Mining cryptocurrency uses more energy than conventional mining of copper or platinum and at least as much as mining gold finds new research published today in the journal Nature Sustainability. The digital currencies aren’t helping climate change either, as they produce millions of tons of CO2 emissions. Market trends for the virtual currency are on the rise suggesting energy requirements for cryptocurrencies will only continue to increase, researchers say.
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets designed to work like money. Cryptography — the art of writing or solving codes — keeps transactions secure. Mining is a way people can earn cryptocurrency. To collect their payout, miners have to validate previous transactions (which helps to keep people from double-spending the cryptocurrency) and be the first to correctly solve a number problem. Successful miners receive newly made coins as a reward for their computation.
Two years ago Max Krause, who led the new research, ...
