A new study indicates that mines in China powering nearly 80 percent of the global trade in cryptocurrencies risk undercutting the country’s climate goals, reports Tech Xplore. The Nature Communications study found that unchecked, China’s bitcoin mines will generate 130.50 million metric tons of carbon emissions by 2024 – close to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from Italy or Saudi Arabia. About 40 percent of China’s bitcoin mines are powered with coal, while the rest use renewables, the study said. China banned trading in cryptocurrencies in 2019 to prevent money laundering, but mining is permitted.
https://techxplore.com/news/2021-04-china-bitcoin-derailing-climate-goals.html
