Unfortunate Outcomes of Bitcoin Mining for the World. What are We Facing? How Can We Deal With It?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rely on blockchain technology, which sets up secure and reliable networks without third-party dependency. And miners guarantee transactions and a fraud-free system. Miners do this by solving equations and mathematical problems; therefore, this process requires a great deal of Processing power, in other words, this process requires a great deal of energy. By doing so, miners will receive bitcoin as a reward. Scientists are worried that bitcoin mining will increase energy consumption in the world. Miners sometimes even use questionable fuel sources in addition to hydropower and other low-carbon sources, and this growing need for electricity reinforces the use of any source to meet this need.

It seems that energy issues related to cryptocurrencies mining are only getting worse instead of getting better. The processing power needed to solve an equation in 2018 has now more than quadrupled.

What is Bitcoin's Carbon footprint?

The bitcoin carbon footprint is reported to range from 22 megatons of CO2 per year to over 50 megatons per year. It is true that many factors play a role in bitcoin's carbon footprint, but network mining activities have the greatest impact on carbon footprint generation. Bitcoin miners around the world use lots of energy to confirm transactions and maintain a network. But high energy consumption of bitcoin does not necessarily mean that it is disastrous for the environment.

Fortunately, there are answers to get out of this mess and rebalance things.

Problems associated with mining are becoming more and more, and also worth mentioning that miners will need to spend more energy to be profitable. If no solution is found for a more efficient way to operate things, the bitcoin carbon footprint will continue to grow and become one of the largest sources of environmental pollution in the not-too-distant future. As many countries move towards renewable energy sources, bitcoin mining with these energies is also evolving and taking on a new form. According to "CoinShares" since June last year, 74.1% of bitcoin miners have used renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, and most importantly, hydropower. With the evolution of energy sources (such as fossil and other traditional fuels) and moving towards more affordable renewable energy, new generations of bitcoin miners will choose this type of green energy as their energy source And this is why in today's competitive environment, other miners are turning to these methods too.

Renewable energies; A solution to blockchain problems and cryptocurrency minings

The development of renewable energy and blockchain are two important issues in today's world. According to researchers, the best way to solve the problems and side effects of cryptocurrencies is to use clean and renewable energy such as solar and other green ones. Governments have to encourage all people around the world to use green and renewable energy in launching and operating future blockchains. Eventually, over time, foul and destructive miners are removed from the network and replaced by miners that are green and new. Therefore, using this type of clean energy is a very reasonable and fitting alternative, also in addition to protecting the world's climate and the environment, it also brings economic development.

It should be remembered that Bitcoin does not consume all the energy

Given the rapid growth of bitcoin cryptocurrencies, people assume that this digital currency controls all energy sources. This was the premise of a large-scale study in 2018 that made the shocking claim that BTC could heat the Earth to two degrees Celsius. But we will explain later that this will never happen.

It is unlikely that miners will continue to expand their mining operations at current rates. The BTC protocol rewards miners; miners receive low fees for transactions they confirm during mining. The BTC protocol also halves the bonus every four years (known as bitcoin halving). If the price of bitcoin does not increase significantly then the profit from mining eventually will reduce greatly. Thus, the financial incentives to invest in BTC mining naturally decrease, and this problem of environmental pollution is automatically reduced and takes a more balanced path. At the end, There is an important question to ask: Can Bitcoin ever really be green?

5 sources of clean energy for mining digital currencies:

Absolutely the solution to avoid environmental contamination is not to restrict bitcoin mining, but to benefit from clean energy innovation. The following five renewable energy technologies can be used by the blockchain industry and contribute to its growth.

Geothermal energy (geothermal)

Geothermal energy is a perfectly renewable source of energy because its energy comes from the heat of the earth. But one of the major drawbacks of geothermal energy is expensive extraction.

Solar energy

Of all the renewable energy technologies, solar energy is the most used, and also solar energy is easy to install and maintain. One of the major disadvantages of solar energy is the cessation of energy production by solar panels at night.

Hydropower (Hydro energy)

Hydropower is one of the oldest forms of renewable energy technologies. This method is also one of the cheapest and most stable types of renewable energy; Because as long as the water is flowing, the energy can be delivered.

Tidal power

Tidal energy is almost a new renewable energy technology that has not yet been widely accepted, although it has the potential to grow. Very high operating costs and a limited number of suitable tidal locations are accounted as weak points for Tidal power.

Conclusion

The environmentally friendly aspect of bitcoin mining is the responsibility of the blockchain industry to support these sorts of energies for mining facilities, infrastructure, and markets. By looking for ways to increase energy efficiency and develop clean energy infrastructure, mining companies will reduce the negative impact of digital currency on the environment.