Crypto derivatives trading platform BitMEX, which has had its fair share of bad press over the past year, is trying to contribute to cleaning up the wider industry's image by taking action to address growing climate concerns over the carbon footprint of Proof-of-Work currencies like Bitcoin (BTC). In an announcement published on May 21, the exchange said that while there are ostensibly “wildly divergent views and accuracy of information” regarding the climate risks posed by some cryptocurrencies, BitMEX feels it has a “responsibility to take positive action.” This action will take the form of an attempt to offset its carbon …

“Proof of work is proof of burning,” is fast becoming the dominant view of Bitcoin (BTC) among those who are serious about tackling the climate crisis. The words are from a United Kingdom government representative for this year's COP26 UN climate talks, cited this week in the Financial Times. The same article indicates that climate campaigning groups — who have, until now, been slow to take a firm line against Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies — are catching up and becoming more aware of the climate risks involved. Greenpeace, which set up a facility for accepting Bitcoin donations back in 2014, is now …

A new announcement from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, or DRC, has informed the public that they now have a direct way to report any outlying cryptocurrency operations in the region. As previously reported, Inner Mongolia was once home to a vast network of crypto mining operators, who collectively accounted for 7.71% of the global Bitcoin network hash rate between September 2019 and April 2020. As part of Beijing's increasingly proactive, ambitious agenda to reduce carbon emissions, Chinese authorities have increasingly scrutinized the coal-rich region of Inner Mongolia, where plentiful, cheap electricity remains reliant on fossil …

The Iranian government continues to closely monitor the cryptocurrency mining industry by initiating new measures against home crypto miners, according to a new report. Mostafa Rajabi, a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Energy, said that crypto mining with household electricity is not legal and, thus, home miners will have to pay heavy fines if discovered, local news agency The Tehran Times reported Sunday. Crypto miners using household energy will be also required to provide compensation for potential damages caused to the electricity network, the official stated. Rajabi said that the government has undertaken these measures in order to get a …

Amid the ongoing concerns over Bitcoin’s (BTC) energy consumption, a new study states that the traditional banking system consumes much more energy than the Bitcoin network. Michael Novogratz’s cryptocurrency firm, Galaxy Digital, released a report Friday titled “On Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption: A Quantitative Approach to a Subjective Question,” providing open-source access to its methodology and calculations. Compiled by Galaxy’s mining arm, the study estimates Bitcoin’s annual electricity consumption to stand at 113.89 terawatts per hour, including energy for miner demand, miner power consumption, pool power consumption and node power consumption. This amount is at least two times lower than the …

The energy consumed by mining — the process that keeps Bitcoin’s blockchain running — has been an increasingly popular topic of discussion in recent weeks. On Friday, CNBC posted an interview with SUKU CEO Yonathan Lapchik, during which he explained the Bitcoin mining scene as it relates to renewable energy. The interviewer noted Lapchik previously claimed that 75% of Bitcoin mining comes from renewable energy. “We think that 75% is an actual figure,” Lapchik told CNBC, “The miners are truly incentivized to use renewable energy." Turning his thoughts to electric car-maker Tesla, which recently announced it would no longer accept …

After months of touting the benefits of Bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain technology, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shocked Crypto Twitter on Wednesday by announcing that the electric car company would suspend its accepting BTC as a form of payment, citing concerns related to the energy required to mine the top cryptocurrency. As Tesla issued its statement, Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and a large segment of altcoins sold off sharply, but there were a few projects that found clever ways to capitalize off the mayhem by tweeting about the “green” nature of their networks, which require only a tiny fraction of the energy …

Bitcoin has fostered a reputation for consuming a lot of power — but in an interesting twist, blockchain technology could also play an instrumental role in delivering a greener future. We spoke to David Duckworth, the CEO and founder of Rowan Energy, to find out how his company is using blockchain to tackle the flaws that exist in the energy sector… and make installing solar energy infrastructure more financially feasible for consumers. 1. Firstly, what exactly is the Rowan Energy blockchain? Rowan Energy is a new breed of energy company that aims to change the way people buy and sell …

Bill Maher did not hold back criticizing cryptocurrencies from Bitcoin (BTC) to Dogecoin (DOGE), implying the whole space was fake and yet still required an incredible amount of real energy. Speaking in the New Rules segment on his show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, the comedian said the goal of mining crypto was to “make something that is purposefully arbitrary.” Comparing the crypto space to a virtual game and speaking about mining in a seemingly derisive tone, Maher implied investing in tokens was a childish endeavor which some prominent financial figures like Warren Buffett were avoiding. “There is …

Beijing authorities are reportedly conducting inspections of crypto mining data centers to better understand their impact on energy consumption, Reuters reported on Thursday. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology on Tuesday sent an emergency notice to the city’s data center operators asking them to report whether they are involved in mining Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. The notice required data centers to report the amount of power consumed by crypto mining, the report notes. A bureau official said that notice recipients include China’s top-three telecom operators. He noted that he was unaware of the reason behind the …

Amid growing concerns over the energy sector in Kyrgyzstan, a former government official has argued that cryptocurrency mining is a major factor driving the energy crisis. Daniyar Akmatov, former director of the state investment protection organization, the Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, addressed the challenges in Kyrgyzstan’s energy sector at a roundtable in Bishkek, local news agency Tazabek reported on Wednesday. The former official said that crypto mining is causing issues for the country’s energy sector, alongside other factors like the devaluation of the Kyrgyz som and poor promotion of energy investment. “Consumption of electricity due to cryptocurrency mining has …

Tesla — a top 10 company in the Fortune 100 that is run by one of the world’s wealthiest people, Elon Musk — transferred $1.5 billion of its treasury cash into Bitcoin (BTC) in early February. Musk’s Bitcoin purchase startled traditional investors, who now had to understand how their investment in Tesla would relate to Bitcoin. Currently, much of Tesla’s revenue comes from selling surplus renewable energy credits, or RECs, which will dry up in the next several years as competing automakers produce their own zero-emissions vehicles and build up RECs with states that require them. In Tesla’s filing with …