RichmondSuper Reports – What Happened To One-Third Of Bitcoin’s Computing Energy?

The Crypto Buzz

Via ZEXPR, Cryptocurrency has established itself as the potential replacement for the Dollar and people are massively moving towards it. The digital currency came into being in the year 2009 and its founder is said to be a mysterious personality who is named Satoshi Nakamoto. Initially, when the concept of a currency came out which would have no physician presence and would not be regulated by any governmental organization, people were reluctant to adopt it. In 2011 February, bitcoin reached the price of  $1 and a few months later it gained a value of $31. It was eminent now that bitcoin had a long way to go. Today, bitcoin is all set to soar high above the USD 65K mark and the growing popularity has led to the introduction of a whole lot of other cryptos. 

Bitcoin Mining

If you have a slight interest in the bitcoin world, you must have heard of the term Bitcoin Mining. This mining is nothing like coal mining but it has a lot to do with it. Bitcoin mining is one of the major operations needed for bitcoin progress. This is basically a procedure that involves solving highly complex mathematical problems which are too hard to be solved by hand or a regular scientific calculator. They require high tech computers and that too very powerful and efficient. 

When bitcoins are mined successfully, they can serve dual purposes. Firstly, you can produce more bitcoins or new bitcoins to cater for the rising demand. Secondly, this means that its payment network is being made more trustworthy and safe because the transaction information is verified. 

Like it has been discussed above how bitcoin mining computers have to be very powerful it is obvious that they are energy-intensive. So much is the requirement that it surpasses the usage by entire countries. Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index is a tool developed by Cambridge’s researchers which can measure the bitcoin usage of energy. According to this tool, its annual carbon footprint is equivalent to that of Argentina. It has also been reported by Cambridge researchers that its energy consumption is more than that of the Netherlands’. Digiconomist says that it has a CO2 production of 36.9 megatons which is comparable to that of New Zealand. 

RichmondSuper Broker, Mr. Joe Simmons says, that this much of energy consumption can be drastic and the rate at which the bitcoin popularity is rising, if immediate steps are not taken then we should remain ready for fighting more environmental problems along with the pandemic.

Xinjiang Mine Incident

Just recently, on 17-18th of April, a mine of Xinjiang, China flooded, trapping 21 miners inside. Since then rescuers got to work pumping out water and supplying air to the trailer individuals. They were busy carrying out upgrading works when the incident happened. Chinese coal mines are believed to be one of the world’s most dangerous places because of often reported explosions and gas leakages. Last December, 30 miners were killed in a mine in Chongqing. 

After the miners’ rescue operation began, the production process was standstill to carry out a safety check and hence the uninterrupted supply of coal to power plants came to a halt and this led to a blackout. With this incident came an answer to a huge question. 

Impact of the Incident on the Bitcoin World

Soon after this halt, it was seen that a total of one-third of the world’s power, which is employed for carrying out complex computational work for mining, was disrupted. Mr. Simmons says that this incident has diverted the world’s attention to the significant role that China is playing in bitcoin mining despite the harsh stance.

He further stated that another important fact that this incident is pointing at is that the digital token is running fossil fuel. And out of all the fossil fuels, it is the coal which is being employed the most. This is particularly alarming because Coal happens to be the dirtiest of all. 

Why shouldn’t it have been Coal?

When coal is burnt it leads to the production of a plethora of emissions that can be fatal to human health. These include CO2, greenhouse gas, Nitrogen Oxides and particulates which are principal contributors to smog, mercury which has a direct impact on the neurological development of not only humans but also animals. Not to mention the methane which is released in large amounts into the air. It is also reported that the total environmental impact of coal is larger than that of any other fossil fuel. According to data, coal-powered power plants release more greenhouse gases for every unit of energy consumed than the rest of fossil fuels. 

It is also being said that this incident has one way or the other given life to the slowly diminishing natural gas industry. 

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