Bitcoin supporters and detractors have been arguing for years over whether the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency is beneficial or harmful to the environment. Government-controlled fiat money and the whole financial system that supports them, according to Bitcoin advocates, are dooming the climate. However, Bitcoin detractors argue that the system of mining new currencies is a major energy drain that helps just a small number of individuals at a high cost to the environment. Online trading is very profitable if done through a legit trading application. So, join the Golden Profit trading application from this link Bitcoin Victory App, learn the fundamentals of gold trading, and start earning profits.
The skeptics have just gained over a significant friend. After months of praising Bitcoin, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday to his 54.3 million followers on Twitter that the electric car manufacturer is putting a halt to accepting Bitcoin as payment. Elon Musk should not hold his breath expecting bitcoin by becoming environmentally benign enough to accept as payment from Tesla. Musk declared last week that Tesla was exiting the cryptocurrency market due to the usage of fossil fuels in bitcoin mining as well as transactions. In the statement, he left the door wide open for Tesla to resume accepting bitcoin if mining the money someday uses “more sustainable energy.” However, other experts warn that renewable energy isn’t really a panacea for bitcoin’s ecological issues.
Elon Musk’s Concern Regarding Bitcoin’s Effect on Climate
Musk’s statement elicited a far different reaction from climate activists than it would from the bitcoin community. Climate scientists have long expressed alarm about the growing amount of energy needed to mine Bitcoin. According to CBECI, Bitcoin now consumes 149 terawatt-hours (TWh) of power each year. Chinese researchers showed last month that Bitcoin miners in China might produce 130 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2024, rivaling the emissions production of certain small nations.
As per the Cambridge Bitcoin Power Consumption Index, Bitcoin currently consumes more electricity, unlike Sweden or Malaysia. And it’s expanding all the time, with consumption predicted to be almost three times higher this time last year, as per the statistics. That energy consumption is built further into bitcoin – this is not an accident but a deliberate and intended feature of the system. This is since it is based on the concept of “proof-of-work” mining.
The blockchain – or even the shared, decentralized ledger-means there is almost no jurisdiction on who owns whatever bitcoin, with that task being divided out among multiple individuals – requires a mechanism to build agreement amongst all of the network’s many pieces. And, in the case of bitcoin, this is accomplished via proof-of-work. Proof-of-work is designed to secure the stability and functionality of the cryptocurrency by requiring participants to demonstrate that they have completed some work in support of the blockchain. This is accomplished by assigning computers to solve tough riddles that can only be solved by brute force.
Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin
- Ethereum (ETH): 44 TWh
Ethereum is giving Bitcoin a boost to the economy, and its power addiction has grown at the same rate. It has a carbon footprint of roughly 22 million metric tonnes, which is equivalent to Lebanon’s. And its power use is comparable to that of Hong Kong. Later in 2021, the Ethereum network intends to transition from PoW towards a more efficient proof-of-stake method. However, Bitcoin and Ethereum account for about 90% of all proof-of-work currency yearly power use, with the remainder accounting for a minor proportion.
- Dogecoin (DOGE): 7.8 TWh
Elon Musk’s favorite joke cryptocurrency has seen a significant increase in value since before the start of the year. Its market worth recently surpassed $75 billion before reversing some gains, propelling energy use from the adorable currency into the third spot, up from the tenth position in March 2020. Dogecoin was created as a joke in response to Zimbabwe’s high energy use.
- Bitcoin Cash (CSH): 3.4 TWh
This cryptocurrency broke from Bitcoin in 2017 and also emerged itself as a token. It continues to employ the same safe hash technique (SHA-256) as its forefather. With a market capitalization of over $23 billion, its energy use is about the same as Nicaragua, a nation that drives an economy worth $11 billion in products and services each year.
- Litecoin (LTC): 3.2 TWh
This cryptocurrency, like Dogecoin, is a fork of Bitcoin and employs the same Scrypt-based algorithm. True toward its name, the “cryptocurrency is lighter and speedier than the widely used Bitcoin.
