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What's worse for the environment looking into 2023, coal mining or cryptocurrency mining? Cryptocurrency mining is a way of verifying and adding transactions to the blockchain, a public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. It involves using specialized computers to solve complex mathematical problems, and miners are rewarded with small amounts of cryptocurrency for their efforts. This process helps to ensure the security and integrity of the blockchain network but requires unsustainable amounts of energy that grow over time. Despite the potential for cryptocurrency to serve as a more sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional financial systems, the environmental impact of mining operations must be addressed before it can truly be considered a viable option today and a sustainable option for the future.
Yes, cryptocurrency is a sustainable, equitable solution to fiat currencies that is worth fighting for in the long run. Regarding sustainability, it can be more efficient than traditional financial systems, as it eliminates the need for intermediaries like banks and other financial institutions. This means that transactions can be processed more quickly and at a lower cost, which can reduce the overall energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with the financial system. Additionally, cryptocurrency can be programmed to automatically implement certain sustainability-focused policies, such as using renewable energy sources for mining operations or implementing carbon offsetting measures.
When considering a more equitable solution to traditional financial systems, one of the main advantages of cryptocurrency is that it is decentralized, which means that it is not controlled by any single entity, such as a government or a central bank. This allows for more equal access to the financial system, as individuals can hold and use cryptocurrency without needing to go through a financial institution. Additionally, the transparent nature of the blockchain, the technology underlying most cryptocurrencies, allows for more transparent and accountable transactions. This can help to reduce instances of fraud and corruption, and make the financial system fairer and more equitable for all users. To add, The Central African Republic and El Salvador adopted the most popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin as their legal tender when their native fiat currencies failed due to their respective governments. The option for a struggling country to adopt Bitcoin as their legal tender when their native fiat currency fails is a freedom that should not be overlooked because it avoids inevitable hyperinflation and other major economic issues. While there are still challenges to be addressed in order to make cryptocurrency truly sustainable today, it has the potential to be a more efficient, environmentally friendly, and fair alternative to fiat currency in the future.
There is no area in cryptocurrency worth prioritizing more than sustainability, which is why cryptocurrency should not be a viable option right now. Unsustainable infrastructure and mining practices are the bottleneck toward safe adoption in a global market space. Cryptocurrency has enormous benefits, in the long run, having the potential to be the most sustainably produced and equitable currency that has ever existed. However, climate change is considered by many to be the number one issue facing the world today because of its inevitable far-reaching and catastrophic impacts on the environment, human health, and the global economy. Cryptocurrency in 2022 was too harmful to our climate change goals; climate change is humanity's biggest threat, too imminent to ignore in 2023. Cryptocurrency mining can generate a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. These greenhouse gas emissions are orders of magnitude larger than the emissions from the production of standard fiat currencies, like the United States Dollar (USD). Although USD, for example, has its own sustainability issues being produced with paper, minimizing unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions should be the immediate objective. Digiconomist estimates that the Bitcoin network is responsible for about 73 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, equal to the total amounts generated by Turkmenistan. In addition, the decentralized nature of some cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin can make it difficult to regulate their environmental impact. On top of this, cryptocurrency mining generates a significant amount of electronic waste. Morgan Stanley estimates Bitcoin’s energy used exceeds that of the Netherlands. Computer hardware and other related devices are often discarded once they are no longer able to effectively mine cryptocurrencies, resulting in a significant amount of electronic waste. Electronic waste is a major environmental concern because it often contains hazardous materials, such as heavy metals and flame retardants, which can be harmful to human health and the environment if not disposed of properly.
The energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with cryptocurrency mining have become a major concern in recent years, as the energy-intensive process of verifying transactions on the blockchain continues to grow. The cryptocurrency mining computer hardware industry is forecasted to grow to a $12.9 Billion industry by 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% according to Market Growth Reports. Should we be continuing to develop, market, and grow an industry that produces unsustainable technology which is only pushing the world further away from our climate change goal? Although the future with cryptocurrency is promising regarding no trackability, less traceability, full decentralization, complete fairness, and even eco-friendliness, the current greenhouse gas emissions and energy waste surrounding the mining of cryptocurrency are too significant to consider cryptocurrency today when climate change issues are inevitable. New mining practices must be innovated and adopted to contribute, at least, a net zero to the environment. However, until cryptocurrency mining is at that level industry-wide, cryptocurrency investors should reflect on the externalities of what they are investing in and look towards environmental, social, and governance (ESG) conscious cryptocurrency tokens and funds if they choose to invest in cryptocurrency.
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