Climate tech VC argues Bitcoin’s ESG positives outweigh its negatives 31:1
1 min readA climate tech investor has painted a bright view of the Bitcoin (BTC) network, suggesting BTC’s environmental positives outweigh its negatives by a whopping 31:1 ratio.
On Jan. 12, self-proclaimed philanthropist and environmentalist Daniel Batten claimed in a Twitter thread that “Bitcoin is probably the most important
The handful of negatives included network emission levels, e-waste production, and the opening up of previous fossil fuel sites. However, the environmental positives far outweighed these negatives, according to Batten who opined:
“Bitcoin mining’s rapid renewable adoption can inspire other industry sectors to follow.”
“We see Bitcoin mining can play a real part in global methane mitigation,” he concluded.
Related: Bitcoin could become a zero-emission network: Report
On Jan. 13, the SCMP opposed the notion that Bitcoin was good for the environment by reporting that BTC accounted for 86.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.
However, it did acknowledge that Ethereum saw its CO2 emissions drop from 21.95 million tons in 2021 to 8,824 tons last year, according to the data from Forex Suggest. The Ethereum Merge and switch to proof-of-stake last year reduced network power consumption by 99.98%.