According to a new analysis of the Dutch central bank and MIT, to produce Bitcoin it pollutes even more than we thought. Indeed generates more e-waste one single cryptocurrency that throw two iPhones in the trash. A fact that, adding to the large production of carbon dioxide of the digital currency, alarms environmentalists.
One Bitcoin pollutes more than throwing two iPhones
As explained in an analysis by MIT scholars and the Bank of Holland, there are some hardware components totally dedicated to the production of cryptocurrencies. The chips called ASICs are responsible for processing the mining algorithms and control for the Bitcoin network. Since only the newest chips have the cost-benefit ratio in favor, according to the study (otherwise producing a Bitcoin costs more in electricity than it is worth), miners have to keep swapping them.
According to Alex de Vries and Christian Still, the authors of the research,: “The life cycle of Bitcoin mining devices remains limited to only 1.29 years. As a result, we estimate that the entire Bitcoin production network currently throws 30.7 kilotons of materials each year. The number is comparable to the amount of small IT and telecommunications materials thrown away by a nation like Holland ”.
Given that in 2020 there were 112.5 million transitions in the Bitcoin network (compared to 539 billion for classic payments), oreach transition is equivalent to 272 grams. Two iPhones Mini, as The Guardian points out.
The reason ASIC chips are thrown away so often is that they have no use other than mining cryptocurrencies. And if they don’t do it efficiently, they become junk. These chips could be reusable if the price of Bitcoin were to rise. But they would be less energy efficient, reducing the profit margins of those who mine.
The sustainability of cryptocurrencies is coming to the center of the discussion, with regulators and even private companies (such as Tesla) voicing doubts about Bitcoin pollution. Electronic waste is a hitherto little considered aspect to be taken into account. And that could have an effect on the future value of the virtual currency.