The Dark Side of Bitcoin: Climate Damages Shot Up 126 Times Since 2016

Through December 2021, BTC had a market value of over $960 billion (US$) and a global market share of nearly 41% among all crypto currencies.

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The energy consumption of Bitcoin mining has significantly increased from January 2016 to December 2021, with a peak usage of 75.4 TWh per year in 2020.

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Prior to the ban in China, hydropower was a significant source of electricity for mining.

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Fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, primarily power POW cryptocurrency mining, though 39% of it is powered by renewables.

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Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Monero are estimated to have contributed 3-15 million tons of CO2 emissions between January 2016 and June 2018, equivalent to the emissions of countries such as Afghanistan, Slovenia, and Uruguay in 2018.

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Bitcoin mining's CO2e emissions per coin increased 126 times from 2016 to 2021.

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The CO2e emissions and climate damages of Bitcoin mining have increased significantly, with each coin mined in 2021 causing an average of $11,314 in damages and total global damages for 2021 exceeding $3.7 billion.

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Bitcoin mining has caused $12 billion in global climate damages from 2016 to 2021, with each coin created in 2021 resulting in an average of $11,314 in damages and global damages for all coins mined in 2021 exceeding $3.7 billion, according to estimates.

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The environmental impact of mining cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, is highly dependent on the amount of renewable energy used in the process.

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