The annual carbon emissions from the electricity required to mine Bitcoin and process its transactions are equal to the amount emitted by all of New Zealand. Or Argentina.
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Running the cryptocurrency Bitcoin requires more energy than New Zealand and Belgium put together. How can something virtual keep power plants around the world so busy? DW's Timothy Rooks looks into the numbers.
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Unfortunately, as is often the case with mainstream media reporting on cryptocurrency, there are some slight misconceptions in the article. This detracts from the underlying message of the piece.
One example relates to the block writing process, which the author likens to a lottery in which miners occasionally receive small amounts of Bitcoin. However, a more fitting analogy describes Bitcoin as a race in which the winner always receives 6.25 BTC.
“As a reward, miners occasionally receive small amounts of Bitcoin in what is often likened to a lottery.
What’s more, the article quotes blockchain author David Gerard, who makes several disparaging points about the leading cryptocurrency, including its wastefulness. He also criticizes Musk by saying he used $1.5bn of taxpayer money to buy Bitcoin. Adding that BTC miners primarily use coal to power their mining rigs.