Bitcoin’s Not-So-Carbon-Friendly Footprint

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https://eos.org/articles/bitcoins-not-so-carbon-friendly-footprint

Source:  By Sarah Derouin, Eos/AGU.

Excerpt: In theory, an all-digital form of currency may seem environmentally friendly. But although cryptocurrency doesn’t require the printing of cold, hard cash, it can still require vast resources to verify transactions. Scientists have traditionally estimated the carbon emissions of cryptocurrency on the basis of estimates of power consumption. Now, in a new study published in Joule, researchers have collected data on hardware and power sources to estimate carbon footprints. They found that for the most popular digital currency, Bitcoin, carbon emissions rivaled that of a major American city or even a small country....

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