Joules Magazine: bitcoin mining’s carbon footprint is up 17%

Since August 2021, the amount of renewable energy used for BTC mining has dropped from 42% to 25%

28.02.2022 - 11:35

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1 min

What’s new? The academic magazine Joules published a research report titled “Revisiting Bitcoin's carbon footprint.” It showed that the Chinese ban on cryptocurrency mining did not contribute to the decrease in the bitcoin network's carbon footprint, but instead increased it by 17%.

The report in Joules magazine

How did events develop? Until May 2021, China was the main center of bitcoin mining, accounting for more than 60% of the total hash capacity. However, a total government ban led to the migration of most mining farms outside the country. China's share of BTC hash capacity fell from more than 60% in May to nearly zero in August, and miners moved to the United States, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

What does the report say? It highlights that since August 2021, the amount of renewable energy used to mine BTC has dropped from 42% to 25%. The study points out that the leading cryptocurrency blockchain network emits 65 megatons of carbon dioxide annually. The study's authors concluded that miners in China are more focused on renewable energy than most of the leading countries mining today.

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