The price of the cryptocurrency fell after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Bitcoin mining uses a lot of energy and is bad for the environment.
It is a known truth that Bitcoins are traded nonstop, around the clock, throughout the year on cryptocurrency exchanges. Concerns regarding Bitcoin mining’s harmful effects on the environment and how it uses fossil fuels have been voiced by environmentalists and activists.
What Is Bitcoin Mining?
Computers are employed in bitcoin mining, a process that creates new currencies by using complicated mathematical equations or puzzles. Cryptocurrencies require mining in order to operate because they are built on a decentralized network. For users using the network, it typically takes roughly 10 minutes for the Bitcoin mining software to process a block and solve the difficult program.
Can It Be Harmful To The Environment?
Huge quantities of electricity are used by miners as they mine blocks and validate transactions using powerful computers. Additionally, as payment for their work, miners earn newly created Bitcoins and transaction processing fees.
Bitcoin Mining And The Use Of Fossil Fuels
The use of fossil fuels is crucial to the cryptocurrency industry. Electricity produced by fossil fuels is frequently used for cryptocurrency mining. More people join the Bitcoin network as a result of the rising price of bitcoin and the corresponding spike in energy demand as miners mine more coins. According to a University of Cambridge analysis, bitcoins use more than 120 Terawatt Hours (Twh) annually.
Who Is The Leader In Terms Of Energy Consumption?
According to a survey by Galaxy Digital and verified by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the yearly electricity usage of the Bitcoin network was 113.89 terawatts per hour (TWh) per year, compared to 263.72 TWh/yr for banking systems and 240.61 TWh/yr for gold mining. In actuality, running conventional banking systems or even gold mining requires twice as much energy.
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