![]() ![]() But the criticism that made the strongest impression came from Mr. Last month, a study in the journal Joule found that Bitcoin mining worldwide may be responsible for about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide a year, comparable to the emissions of Greece.īitcoin’s ballooning energy use has long outraged environmentalists. To achieve that, some miners are reviving broken-down coal plants, or using low-cost natural gas to power their computers. A single Bitcoin transaction now requires more than 2,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or enough energy to power the average American household for 73 days, researchers estimate. But as digital assets have become more popular, the amount of power necessary to generate Bitcoin has soared. In Bitcoin’s early years, a crypto enthusiast could mine coins by running software on a laptop. As a reward for this authentication service, miners receive new coins, providing a financial incentive to keep the computers running. Powerful computers race one another to process transactions, solving complex mathematical problems that require quintillions of numerical guesses a second. Instead, the term refers to a verification and currency creation process that is essential to the Bitcoin ecosystem. All five of the largest publicly traded crypto mining companies say they are building or already operating plants powered by renewable energy, and industry executives have started arguing that demand from crypto miners will create opportunities for wind and solar companies to open facilities of their own.Ĭrypto mining does not involve any picks or shovels. “You look off into the distance and you’ve got your renewable power.”įacing criticism from politicians and environmentalists, the cryptocurrency mining industry has embarked on a rebranding effort to challenge the prevailing view that its electricity-guzzling computers are harmful to the climate. The new facility, an hour outside Lubbock, would be fueled mostly by wind and solar energy, he declared. As Peter Wall, Argo’s chief executive, led a tour of the 126,000-square-foot construction site one morning this month, he pointed to a row of wind turbines a few miles down the road, their white spokes shining in the sunlight. Along a dirt-covered road deep in Texas farm country, the cryptocurrency company Argo Blockchain is building a power plant for the internet age: a crypto “mining” site stocked with computers that generate new Bitcoins.īut unlike other Bitcoin mining operations, which consume large quantities of fossil fuels and produce carbon emissions, Argo claims it’s trying to do something environmentally responsible. ![]()
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