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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse investigated companies buying Bitcoin last week as the climatic effects of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, could be met with strict rules if Democrat Joe Biden is elected president of the United States. .
As of press time, Biden has 290 electoral votes in the United States versus Republican Donald Trump’s 214, putting him on track to a win when the final results are counted and confirmed later this week.
But Biden’s election would bring a new agenda on various issues with respect to Trump, starting with the global battle against climate change (and perhaps even cryptocurrencies). The 77-year-old has previously vowed to take action against the effects large corporations create on the climate, with political observers saying relevant regulations could be on the cards for top tech players.
Climate rules could affect big Bitcoin investors
Cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have taken notice of this fact, with Garlinghouse suggesting in a tweet last week that Biden’s tighter climate change rules would mean a tougher operating environment for PoW cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
# 6 – Biden requires public companies to disclose activities related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in their operations.
I like to see action on climate change: first NYDFS, now this. Public companies holding BTC (ahem Square) may want to pay attention 👀 https://t.co/TAxxN8NQpu
– Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 9, 2020
“Biden requires public companies to disclose activities related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in their operations,” Garlinghouse said, adding:
“I love seeing action on climate change – first NYDFS, now this. Public companies that hold BTC (ahem Square) may want to pay attention. “
Garlinghouse referred to Square’s recent $ 50 million Bitcoin purchase, a US fintech app, which the company regards as a “more ubiquitous currency in the future,” as it claims. Its purchase, however, is dwarfed by enterprise software player MicroStrategy, whose $ 425 million Bitcoin bet could see backlash in a more climate-responsible corporate world.
XRP, the cryptocurrency issued by Ripple, runs on an iterative consensus ledger that doesn’t involve mining operations. This is better from an environmental standpoint (and also for creating a faster network), which could mean that cryptocurrencies as themselves would not be impacted in terms of climate impact (although many other legal issues still remain).
XRP is “57,000 times more efficient”
Ripple, to this end, has even released a “The environmental impactHe reports back to July to discuss why his consensus project was better than mining-based cryptocurrencies and how environmental sustainability was a key benefit of using XRP.
“For every million transactions, XRP could power 79,000 light bulb hours. Conversely, for every million transactions, Bitcoin could power 4.51 billion light bulb hours. This means that XRP’s power consumption is 57,000 times more efficient.” , he noted at the time.
So could the climate impact of companies investing in Bitcoin spur more regulation for cryptocurrencies in the US? Your guess is as good as mine.
For now, however, Ripple has other regulatory issues to address.
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