A claim made in a pro-Bitcoin mining report deals a blow to anti-Bitcoin environmentalists. Daniel Batten, a self-proclaimed philanthropist turned Bitcoin environmental analyst, predicts that Bitcoin (BTC) “could become the first zero-emission monetary system.”
The report draws on data from the Bitcoin Mining Council to understand the impact of carbon-negative energy sources on Bitcoin’s global carbon footprint.. After investigation and extrapolation of the results, one can “predict when the entire Bitcoin network will become a zero emission network.”
But how does the Bitcoin network become carbon negative in the first place? In a nutshell, by burning stranded methane gas to mine Bitcoin that would otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere. The study concludes that this process, which is already being carried out around the world, reduces the emissions of the Bitcoin network by 63%.
“That means that the 1.57% of the Bitcoin network using negative carbon sources has a -4.2% impact on the carbon intensity of the Bitcoin network.”
The study uses data from several Bitcoin miners using flue gas, including Crusoe Energy in Colorado, Jaienergy in Wyoming, and Arthur Mining in Brazil. However, he also refers to Bitcoin miners using off-gas from animal waste – such as Bitcoin miners in Slovakia – to illustrate that Bitcoin mining can have a positive impact on the environment by avoiding the emission of harmful methane. .
As central banks and the media continue to criticize the energy-intensive Bitcoin mining process, it appears that Bitcoin mining could be a viable route to reducing emissions.. According to a United Nations report, “reducing methane is the strongest lever we have to reduce climate change in the next 25 years.” By eliminating gas flaring or biogas emissions from animal waste, Bitcoin miners around the world are working towards the goal of zero emissions.
Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall interviewed a Northern Irish farmer who recently started trying Bitcoin mining. Owen the farmer said to Cointelegraph that It “makes sense” to mine Bitcoin using farm waste that emits biogas that would otherwise have gone into the atmosphere.
Owen partnered with Scilling Digital Mining, an Irish company looking for renewable energy to use for Bitcoin mining. In a nod to more adoption in Ireland, Mark Morton, CEO of Scilling, told Cointelegraph:
“Daniel [Batten] has done a phenomenal job of showing off the methane capturing ability of Bitcoin mining. The plaudits for these unassuming energy consumers have only just begun, and the farmers of Ireland could be the next big adopters of this amazing technology.”
Morton added that “Bitcoin mining will be the catalyst for the widespread adoption of off-grid small-scale anaerobic digestion, leading to less waste on farms, greater decentralization of network hashrate and a reduction in emissions from livestock. The livestock industry is responsible for a third of Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so capturing waste gases from livestock activity could not only clean up the polluting livestock industry, but also earn additional income through of Bitcoin mining.
Daniel Batten, author of the report, is an environmentalist who is dedicated to research on Bitcoin and energy consumption. Before advocating environmentalism through Bitcoin mining, Batten was a philanthropist and venture capitalist.
During a remote presentation at Surfin Bitcoin over the weekend, he shared why mining Bitcoin has become his “most important mission.” In the video, he defends methane capture and underlines the urgency of climate change.
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