As bitcoin reaches new heights seemingly by the day, the cryptocurrency and its industry are under the microscope.

What’s happening?

Bitcoin mining — “the process by which bitcoins are issued and generated” — consumes 155-172 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, accounting for 0.4% of global energy demand, Polytechnique Insights reported. On Wednesday, the value of the cryptocurrency topped $100,000 for the first time. 

The resulting pollution is as much as 96 million tonnes (over 105 million tons) of carbon dioxide per year, which is a quarter of the pollution produced by France (385 million tonnes — roughly 424 million tons) every 12 months.

“Bitcoin is based on blockchain technology: By definition, computers perform identical calculations (around 15,000 times) to ensure the network’s security,” mathematician and Université de Lille emeritus professor Jean-Paul Delahaye said. “The protocol used for bitcoin has a very high energy cost; it’s an environmental waste.”

Why is this important?

The industry’s water demand is also extreme, and the millions of computers used for mining eat up vast tracts of land around the world. The former amounts to hundreds of billions of liters of water per year, and the latter equals 1,870 square kilometers. Both figures relate to 2020-21 data.

The industry made a big move in 2021, relocating from mostly China, where mining was banned, to Kazakhstan and the United States. 

“The more carbon-intensive the country’s electricity mix, the higher bitcoin’s carbon footprint,” Polytechnique Insights stated. “The share of renewable energies powering bitcoin mining has fallen from 41.6% to 25.1% following the massive relocation in 2021.”

This is especially concerning because “the higher the price of bitcoin … the higher the energy consumption will be.” And with the price of bitcoin at an all-time high, more people could become interested in investing, which will only drive up demand — and those harmful side effects.

“Some scientists are warning of the urgent need for action,” Polytechnique Insights reported.

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What’s being done about bitcoin mining?

The outlet noted that the industry could reduce its environmental impact by becoming more transparent and accepting regulation, working to develop energy-saving cryptocurrencies, and using greener blockchain validation protocols — Ethereum recently announced a 99.95% reduction in energy usage with its cryptocurrency ether using “proof of stake.”

Residents are also fighting back against mining operations, speaking out against an operation in Memphis, Tennessee, that flies in the face of the city’s Climate Action Plan, for example. Outside of Fort Worth, Texas, citizens filed a lawsuit alleging noise pollution and negative health impacts of a mining facility.

Governments and corporations can help protect people from such problems, as a Japanese utility company is using excess wind and solar energy to power bitcoin mining.

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