Bitcoin Halving Will Hurt the Environment, and There's Not Much We Can Do to Stop It

Bitcoin halving, in which rewards for mining Bitcoin are reduced by 50%, happens roughly every four years, as Fast Company has reported.

Bitcoin halving, in which rewards for mining Bitcoin are reduced by 50%, happens roughly every four years, as Fast Company has reported.

April 2024's Bitcoin halving will affect what miners can earn, but it is also anticipated to have a troubling environmental impact.

What's happening?

Bitcoin is finite, with 21 million as the cutoff point, according to Fast Company. Around 19 million have already been mined, and halving happens after every 210,000 blocks are mined. The reward was 6.25 BTC for every block mined up until April's halving, but that now stands at only 3.125 BTC.

With the halving, two environmentally negative possibilities are expected. First, mining Bitcoin is an energy-intensive activity, with a United Nations study that found 173.42 terawatt-hours of electricity were used to mine Bitcoin between the 2020 and 2021 mining period.

When rewards are halved, miners are likely to work harder to make the same amount they did before the halving, which could see the amount of energy used soar, as Fast Company detailed.

Second, miners may opt to invest in new equipment to boost productivity, meaning machines at the end of their life cycle will likely end up in landfills.

Why is excessive energy consumption and e-waste concerning?

While renewable energy sources like solar and wind power are becoming more prevalent across the globe, power stations that run on fossil fuels remain the dominant provider of electricity.

According to the Energy Institute's 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy, shared by Our World in Data, coal generated 35.51% of the world's energy in 2023, followed by gas at 22.47%.

These energy sources produce pollution that traps heat in the atmosphere, leading average global temperatures to creep up. With warmer air encouraging extreme weather events like droughts, flooding, wildfires, and deadly storms, it's essential we reduce our reliance on dirty fuel for energy and cut consumption. The increased power demands of Bitcoin mining will not help this cause.

Regarding e-waste, the World Health Organization has noted it is the world's fastest-growing solid waste stream. Of the 59 million tons of e-waste discarded in 2019, only 17.4% was documented as being collected and recycled.

The items that aren't recycled typically end up in landfills, and the WHO says that if treated inappropriately, this waste can release up to 1,000 different chemical substances into the environment, such as lead and mercury.

What can we do to help?

While there's not a lot we can do about the Bitcoin market, we can be more responsible about our life choices. For example, harnessing the power of the sun through rooftop solar panels can reduce our reliance on dirty fuel and cut our energy bills.

We can also make better decisions when it comes to recycling electronics. Consider repairing existing machines rather than throwing out broken ones, which could save you money and keep items from heading to landfills. If that isn't an option, finding appropriate recycling points for electronic waste will at least give machines more of a chance of finding a second life than just sending them to the trash would.

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