52f35a62","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 327.77781%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-78e41de1-a814-41bd-9f64-a2d7a4449f34","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-82cf758a-eeff-40f6-bf30-34e1fcbace86","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.82278%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":950,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The environmental impact of mining cryptocurrencies, particularly B itcoin, is highly depend ent on the amount of renewable energy used in the process. Check What If Bitcoin Is Mined Using Renewable Energy Arrow

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