A Bitcoin transaction generates nearly half a ton of carbon dioxide

A single Bitcoin transaction generates approximately 486 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2). These findings were revealed in a joint study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the consulting firm Swiss Economics, commissioned by Germany’s Federal Environment Agency. 

The colossal volumes of carbon emissions are directly linked to the mining process, in which thousands of high-performance computers around the world simultaneously compete for the right to validate new blocks and generate coins, a process that requires an enormous amount of electricity.

At the same time, researchers emphasize that not every popular cryptocurrency has such a devastating impact on the environment. In particular, a single transaction on the Ethereum network—the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization—results in the emission of just three grams of CO2, which is even lower than a typical electronic money transfer via the popular online payment service PayPal. Ethereum’s environmental friendliness stems from the fact that the platform’s developers were previously able to largely eliminate energy-intensive computational processes, significantly reducing the system’s overall energy consumption and associated harmful emissions.

This is reported in an article by Swissinfo.

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