What Is Bitcoin? Is Bitcoin Bad For the Environment?

The promise of decentralization, free access, very little regulation and anonymity, plus the ability to make money out of transactions by “playing” with market rules work may be appealing for some. Others, instead, can’t avoid looking away from Bitcoin’s algorithm and its demand for computational power to validate transactions.

But how polluting are Bitcoins exactly? How bad are Bitcoins for the environment? Here’s a brief introduction to bitcoin from a sustainability perspective. Perfect to shed some light on how Bitcoin works for those reading about it for the first time.

What is Bitcoin and What Are Its Environmental Effects?

Simply put, Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009 following the ideas set out in a whitepaper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. It has its own website – which is perfectly safe to visit – where one can get started with Bitcoin by choosing a wallet to buy the cryptocurrency.

It delivers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms – such as MoneyGram, Transferwise or Western Union – and, unlike government-issued currencies, it is operated by a decentralized authority thanks to the use of blockchain technology.