CRYPTOCURRENCY staking , rather than crypto mining ), it predicted an enormous 99 % reduction in carbon emissions .
Indeed , current crypto mining operations use more energy to complete than some medium-sized countries – 91 terawatt hours of electricity every year to be precise , or more than the whole of Finland , which has 5.5mn residents .
Kaj Burchardi , Platinion Managing Director at BCG , says : “ While crypto has certainly disrupted traditional finance , its impact on the environment cannot be ignored . The mining of crypto , which requires enormous amounts of energy , has a significant carbon footprint that contributes to climate change .”
But it ' s not just mining that contributes to conventional crypto ' s sizeable carbon footprint , Burchardi adds : “ Other sources of
“AS CRYPTOCURRENCY GROWS AND BLOCKCHAINS BECOME MORE SOPHISTICATED , THE COMPUTING POWER REQUIRED TO BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY MINE WILL BECOME MORE ADVANCED AND EXPENSIVE ”
DANIEL SEELY FINANCIAL REGULATORY LAWYER , FREETHS emissions in the crypto value chain include transaction processing , data centres and infrastructure . These emissions are not only detrimental to the environment but also pose a risk to the long-term viability of the crypto industry .”
Burchardi says that steps are being taken to rehabilitate crypto and make it a more sustainable option . “ More and more blockchain protocols are using a consensus mechanism with a lower carbon footprint , such as proof-of-stake or proof-of-authority . More miners are using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to power mining and processing operations .”
Is crypto concentrated in too few hands ? One of the overarching benefits of digital currencies on the blockchain , as opposed to Fiat , is that it no longer requires a single , central source of truth ( as authority is shared
fintechmagazine . com 99