What is the Environmental Impact of Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency has become increasingly popular in recent years. Although it has benefits like decentralization and anonymity, it can also affect the environment. In this article, we discuss the environmental impact of cryptocurrency and the possible solutions.

What Is the Environmental Impact of Cryptocurrency?

Some cryptocurrencies are not environmentally friendly because they generate a lot of waste because of the use of special equipment and intense energy requirements.

Due to the lack of centralized control over cryptocurrencies, the blockchain depends on users to verify transactions and add new blocks of data. For this reason, proof-of-work (PoW) is implemented in most cryptocurrencies.

Read more: Understanding Proof-of-Work

Here are the environmental impacts of cryptocurrency:

1.  Energy consumption

Energy consumption is one of the most significant environmental impacts of cryptocurrency. A significant amount of processing power is needed to mine cryptocurrencies, which results in considerable energy usage.

According to Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the Bitcoin network consumes more electricity than Argentina. The process of mining other cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin also requires a huge amount of energy.

2.  Carbon footprint

The significant amount of energy that cryptocurrencies use directly affects their carbon footprint. The majority of the world's energy is still produced from non-renewable resources like coal and natural gas. These resources cause greenhouse gas emissions.

According to research, the carbon footprint of Bitcoin ranges from 22 to 22.9 megatons annually. This is comparable to urban cities like Hamburg and Las Vegas. Other cryptocurrencies have substantial carbon footprints as well, with Ethereum accounting for over 13.9 megatons of CO2 emissions per year.

3.  Electronic waste

Electronic waste or e-waste is another environmental impact of cryptocurrency. Due to the pace at which technology is developing in the mining industry, a significant amount of computer hardware is needed to mine cryptocurrency, yet it soon becomes outdated.

As a result, significant amounts of electronic waste are generated. The wastes are mostly dumped in landfills. Global e-waste production is rising as a result of the increase in Bitcoin mining, affecting the environment.

Potential Solutions to The Environmental Impacts of Cryptocurrency

Despite the huge environmental effects of cryptocurrencies, there are still ways to reduce their effect. Below are the potential solutions to the environmental impacts of cryptocurrency.

·   Renewable energy: Moving toward renewable energy sources is one solution. The carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies might be considerably decreased by adopting renewable energy sources like solar, wind, or hydropower. For their mining operations, a few companies in the sector have already begun to utilize renewable energy sources.

·   The efficiency of mining hardware: The production of mining equipment with higher energy efficiency has the potential to drastically cut cryptocurrency's energy use and carbon impact. Several companies in the industry are already working on developing more efficient mining hardware.

·   Greater e-waste management and recycling: E-waste management and recycling must be improved to reduce the environmental impact of cryptocurrency. Recycling e-waste can help cryptocurrency produce less electronic trash. To build a thorough e-waste management system, governments and industry actors must collaborate.

Conclusion

The environmental impact of cryptocurrency must be taken into account as it expands, and mitigation measures must be taken. Increased e-waste recycling and management, the development of more energy-efficient mining equipment, and a move toward renewable energy sources are all possible solutions.