Estimating the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining

As an alternative to government-issued money, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin offers relative anonymity, no sales tax and freedom from bank and government interference. But some people argue that these benefits have an enormous environmental impact, particularly with regard to Bitcoin mining — the process used to secure the cryptocurrency. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have estimated that past and future environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining could be lower than previously thought.

In contrast to traditional banks, which keep records of balances and transactions at a centralized location, in Bitcoin all transactions are stored digitally as “blocks” in a chain that is kept by a network of peers. Using special computers, Bitcoin miners in this network compete to solve a mathematical puzzle. The winner, who earns the right to add the next block of data to the chain, is rewarded with new Bitcoin currency. This mining requires substantial…