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New research has found that the extraction of Bitcoin is so energetic that it is threatening the Paris agreement on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.
Report: Bitcoin threatens our existence
The research was published by Dr. Jon Truby, associate professor of law and director of the Center for Law and Development at the University of Qatar.
He said that the advantages of Bitcoin are obscured by the "intentionally resource-oriented project in the transaction verification process". This is, he says, this is threatening our climate. He adds, however, that the blockchain has "significant social and economic benefits". However, this verification process, combined with the extraction of Bitcoin, is threatening the Paris agreement to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Truby writes:
Although digital currencies provide considerable potential benefits in terms of transactions, security and financial access, the design of the Bitcoin mining and trading system requires such a vast consumption of electricity equivalent to that of Denmark.
intervention is necessary to prevent similar models from appearing. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $ 7,422, according to CoinMarketCap. In mid-December, it was at a touching distance of $ 20,000. However, according to Truby, when it increases in value, this will be an incentive for people to exploit it. This will therefore produce a worsening problem.
Bitcoin energy consumption figures show an annual electricity consumption of 73.12 TWh. This has increased by almost 400 percent in the last 12 months. Returning to February 2017, this is an increase of over 660 percent. The index figures suggest that the extraction of Bitcoin is the closest to Austria in terms of electricity consumption.
What can be done to change this? [19659003] Truby writes that government intervention is a possibility, adding that:
The decision to intervene in the free market is never easy.
The decision to intervene in the free market is never easy.
However he cites John Stuart Mill's utilitarian justification for intervention:
… the only purpose for which power can legitimately be exercised over any member of a civilized community, against its will, is that to prevent damage to others.
In this case, Truby is of the opinion that the extraction of Bitcoin is damaging others, ensuring an intervention. He notes that the agreement states that technology should be used to mitigate emissions. However, polluting technology "would be very much against … the agreement".
However, it should also be noted that there is some disagreement about how much energy Bitcoin mining is consuming. CoinShares Research analysts Christopher Bendiksen and Samuel Gibbons report that the extraction of cryptocurrencies uses only about half of the accepted figures. They stress that many mining operations have moved to harsher climates, thus reducing energy costs for cooling. They also say that more efficient technology, which improves on an annual basis, requires less energy than previous technology. State:
Our total results suggest that the bitcoin mining industry is relatively healthy, profitable and continues to grow at dizzying speeds. The hash rate has tripled on an annual basis while the efficiency of hardware is increasing rapidly and costs are decreasing.
Do you think Bitcoin mining is a threat to the Paris agreement? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
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