Bitcoin is often touted as a revolutionary new way to make and manage money, but its impact on the environment has been largely overlooked. A new book co-authored by three University of New Mexico professors sheds light on the dark side of cryptocurrency mining, revealing the massive energy consumption and environmental damage caused by the process. According to a study by the book’s authors, the global energy use of Bitcoin mining is equivalent to that of entire countries such as the Netherlands and Argentina. This energy consumption has significant environmental consequences, including emissions from fossil fuel power plants, air pollution, and climate change impacts. Bitcoin mining’s global electricity use is larger than that of entire countries such as the Netherlands and Argentina. The research project began in 2018, following the authors’ reading of a Nature Sustainability article that estimated Bitcoin mining had already outpaced the annual energy consumption of entire nations. Intrigued and concerned, the authors launched a research project to quantify the monetary damage caused by cryptocurrency mining. Their findings suggest that for every $1 of Bitcoin value created in 2018, roughly $0.49 in human health and climate damages were incurred. These damages include emissions from fossil fuel power plants, air pollution, and climate change impacts. One of the key findings of the book is that the environmental damage caused by Bitcoin mining is much greater than the value of the currency itself. In one study, the authors found that the damages incurred for every $1 of Bitcoin value created were roughly $0.49, placing the real-world costs higher than the currency’s market price. This suggests that Bitcoin, in some instances, was actually more damaging to the environment than it was actually worth. These findings have significant implications for the sustainability of digital currencies. The book also compares Bitcoin to other major industries, such as crude oil and gold, and concludes that its environmental footprint is comparable to or even worse than these industries.
“Bitcoin looked more like ‘digital crude’ than ‘digital gold,’” the authors write. “It’s not just a matter of using a different type of energy source; the proof of work process used for mining Bitcoin is a fundamentally different way of producing value.”
Beyond just carbon emissions, the authors delve into other environmental consequences of Bitcoin mining, including e-waste, land and water use, and noise pollution. They explore policy solutions to curb cryptocurrency’s energy demands and move the industry towards more sustainable practices. The authors emphasize that their goal is not to argue against the use of Bitcoin, but to raise awareness about the environmental costs of the proof of work process used for mining Bitcoin.
