84% of Americans do not consider Bitcoin a potential threat to the environment or to the environmental strategies or objectives outlined by the government for the conservation of the planet.
Bitcoin mining does not pose a danger to the environment, Americans say, according to a survey carried out by the market research company OnePoll for the global platform Forbes Advisor of the media company specializing in business and technology Forbes.
The survey was applied to a population sample of 2,000 US citizens who were familiar with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Most of the citizens surveyed stated that Bitcoin has no impact on the environment or, rather, that it could be very slight. The survey results also reveal that close to a quarter of the surveyed population perceives Bitcoin as a positive element for the ecosystem. Only 6% of those surveyed stated that Bitcoin has a negative impact.
Bitcoin and the Environmental Impact
Bitcoin is the world’s most powerful cryptocurrency and Blockchain network. For 14 years, this chain of blocks has served as a digital and alternative financial system for a large number of people who can carry out financial transactions globally, in a fast, decentralized, and accessible way, without the need for intermediaries.
The Forbes Advisor report, while focused on demonstrating that Bitcoin’s operation does leave a significant carbon footprint on the environment, highlights that most Americans agree that Bitcoin is not a threat to the planet.
The report notes that much of Americans are concerned about investing their money in ESG-compliant assets, which is why Forbes Advisor researchers believe that if investors understood the carbon footprint Bitcoin could generate, they would likely consider exploring other investment alternatives.
However, it should also be noted that a large number of times, publications and media ignore the efforts that Bitcoin miners are making to continuously improve their energy consumption and become more efficient.
Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption is 23% Hydroelectric
ClimateTech investor and ESG analyst Daniel Batten shared the results of a report by research platform Batcoinz, which shows that the main source of energy used by Bitcoin miners nowadays is hydroelectric. According to the platform, the use of energy sources based on fossil fuels has been declining at a rate of 6.2% per year since January 2020.
Several American Bitcoin mining companies, such as Hut8, Terawulf, and Blockfusion, are operating on hydroelectric power. Crypto mining companies that belong to the ERCOT network of Texas (United States), such as AntPool and Riot Blockchain, among others, also support their operations on the Blockchain network through the energy provided by wind farms.
Bitcoin’s Independence from Fossil Fuels
Batten highlighted that thanks to the integration of clean energy sources into the Bitcoin network, it has become the only major global industry whose main source of energy is not a fossil fuel.
In the state of Texas, the Bitcoin mining company Decimal Digital Currency inaugurated its new facilities in Granbury last month, from which it is using its surplus energy to mine Bitcoins while providing stability to the state’s electrical network at the request of the Council of Texas Energy Reliability Testing (ERCOT).
By Audy Castaneda
