A study out of New Mexico has found that the environmental harm produced by Bitcoin mining is comparable with that of beef production or oil refining.
"Mining" for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions. If Bitcoin was a country, it would be in the top 30 energy users woldwide.
An analysis predicts the Bitcoin network could be using 7.67 gigawatts of electricity by the end of the year. That’s half a percent of the world’s electricity and the same amount used by the whole of Austria.
