Scientists prove that bitcoin mining is as harmful to the environment as meat production

American scientists from the University of New Mexico have found that bitcoin mining is almost as harmful to the planet as meat production or natural gas extraction.

According to the study published in Scientific Reports, the researchers considered the period from January 2016 to December 2021, comparing BTC mining with other energy-intensive processes. Thus, in 2020, 75.4 TWh of electricity was used to mine the flagship cryptocurrency. This figure exceeded the total energy consumption of entire countries in 2020. Among the countries that consumed less electricity than BTC are Austria (69.9 TWh) and Portugal (48.4 TWh).

Scientists also stated that over the years, the damage from mining is not decreasing (as it was believed until now), but rather increasing. Carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy consumption increased 126 times from 2016 to 2021. According to scientists, each bitcoin mined in 2021 caused $ 11,314 in climate damage. Over 5 years, losses from HTS mining have amounted to more than $ 12 billion.

Economic climate damage from bitcoin mining amounted to 35% of its market value. For comparison, the scientists gave examples of the price-to-damage ratio of other energy-intensive industries over a five-year period:

• from meat production — 33%;
• from gas production — 46%;
• from gasoline production from oil — 41%.
• only 4% from gold mining.

Scientists have concluded that bitcoin mining causes enormous damage to the climate, despite the claims of cryptocurrency industry experts. The researchers emphasized that mining should be more carefully regulated to reduce the negative impact on the environment.

Some countries ban mining due to the energy crisis caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war. For example, the Emergency Situations Commission of Moldova has banned cryptocurrency mining in the country. Imports of new equipment for miners have also been restricted. Moldova faced an energy crisis after Ukraine stopped exporting 30% of the country’s electricity in late October. It was during the last six months that the terrorist state of the Russian Federation damaged a quarter of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.