What is the carbon emission footprint of bitcoin mining?
Even though the popularity of cryptocurrency is augmenting with every passing day, many people are still against this idea! Different people have different reasons for disliking it. For example, through platforms such as Bitcode Method, more people can now participate in Bitcoin trading. While some are the old-school opinionated persons who consider it an unreliable form of investment, others are opposed to it owing to its environmental problems.
What Makes Bitcoin So Popular?
There is no denying the fact that the opportunities associated with cryptocurrency are promising! The economic benefits it offers to provide a secure future to those who invest in it are massive. As Bitcoin is managed through a secure blockchain system, it is a highly decentralized database, further adding to its security. The database gets shared among the computer networks through nodes rather than being connected to one single spot or location. Hence, as the whole system is highly decentralized, it’s safe and secure.
Expansion Of Cryptos And The Environmental Issue
With the expansion of cryptocurrency, its popularity and worth have recently increased multifold. It has been overwhelming how the miner had to work extra hard to satisfy the needs of investors to provide them with the required amount of coins. At the same time, it has augmented the carbon emission footprint to a great level owing to its enhanced production. According to environmentalists, mining cryptos on digital media has led to gigantic carbon footprints solely because it requires tremendous energy.
According to the statistics, the average carbon dioxide emitted by crypto mining on a global level is around 37 megatons each year. Now, a tremendous amount of carbon is becoming a regular part of our lives and bringing massive danger to us!
The emission of such a high volume of carbon while mining bitcoin is due to the usage of highly-powered computers in the mining process. The miners have to solve some complex mathematical puzzles that get energy intensive. This energy is extracted from fossil fuels, leading to environmental carbon emissions.
Alongside this, the competition among miners has also increased. To be a winner at it, the miners keep on enhancing their computing power. This leads to their previous machines becoming redundant, and this, in turn, results in e-waste. At the same time, miners keep on making more transactions to get more rewards and make the mining process a financially beneficial act for them. This further leads to the usage of energy. They require energy-intensive machinery to make the mining process work in their favor, negatively affecting the environment and the entire ecosystem.
Solution To The Problem
Let’s agree to the fact that cryptocurrency is here to stay! People will keep buying and managing them efficiently through the Bitcoin Trading software. In this situation, the need of the hour is to find a solution to the problem of the massive carbon footprints that it leaves in the environment. Environmentalists believe the best way to resolve this problem is by growing new forests. With the massive amount of carbon that has already entered the environment owing to the mining processes, this forest growth is to be done on a vast scale.
The best way out in this regard is for the miners to put extra effort into growing up more trees to reduce the damage caused by bitcoin mining. At the same time, when they shift to new and advanced machinery for better mining actions, they should be careful of disposing of the redundant machinery. Any negligence in this regard can lead to long-lasting health concerns.
Lastly, finding alternative energy sources should be a priority for crypto experts. They should research using renewable energy sources to reduce the environmental impact on the environment.
Final Thoughts
The environmental damage associated with bitcoin mining is massive! It is something no one can ignore, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly! As you read this article, the mining process has already led to a considerable carbon emission footprint and is continuing to damage the environment. Also, as crypto investments help people make huge profits, the mining process will not stop in the future. This is why there is a need to take alternate steps to help manage environmental stress. Planting new forests on a massive scale is what investors, traders, miners, and environmentalists should opt for!