Who knew that Bitcoin is an energy glutton that could hurt Earth?

Bitcoin’s popularity has a downside: It’s an energy glutton that could hurt Earth’s climate, a study has found. But critics aren’t so sure.

Published on:

30 Oct 2018, 1:23 pm

EDINBURGH — Bitcoin's popularity has a downside: It's an energy glutton that could hurt Earth's climate, a study has found. The new research, publicised by The Washington Post, finds that bitcoin's greenhouse gas emissions are already comparable to those of a midsize country. But critics aren't so sure. The Washington post interviews cryptocurrency experts on the likelihood that bitcoin-mining is really a major contributor to the pollution that is eroding the ozone layer and shrouding the earth in an unhealthy haze. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

Bitcoin may already be driving greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of a midsize country, and a study released Monday said the cryptocurrency could catapult the planet to dangerous levels of warming if it continues its rapid growth. This is according to The Washington Post, which highlights criticism that the research might not be credible.

At least one critic cautioned that the new research "makes much too coarse and even wrong assumptions" — demonstrating that even as the cryptocurrency, worth about $6,400 per coin, grows in visibility, estimating precisely how it is affecting the environment remains hotly debated, says the US media organisation.