Sun and Musk agree on the idea that Bitcoin mining is harmful to the environment. Studies reveal that the negative impact of this activity has decreased as the equipment is increasingly efficient.
In recent days, Tron founder and CEO Justin Sun said that he had the same concern about cryptocurrencies as Elon Musk. Sun stated that he now shares the criticism of the CEO of Tesla about the alleged damage by Bitcoin mining to the environment.
He also predicted that a new cryptocurrency bullish rally will start between July and August. Investors are buying cheaply, which could change the current bearish situation into which Bitcoin has dragged the entire market.
However, Sun believes that a new rally in the price of cryptocurrencies will do little good if Proof of Work (PoW) remains. Some cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether use the PoW protocol, which requires much energy to process transactions on the blockchain.
Some Actors Want Bitcoin Mining to Disappear
Currently, no one can be sure whether Musk and Sun’s “concerns” about Bitcoin mining are substantiated. There has been an intense debate about the impact of cryptocurrency mining on the environment in recent years. Justin Sun, CEO of Bitcoin’s rival Tron project, is one of those interested in seeing the pioneering cryptocurrency decline.
A study by Denmark’s Aalborg University concluded that comments on the impact of Bitcoin mining are exaggerated. Susanne Köhler, the lead author of the research, said that Bitcoin mining equipment tends to be more efficient in terms of consumption.
However, the adoption of the cryptocurrency and its price boom lead to an increase in hash rate. For that reason, energy consumption continues to rise even with the use of more efficient equipment.
China Plays a Fundamental Role in Any Estimate
Although the environmental impact is not as exaggerated as Bitcoin’s critics say, that does not mean that it does not exist. On the contrary, prestigious agencies such as the Cambridge Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index (CBECI) highlight that there is high consumption.
The strong criticism against Bitcoin mining in China has caused energy consumption to drop significantly. According to the CBECI, the low-level annualized theoretical consumption is 38.93 TWh while the high-level theoretical consumption is 260.91 TWh.
Specialized media consider that the problem is the source of that energy rather than the magnitude of consumption. China is one of the countries with the lowest electricity bills, and most of this energy comes from coal. In this sense, the carbon that comes from the subsoil and goes into the atmosphere significantly accelerates climate change.
The Mining Industry Requires Urgent Solutions
Sun believes that Bitcoin mining requires immediate and permanent solutions geared towards clean energy. He stated that many miners are using green energy, but the effort so far has not been enough.
Justin Sun believes that PoW causes great damage to the environment, even with green energy. On the contrary, he believes that Proof of Stake (PoS), which Tron (TRX) uses, reduces energy consumption by up to 99%. He noted that most new blockchain projects tend to use PoS.
As for Musk, he said that the enemy is not Bitcoin mining but the struggle between fiat money and cryptocurrencies. He joined Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, to form a mining council that promotes green solutions for PoW-mined coins.
By Alexander Salazar
