A study of thePolicy Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) of the White House reveals that cryptocurrency mining in the United States consumes the same amount of energy as all personal computers or residential lighting in the country. This equates to nearly 50 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere each year, roughly the same amount emitted by diesel trains in the United States.
According to the calculations of the OSTP, the energy consumption of the blockchain of Bitcoin is between 1.7 and 2.7 million kWh per block per year. However, about 52,560 blocks are added to this blockchain every year. The study specifies that Bitcoin and Ethereum account for over 60% of the total market share of cryptocurrencies and between 80 and 99% of their energy consumption.
The relationship is overwhelming: environmental disruption, creation of e-waste that “It can exacerbate environmental justice problems for neighboring communities, which are often already burdened by other pollutants, heat, traffic or noise.”
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order calling for the development of a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Democratic lawmakers have started lobbying for a crackdown on mining these currencies. As for government agencies across the country, they are asked to develop environmental performance standards that are reviewed annually and to create a reporting standard for energy consumption that cryptominers will have to meet.
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