Bitcoin mining: CO2 emissions higher than in all of Austria!

Bitcoin mining: CO2 emissions higher than in all of Austria!

The Bitcoin network has an alarming CO2 footprint of 98 million tons a year, which is more than the annual greenhouse gas emissions in Austria, which are around 69 million tons. This terrifying result shows that cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, are not only financially but also ecologically stressful. Each Bitcoin transaction causes as much CO2 as 105,000 hours on YouTube videos or 1.4 million visa transactions. These figures illustrate how strongly the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining contains the environment.

The Bitcoin network uses blockchain technology to falsify transactions. This validation is currently carried out via the "Proof of Work" (POW) procedure. Numerous miners compete to solve complex cryptographic puzzles, which leads to high energy consumption. The majority of the energy required comes from fossil sources, which contributes significantly to CO2 emission. According to forecasts, the electricity requirement for Bitcoin mining will be over 135 terawatt hours (TWH) in 2023, which means more energy consumption than many populated countries, including Pakistan.

Environmental pollution from Bitcoin mining

An investigation by Kaveh Madani and his team, published in the specialist magazine Earth’s Future, showed that around 173 TWh was needed for Bitcoin mining between 2020 and 2021. This represents a 60% increase compared to the years 2018-2019. The study shows that 67% of the electricity came from fossil energy sources and only about 16% was covered with hydropower. This leads to an enormous environmental problem. The water footprint of Bitcoin production was 1.65 kubic kilometers, which would be sufficient to supply over 300 million people in rural areas in Africa.

The Proof-of-Work system, which serves as a technical basis for Bitcoin, enables anonymous participants to build trust in a decentralized network. The advantages of Pow lie in the high security and the decentralized validation of transactions. But the disadvantages are also serious: slow workmanship, high fees and enormous energy consumption reduce the attractiveness of this system. The average fee for a Bitcoin transaction is currently around $ 23 and increases in times of high demand.

Future view and alternatives

A possible solution to these problems could be alternative consensus protocols such as the Proof of Stake (POS), which requires far less computing power and could reduce energy consumption by up to 99%. Ethereum has already successfully switched to POS, which shows that a more sustainable and efficient solution for blockchain technologies is conceivable. Nevertheless, this method brings with it its own challenges that need to be mastered.