[Wayne 962]

https://financialhorse.com/bitcoin-mining-explained-going-green-in-the-future/

Bitcoin Mining Explained! How much Electricity do you need?


In the early days of Bitcoin, anyone with a laptop had enough processing power to mine and earn thousands of BTC as a reward. But as it grew in popularity, more miners wanted in, setting off an arms race to amass computing power.

It started when a few crafty miners realised graphic cards typically used for video games were a more effective for mining. Soon, the rest of the pack caught up, leading miners to devise new ways to gain an edge.

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A Sustainability Issue – Crypto Going Green

Bitcoin is anti-efficient by design. The difficulty of mining blocks is what makes it secure. Factor in the cost of electricity, investments in specialised equipment, and the costs quickly add up.

Then there is the environmental cost. Millions of computers trying to solve complex mathematical puzzles uses a ton of energy. And you also have to factor in the energy wasted by computers that lose the race.

As such, it’s estimated that the carbon emissions from one Bitcoin transaction is equivalent to 735,121 Visa transactions.

If Bitcoin was a country, it would rank in the top 30 in terms of total energy consumption. It makes for a good headline: “Bitcoin consumes ‘more electricity than Argentina’”. Making things worse, 61% of bitcoin mining is powered by fossil fuels.

About 70% of Bitcoin mining takes place in China. This activity is concentrated in rural areas, where miners have access to cheap, coal-powered electricity and undeveloped land to house servers.

Mining bitcoin using renewable energy could eliminate its carbon footprint. For example, some activity takes place in China where low-cost hydroelectricity is available. Bitcoin proponents, such as Square CEO Jack Dorsey, believes cryptocurrencies will eventually go green. To accelerate this transition, it launched a $10 million fund for companies making bitcoin mining more energy-efficient.

Still, it boils down to incentives. Bitcoin’s decentralised network is a double-edged sword. Mining activity will concentrate where electricity is cheapest. Currently, that includes sources with high carbon emissions, such as coal.

The alleged incident involved an immense coal mine in Xinjiang being flooded and shut down over the weekend of April 17–18. The blackout halted no less than one-third of all of Bitcoin’s global computing power.

Bitcoin mining is in large part being fuelled by Coal, and the huge demand and spike in price, is pushing pollution and carbon emissions to unsustainable heights.

Key takeaway:

And you also have to factor in the energy wasted by computers that lose the race.

-Wayne