Post by Massimo Brebbia

Bitcoin, crypto is possibly the currency of the future, but... Is it sustainable? DISCLAIMER: This discussion is not about bitcoin, but to raise awareness that every "Cloud-based" activity has its effect on the earth. The top of the tree is green, the roots are in the soil sucking our resources. I wanted to buy a new Nvidia Geforce video card for my PC to discover that the prices went to the roof and availability almost to zero because all the miners are using the chip to mine Bitcoin. So I have done some googling and this is what I have found: Bitcoin has the same energy consumption as Kazakhistan. Bitcoin has the same emission footprint as Norway. Bitcoin generates the same waste as Luxemburg. One Bitcoin transaction uses the same energy as watching 74,155 hours of youtube or 986,125 visa transactions. One Bitcoin transaction uses as much power as 32 days of your house consumption. Pretty scary isn't it? By the way to read this message you have consumed the equivalent of a 60W bulb for two minutes and contributed to the internet carbon footprint that is around 300 million tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to every person in the UK flying to America and back twice over. Study details at the link in the comment. Please read the article, it is interesting, but moreover start to google how much energy you are using for routine activities, send an email, watch a video, send a WhatsApp. The net survives on electricity, electricity is not free and mostly from carbon fossils. #massimobrebbia #sustainable #energy