Climate change has become an increasingly pressing matter. Industries cannot, anymore, function without taking the social costs of the environment into consideration. With the rise in the cryptocurrency market, activists have also started exploring the environmental ramifications of cryptocurrency mining.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs in a conversation with Emily Chang from Bloomberg, has vocalized his concerns for the environment because of the cryptocurrency market. The mining of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like is an energy-intensive process. Bitcoin, the king of cryptocurrencies, has been on a roll in the new year. The cryptocurrency established its all-time high at $60 and is, once again, skirting near the level. The Proof of Stake mechanism of the network requires high energy resources.
Brad Garlinghouse pointed out that with the rise in the price of Bitcoin the energy consumption and carbon footprint “continues to scale aggressively”. Just one transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain is equal to the environmental impact of 75 gallons of gasoline being burned. Garlinghouse furthered, this is not something that can be ignored anymore.
This is not the first time that Ripple CEO has taken to the media about his disdain for the environmental effects that Bitcoin mining has. A report had earlier pointed out that one Bitcoin transaction uses more energy than a British household in two months. The stark reality presented, alerted many environmental activists – including Garlinghouse.
As valid as the concerns are of Garlinghouse, the Twitter community started bashing the CEO for his biasness against Bitcoin. Many users were quick to point out the mess that Ripple Labs has found itself in with the SEC.