Study: Carbon Emissions Up 17% After China’s Mining Ban

One of the reasons why China banned mining was precisely the environmental aspect. However, most of the Chinese miners moved to Kazakhstan, where coal is burned to produce electricity.

After China imposed a ban on cryptocurrency mining last year, miners began moving their equipment to other jurisdictions, including Kazakhstan. According to a study published by Joule, this led to a 17% increase in carbon emissions.

Alex de Vries, one of the authors of the study, noted that when miners worked in China, they used clean energy to mine bitcoin. However, as they left the region, they had to switch to energy derived from fossil fuels.

Since last August, the amount of renewable energy used to mine cryptocurrencies has dropped from 42% to 25%, according to researchers. Experts emphasized that about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide are produced annually during bitcoin mining.

Recall that in November last year, the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange announced its carbon neutral status and the purchase of 7,110 carbon credits worth about $100,000.

Source: Bits

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