“Advocating for improved disclosures, transparency, and a shift to renewable energy sources, considering lesser energy-consuming cryptocurrencies, and offsetting emissions.”
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One of the biggest users of energy – and growing – is virtual currency:
Bitcoin Uses More Electricity Than Many Countries. How Is That Possible? – The New York Times
These pages looked at the issues last year:
Bitcoin and energy consumption – Vision Group for Sidmouth
At the same time, blockchain expert Matthew Diemer, a longtime player in the crypto industry, anticipated creative solutions:
Diemer is confident that the same avant-garde thinkers that facilitated the early days of crypto may be the same innovative minds that come up with our next big energy solution. “The interesting thing about the free market is that sometimes they find solutions to problems…that aren’t thought of by the public or the government.”
Bitcoin mining and your power bill | Choose Energy®
One possibility is to locate these ‘mines’ next to (renewable) energy sources:
Crypto miners can consume energy that would otherwise be curtailed, said Bitfury’s Brooks, by locating near renewable generators and providing baseload consumption for solar and wind. They can also consume natural gas that would otherwise be flared at oil drilling operations “to turn that dead-weight loss into economic value,” he said.
Bitcoin mining as a grid resource? ‘It’s complicated.’ | Utility Dive
Nevertheless, the story still persists that this industry is consuming far too much energy – with these reports from the last couple of weeks:
How much energy does Bitcoin mining require? | wusa9.com
Bitcoin mining carbon footprint has worsened since China ban according to new study
Crypto: A Virtual Currency with Real-Life Energy Consequences | Goldberg Segalla – JDSupra
And so the pressure is on:
Investors drawn to cryptocurrency should keep in mind that it is a new, highly speculative investment with limited history. For sustainable investors, options and considerations include advocating for improved disclosures, transparency, and a shift to renewable energy sources, considering lesser energy-consuming cryptocurrencies, and/or offsetting emissions through the purchase of carbon credits.
Sustainable investors take the crypto out of cryptocurrency – Technical.ly