Coins you don't see with your eyes and you don't touch them with your hands, they're numbers and symbols you find on a computer screen, each coin has a symbol or signal, but does not seeing and touching it mean it's not affecting the environment in any way?
Digital currencies, especially Bitcoin, have gained widespread popularity in much of the world after being traded by major investors, led by Elon Musk, who promoted them in February and invested دولار 1.5 billion in them. This encouraged many to buy them in the hope of a quick profit.
But a storm has hit digital currencies especially Bitcoin recently after Elon Musk suspended accepting cryptocurrency as a way to pay for Tesla cars, "due to climate concerns" as well as China imposing new restrictions on its use.
But, a question may come to mind about an intangible cryptocurrency's relationship to the climate, and how it causes significant environmental damage?
The answer lies in how to mine digital currencies.
Mining digital currency
Mining process of bitcoin is the process of creating a new currency using computers to solve algorithms and code-breaking sports complex. Bitcoin users, who are metaphorically called " miners, "save and record data and trades in accounting chains each called" blockchain, " which is more like a general ledger in the accounting world.
The process of keeping and recording data in the blockchain requires very efficient and efficient computers.
Because the currency is decentralized, it is not controlled by governments. It is constantly updated through a network of infected computers for this purpose around the world.
On average, one bitcoin mining takes about 10 minutes on the network to solve the complex software and process a block. The process ends with the use of a large amount of electrical energy due to the demand of many coin mining to receive in return bitcoins and exemption from transaction processing fees.
China's relationship to carbon emissions
Initially, "miners" could work in cryptocurrency mining using their personal computers, but as the price of digital currency increased, it required more efficient and efficient hardware, which meant more energy consumption.
75 percent of bitcoin is mined in China, especially in rural areas, and two-thirds of the electricity consumed in China comes from coal, meaning that most of the electricity consumed for this purpose is environmentally harmful. The higher the price of bitcoin, the higher the amount of energy consumed also, thus increasing environmental pollution and carbon emissions that accelerate the process of global warming.
The largest bitcoin mining facilities are currently located in China, which relies heavily on coal for electricity generation. This is due to the cheapness of electricity prices in them.
Chinese experts published a study on the growing energy consumption and carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption for electric power generation, finding that "the energy consumption consumed in the mining blockchain annually in China is expected to reach 296.59 terawatts per hour by 2024, resulting in 130.50 million metric tons of carbon emissions. The equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions, annual of the Czech Republic and Qatar".
A report by the University of Cambridge also noted that bitcoin mining consumes more than 120 terawatt-hours per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of electricity for Malaysia, Sweden or Argentina.
Numbers
The Cambridge Alternative Finance Centre estimates that, as of May 19, the industry's energy consumption had reached 147.8 terawatt-hours. This represents a significant increase from about 121.9 terawatt hours since Tesla bought 1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February this year.
The Centre, the production process of bitcoin currently consumes an estimated 0.59 percent of global electricity production, enough to run all electric money in Britain for 33 years.
Promising digital currencies less harmful to the environment?
Experts say that all cryptocurrencies are relatively environmentally harmful, but the impact of some is less according to data center statistics "TRG".
The company, based in Houston, Texas, states that the " XRP " digital currency is less harmful, to use 0.0079 kWh.
Elon Musk's much-promoted Dogecoin consumes 0.12 kilowatts per hour. Ethereum consumes 62.56 kWh.
The most successful bitcoin in the cryptocurrency world, at the bottom of the list, consumes 707 kilowatts per hour.
What is the future of digital currency?
The cryptocurrency catcher is "a good idea in many ways, optimistic about its future" but believes it shouldn't be at the expense of the environment.
He said he "does not intend to sell bitcoins that his company Tesla has bought and intends to use in transactions once mining has moved to more sustainable energy" such as solar and wind and that he would consider other cryptocurrencies that use less than one percent of the energy used in bitcoin mining.
But his remarks sparked widespread controversy on social media and were widely criticized for his conflicting tweets.
"Elon Musk had a very short relationship with Bitcoin, I think he didn't realize who he married, I know Tesla represents eco-friendly cars, but these cars consume the same amount of electricity that is used in bitcoin mining, so I think it was a premature divorce between Elon and bitcoin, and I'm sure cryptocurrency trading would work well without Elon.
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