How much water do cryptocurrencies use?
Are you a crypto lover I guess? So many of us are interested in cryptocurrencies, as this crypto age has made so many millionaires from the bedroom.
But, Have you ever asked yourself what is the actual money you have to spend mining Bitcoin or Ether? Often forgotten in the news headlines about the digital revolution and finance is the environmental aspect.
It’s not only about electricity but also the issue of water which is more scarce than ever.
A financial economist Alex de Vries from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam found out that the transfer of one bitcoin is equal to nearly 100 bathtubs of water.
Such a huge amount is mainly because of the cooling needs of high computing machines involved in mining.
Heat losses are associated with the heated cooling water that raises water temperature and causes evaporation, which represents a major challenge for arid zones and water ecology.
A cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum is operated by blockchain technology but has a lot of carbon footprints.
These consume enormous energy and water, hence worsening the global energy and water problems.
According to de Vries, “Drought is rampant in many places around the world and the availability of clean drinking water is getting less.”
But, why do companies need so much water when mining Bitcoin?
The process of mining entails solving encrypted equations, also known as “hashes,” for which miners get paid proportionate to bitcoins’ value.
According to de Vries, this procedure is about three hundred and fifty billion queries per second, which is accompanied by an exorbitant amount of heat.
This heat, of course, requires cooling which is mostly done by water analogous to the cooling systems of coal or gas power plants.
It is the same with even hydro-power for generating electricity.