Environmental Impact on Cryptocurrencies!

Cryptocurrency is an online based virtual currency. It is a digital currency whose control is handed over to humans. But this digital currency removes all costs between users and providers of money. But the important point here is that Bitcoin mining requires a lot of electricity. Which is not possible for a normal country. The largest country for Bitcoin mining is the United States. Which accounts for 37.84% of all mining operations in Bitcoin mining.


The most important thing is that Bitcoin mining not only requires electricity but also energy, equipment, internet and a global networking infrastructure. Which is not possible for all countries. Moreover, the equipment required for generating or mining bitcoins here is very expensive and inadequate. Additionally, Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies require large amounts of energy to perform the tasks associated with crypto mining. This amount of energy is more than the amount of electricity used by many countries. Simply put, more than the amount of electricity consumed by some small countries .


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[source](https://pixabay.com/photos/environmental-protection-326923/)

However, the important point here is that, from the equipment used for Bitcoin mining to the energy consumption, it has a large environmental impact. Simply put, the impact of cryptocurrencies on the environment is becoming massive. Moreover some use power like small countries to maintain blockchain. There are even concerns about the water footprint of cryptocurrencies.


But the most important thing we should know is that more than 77 kilotons of e-waste is generated every year as a by-product of the amount of electricity or equipment Bitcoin miners use for mining. And such electrical waste or by-products are very threatening to the environment. Although some cryptocurrencies do not use mining. But Bitcoin is unlikely to change its consensus algorithm. We know that the banking systems that we have in our countries generally use the power of credit cards. which uses the same energy as a non-proof-of-work blockchain.


Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining require a large amount of energy, but the exact amount of energy required cannot be described or stated. Because there is no direct way to calculate how much energy is used in mining. But the amount can only be estimated. And this is estimated by the hashrate of the network and the commercially available mining rigs. However, it is estimated that Bitcoin mining consumes approximately 140 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually. That is to say, some part of the electricity used worldwide is used for this Bitcoin mining. Simply put, there are some countries that use more electricity for Bitcoin mining. Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency network. It also consumes a lot of electricity. As of the end of last year, one estimate based on energy consumption is 0.01 terawatt-hours of electricity per year. Even the average Ethereum transaction requires 0.02 kilowatt-hours of electricity.


Currently, the number of cryptocurrencies is more than a thousand. Also hundreds of exchanges have been built based on them. None of the cryptocurrency energy usage reports or calculations account for the energy expended to create new coins or operate services for them. Since the amount of energy used by cryptocurrency mining is not fixed and also the amount of this energy used will change over time. Cryptocurrency mining is a competitive process. As the value of the block reward continues to rise, so does the incentive to start mining growth in tandem. Higher cryptocurrency prices mean more energy is consumed by crypto networks as more people join mining networks trying to profit from this growth.


**Calculating the carbon footprint is more complicated, just as it is impossible to determine how much energy a cryptocurrency is using. But an important point is that there are many countries where fossil fuels are the main source of energy. But of course miners have to work with one thing in mind. Because they must find the cheapest sources of energy to remain profitable.**

**Digiconomist has made a guess on the matter. They reveal that the Bitcoin network is responsible for approximately 73 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Which is to say the very same thing and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions is almost equal to the amount produced by Oman. Ethereum is no exception. It also produced an estimated 35.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2022. And we know how harmful carbon dioxide emissions are to our atmosphere. And this carbon dioxide emission increases the temperature of our earth and is responsible for global warming.**