Bitcoin Mining More Damaging To The Environment After China Ban, Study Says

The China bitcoin mining ban that took place mid-last year was no doubt a heavy blow to the space. It saw the hash rate from the region which was once termed the mining capital of the world crumble to almost zero as miners had to shut down their operations. The reason for this from the Chinese government boiled down to concerns about electricity consumption and environmental impact. As the miners exited China, they had to set up business elsewhere and procure electricity for their mining farms, which can be quite energy-intensive. According to a new report, these new energy sources have been mainly from non-renewable sources compared to what the miners used in China. This means that the energy impact of bitcoin mining has gone up in recent months. Bitcoin Mining Carbon Footprint Now Worse It has been less than a year since China placed a ban on bitcoin mining and the effects are already being felt energy-wise. The general school of thought following the ban had been that miners would focus on more renewable energy sources so as to avoid a repeat of the issues in the region. However, a new study has shown that this is not so. Rather, the environmental impact of bitcoin mining has only gotten worse. Related Reading | TA: Why Bitcoin Must Close Above $40K For Trend Reversal China is a country known for its wide use of hydropower, a renewable energy source, and the miners in the country had used a significant amount of renewa...