Climate Chain Coalition releases report on blockchain and emerging technologies at COP 27

November 11, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Cointelegraph is a member of the network of organizations committed to using blockchain technology for climate action.

The Climate Chain Coalition (CCC), a network of organizations dedicated to leveraging blockchain technology for effective climate action that includes Cointelegraph as a member, delivered its stock take report on Nov. 11 at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Founded five years ago, the coalition has been working on initiatives related to the consumption accounting system and greenhouse gas emissions accounting. Tom Baumann, chair and founder of the Climate Chain Coalition, stated:

“During those years, the coalition has grown from 12 founding organizations to over 360 organizations in 69 countries. The coalition was founded on the ethos of blockchain and emerging technologies as an open distributed network where members self-organize into member-driven initiatives.”

*Climate Chain Coalition members at COP 27 in Egypt.*

The coalition’s mission is to resolve issues and challenges needed to advance transformative digital climate innovations by creating resources to support a shared data and digital infrastructure, supporting networking and capacity building, and partnering between digital and climate communities.

*Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr speaking at COP 27 on blockchain’s relevance in fighting climate change.*

Speaking at the panel, Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr commented:

“Education is key here, and media responsibility is incredibly high. We consider it our biggest mission to talk not only about what is intrinsic to the blockchain industry but what’s going on beyond. And because it’s out of the box that things are uniting us because this conference is about climate action, and climate is so much more [than] just climate change. It’s about sustainability, and it’s about our future.”

Also participating in the panel, Alexey Shadrin, co-founder and CEO of Evercity — a platform for the management, issuance and monitoring of sustainable finance — highlighted how the coalition’s efforts are supporting organizations with use cases of implementing blockchain technology, as well as guidance to the new projects that are rapidly emerging right now in the markets. “We want to make sure that those projects are not only innovative and cool but also aligned with core UN values and standards that currently exist there and that were developed by many, many experts within the UN process and beyond.”

Even though digital assets have been criticized for their high energy consumption, such an accusation is inaccurate, as there is a distinction between cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain platforms that can energy efficient and support climate initiatives.

Bitcoin miners rethink business strategies to survive long-term

October 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Analysis

A look at why some Bitcoin miners continue to thrive in the bear market while others need to rethink their strategies in order to continue operations.

The Bitcoin mining industry continues to face a challenging year as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) hovers below $20,000, coupled with rising energy costs in North America and Europe. Regulators have also recently started clamping down on crypto mining, as a recent report from the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) found that Bitcoin has seen a 41% increase in energy consumption year-on-year (YoY). As a result, a number of crypto mining companies have been forced to sell off equipment, while others have filed for bankruptcy.

Yet, this hasn’t been the case for some miners, particularly those focused on clean energy solutions and strategic approaches. For example, in September, crypto mining firm CleanSpark announced an agreement to acquire Mawson’s Bitcoin mining facility in Sandersville, Georgia, for $33 million. The crypto mining company White Rock Management also recently expanded its mining operations to Texas.

Why some Bitcoin miners are thriving in a bear market

Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of CleanSpark, told Cointelegraph that he views mining as a unique way to decrease energy costs when leveraged for reasons other than making profits. According to Schultz, this perspective has differentiated CleanSpark from other crypto-mining companies. “Bitcoin mining is a potential solution for creating more opportunities for energy development,” he said.

Schultz elaborated that CleanSpark partners with cities in the United States, like Georgia and Texas, to buy excess energy. For example, he noted that CleanSpark works with local areas in Georgia that receive energy from the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia.

“These cities essentially become our utility provider. They make a margin on every kilowatt hour we buy to conduct our mining operations. Yet, we are buying such high quantities of energy that it brings down energy costs for the communities we work with. We aim to impact cities posivetly by driving energy costs down,” he said.

*CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford inspects a mining pod with techs at the company’s College Park Bitcoin mining campus. Source: CleanSpark*

Schultz also pointed out that CleanSpark formed a partnership with the energy company Lancium to support their data center in West Texas by buying excess renewable energy to create grid stability. As a result, Schultz shared that CleanSpark currently has half a billion United States dollars worth of assets on its balance sheet and less than $20 million in debt, along with support from investors like BlackRock and Vanguard. Given this, Schultz believes that the crypto bear market has impacted CleanSpark differently in comparison with other crypto miners.

For instance, he noted that when one Bitcoin was worth $69,000 a year ago, many miners were discussing plans to hold BTC. “These miners also made huge commitments to companies like Bitmain for the future delivery of mining rigs,” he said. Yet, according to Schultz, CleanSpark conducted extensive analysis of the number of mining rigs being ordered last year while also looking at future energy projections. He stated:

“We reached the conclusion that rather than sending a deposit for mining equipment to providers last November that are just now being delivered, we saw the possibility of an oversupply of rigs and an increase in energy costs. Therefore we sold Bitcoin when it was in the $60,000 range and invested proceeds in infrastructure instead.”

Not only did this allow CleanSpark to acquire its new mining facility in Sandersville, Georgia, but Schlutz also noted that the firm is currently purchasing Bitcoin mining rigs at a very low rate. “We are buying rigs for $17 per terahash that one year ago cost $100 per terahash.”

As a number of miners are forced to sell their equipment, both used and new mining rigs are being sold at below market prices, creating buying opportunities for firms like CleanSpark.

Scott Offord, owner of Scott’s Crypto Mining — a service that provides new and used mining equipment, along with mining training courses — told Cointelegraph that prices for miners are now very inexpensive, partly based on a lack of demand due to the low price of Bitcoin. Offord added that many of the used miners he is currently selling have come from hosting facilities in debt. He said:

“During the last bull run you couldn’t get miners without a 6-month lead time. It’s the opposite now since many miners aren’t capitalizing. Usually, Bitcoin miners get rid of their gear because equipment is old and something newer is on the market, but it seems like now people are selling because they need cash flow.”

Offord also pointed out that he is seeing a lot of new mining gear hit secondary markets. “Many new generation Antminers are being resold. For example, things like S-19s, which are some of the most efficient miners in the world right now,” he said.

In terms of pricing, Offord explained that crypto miners may be able to buy a new Antminer S-19j pro for about $20 per terrahash. “This same machine would have cost three times as much with a three-month lead time one year ago,” he added.

Echoing Offord, Andy Long, chief operating officer of Bitcoin mining firm White Rock Management, told Cointelegraph that miners who are selling equipment are generally doing so to cover debt payments for hardware bought when prices were higher. “Hardware is now being bought by well-capitalized miners and will continue to be used to secure the network,” he said.

*White Rock Management Texas Mining Site. Source: White Rock Management*

According to Long, White Rock Management’s operations in the United States have not been impacted by the bear market, adding that its facility in Texas operates completely off-grid. “White Rock’s U.S. operations are powered by flared natural gas, while our mining operations in Sweden are also 100% hydroelectric powered.”

Bitcoin miners rethink business strategies

While miners like CleanSpark and White Rock Management continue to grow, others may need to rethink their business strategies. Elliot David, head of climate strategy and partnerships at Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol — a green Bitcoin mining certification protocol — told Cointelegraph that he believes conditions for miners are going to get worse before things improve. “Miners that want to survive the long term will have to change their strategy,” he said.

Indeed, some miners are making adjustments. For example, Jonathan Bates, CEO of crypto mining firm BitMine, recently mentioned in a press release that due to the sharp decline in mining rig prices, the firm will currently only focus on self-mining rather than hosting for others.

“Given the sharp drop in ASIC prices, we feel that focusing on self-mining is a better use of our datacenter equipment and a better use of firm capital at this time,” he stated. He added that the firm plans to “pursue joint ventures and partnerships where our infrastructure equipment can be paired with ASIC miners valued at current prices.”

The press release further noted that on Oct. 19, Bitmine entered into a repurchase and hosting agreement with The Crypto Company (TCC), a publicly listed blockchain company.

Under this agreement, Bitmine agreed to repurchase certain ASIC miners previously sold to TCC while also purchasing additional ASIC miners owned by TCC. Bitmine will also terminate the hosting agreement that it had established with TCC.

To be specific, Bitmine sold TCC 70 Antminer T-17s for $175,000, along with 25 Whatsminers for $162,500, for a total purchase of $337,500 during February this year.

Simultaneously, Bitmine and TCC entered into a hosting agreement under which Bitmine agreed to host the miners, along with other miners owned by TCC.

Due to current conditions, it’s been noted that Bitmine will accept the return of the 70 Antminer TY-17s for a credit of $175,000 as a warranty claim. Bitmine will also purchase the 25 Whatsminers for $62,500 and the 72 Antminer T-19s from TCC for $144,000. This marks a significant decrease in price from when the units were initially sold.

In 2021 — during the height of the crypto bull run — Bitmine entered into an agreement with a telecommunications company located in Trinidad and Tobago. The agreement allows Bitmine to co-locate up to 125 800-kilowatt containers for hosting miners over 93 potential locations. Bitmine is also able to co-locate containers at its own pace, paying a fixed amount per container, along with the electricity costs incurred by its containers.

At the time of the agreement, Bitmine noted that the electricity rate expected to pay for the hosting containers was $0.035 cents per kilowatt-hour. This was based on the rate currently paid by the telecommunications company.

In October of this year, Bitmine completed the installation of its initial hosting containers in Trinidad. However, prior to commencing operations, Bitmine shared that the telecommunications company advised that the electric company would not honor its existing agreement and instead indicated that the rate would be approximately $0.09 per kilowatt-hour. Although the telecommunications company has protested this decision, Bitmine has chosen to delay the installation of additional containers in Trinidad until the dispute is resolved.

The future of crypto mining

Given recent changes being made by miners, David believes that the crypto-mining industry is approaching a junction. “Miners will need to diversify their revenue streams,” he said. With this in mind, he explained that there has been growing interest from clean energy miners that want to work with Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol to ensure sustainable mining practices as a way to be more financially resilient.

Echoing this, Offord mentioned that he is seeing more interest from miners regarding their environmental impact. “Miners are seeking opportunities in places where there is flare gas that needs to be mitigated, or where biofuel is being created from farm waste. Miners are not just focused on building a Bitcoin mine, but want to build something sustainable that can be carbon negative.”

In addition to sustainability, David pointed out that regulations are becoming more important than ever before for crypto miners. He noted that this is especially true within the United States, noting:

“The industry in the U.S. is becoming increasingly aware that unless they regulate themselves that the various levels of government might step in. I've spoken with a number of policymakers and staffers, and in a crunch the Bitcoin mining industry will be a likely first target.”

Bitcoin mining in Norway gets the green light as the proposed ban rejected

May 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

The proposal to ban Bitcoin mining in Norway was rejected in a vote by the Norwegian Parliament on May 10.

There’s Nor-way they can ban Bitcoin (BTC) mining in Norway now. That’s according to a majority vote passed by the Norwegian parliament on May 10.

The proposal to ban Bitcoin mining in Norway was first suggested in March this year by the Red Party (Norway’s communist party.) In this week's vote, the proposal was overturned as only Norway’s left-leaning parties, including the Socialist Left Party, the Red Party and the Green Party would support a ban on cryptocurrency mining.

Jaran Mellerud, an Analyst at Arcane Research and a Cointelegraph confidant shed light on the developments: “The vote these parties lost was against banning large-scale Bitcoin mining overall.”

“Having lost this vote, these political parties will likely make one more attempt at increasing the power tax specifically for miners, which is now their only tool left in the toolbox for making life difficult for miners.”

Contrary to the political parties' efforts, Bitcoin mining companies in Norway have thrived in recent years. Norway now contributes as much as 1% to the global Bitcoin hash rate, taking advantage of 100% renewable energy in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Norwegian Mellerud added that “Bitcoin-hostile political parties in Norway have been trying to force bitcoin miners out of the country by implementing a higher power tax rate specifically for miners or even attempting to ban mining.”

Luckily, they haven't been successful, and this decision by the government to not ban bitcoin mining should be the latest nail in the coffin for their attempts to get rid of the industry.

Cointelegraph previously reported that Norway is a “green oasis” for Bitcoin mining, boasting abundant hydropower and low energy prices, particularly in the north.

In mid-northern and northern Norway, the cost per kilowatt-hour is 0.12 Norwegian Krone ($0.012), a highly competitive rate internationally, or “extremely cheap,” Mellerud told Cointelegraph.

The article from Norwegian news E24 reported that “ordinary households, companies and the public sector pay an electricity tax of 15.41 øre ($0.015) per kilowatt-hour,” however, in some cases the “mining industry has a reduced electricity tax."

Mellerud concluded that “an increase in the power tax specifically for miners is now much less likely.” Meanwhile, Bitcoin is slowly entrenching into the Norwegian financial landscape as retail interest in cryptocurrencies swells and TradFi companies have dipped their toes into BTC investments in the country.

Decentralizing the grid: Operators test blockchain solutions

April 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

As today’s energy market becomes decentralized, energy grid operators may need to take a Web3 approach to asset management and security.

The world’s energy market is rapidly evolving, moving from hydrocarbon plants to a future centered around clean energy enabled by wind and solar power. As such, today’s energy market is shifting to an increasingly decentralized, real-time model based on distributed energy resources (DERs) including battery energy storage systems, solar arrays, natural gas generators and more.

Recent findings from Allied Market Research show that the global distributed energy generation market size was valued at $246.4 billion in 2020, yet this number is predicted to reach $919.6 billion by 2030.

Web3 technologies for managing energy assets

Given today’s advancing energy market, Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web — a nonprofit that develops operating systems for decentralized energy grids — told Cointelegraph that grid operators around the world are moving to systems in which customer-owned assets will be used to balance energy grids. “Technology that was previously located within physical substations including monitoring equipment is now spread across the distribution network as the number of DERs increases,” said Morris. While this shift is innovative, Morris pointed out that regulated companies remain unaware of how to manage a decentralized system.

With this problem in mind, Morris explained that Energy Web recently formed a partnership with Stedin, a Dutch distribution system operator (DSO) that caters to the province of South Holland and in parts of North Holland and Friesland to use a blockchain solution for managing distributed energy assets. According to Morris, Energy Web’s solution allows for energy assets to communicate directly with Stedin’s IT systems:

“Stedin is using Energy Web’s tech stack and Web3 technologies to establish a digital relationship with customer-owned assets, along with creating a secure, asset management system for their own controlled assets. This is the first instance I’m aware of where an enterprise is using Web3 technology to manage their own physical infrastructure and assets.”

Specifically speaking, Morris explained that Energy Web’s blockchain network is being combined with decentralized identifiers (DIDs) to provide digital identities to Stedin’s internal and customer-facing energy assets. “The joint Energy Web-Stedin solution currently comprises a management system which assigns each distribution asset a secure digital identity, or DID, anchored on the pre-existing SIM card in each asset,” said Morris. Once this has been enabled, Morris noted that Stedin is able to send cryptographically signed information and control signals or commands to and from an asset. “This creates a decentralized managed system by ensuring that each asset operates as an independent point of encrypted security,” he remarked.

Shedding light on this, Arjen Jongepier, innovation head at Stedin, told Cointelegraph that Stedin was seeking a general asset management solution given the evolving energy market:

“In this case, we required supplier agnostic registration of Internet of Things (IoT) assets via our SIM cards. We anticipate a number of benefits from this, including easier and fewer-step installation of IoT assets, increased data reliability and, in the near future, local prosumer interaction, which could involve home energy storage systems and EVs being able to sell energy back to the grid.”

Digital identity enables greater cybersecurity and data ownership

While this use case speaks volumes about how the future of the energy market may take shape, the application of DIDs ultimately enables better cybersecurity for grid operators. For instance, when compared with traditional Web1 or Web2 approaches, Morris explained that most grid operators use a centralized database to manually enter information about sensors or hardware located on utilities within their network. Yet, such an approach could allow for grid operators to collect user data and even gain control of those sensors. “This level of centralization is a cybersecurity risk, which is why our solution with Stedin also proves to be a cybersecurity application,” Morris remarked.

Jongepier added that Stedin was indeed looking to raise the bar on its cybersecurity. “Blockchain is effective for this because it provides the ground rules for utilizing decentralized identifiers for Stedin’s IoT assets, serving as a solution for raising the bar on security.” This is an important point, as Morris shared that the primary difference between Stedin’s application of Energy Web’s solution versus previous implementations is that it demonstrates enhanced cybersecurity using DIDs.

Sam Curren, decentralized identity architect at Indicio — an organization that works with governments and businesses to integrate DIDs in their systems — told Cointelegraph that the purpose of a DID is to provide a unique identifier in which ownership or control can only be proven by the possession of a private key.

In the case of Stedin, Morris explained that Energy Web is responsible for private key storage and making sure that user administration is fully decentralized. Given this level of decentralization, Curren noted that applying DIDs for energy assets is more secure than storing information in a database where data can be easily accessed by administrators and potentially manipulated.

Using DIDs for energy asset management and security also demonstrates the notion that current energy grids are undergoing an ownership question similar to what the internet is facing with the rise of Web3. For instance, Morris pointed out that grid operators can take a decentralized open-source approach to energy asset management or allow large companies like Google to manage their infrastructure in the future.

*Roscoe wind farm in Texas. Source: Matthew T Rader*

Will decentralized solutions appeal to grid operators?

Given that there are other options available when it comes to DER management, this may lead some to wonder if large grid operators will actually want to pursue a decentralized approach. For instance, Paul Brody, global blockchain lead at EY, told Cointelegraph that where centralized grid operators already exist, the demand for decentralized systems may not be high:

“Regulators will not be comfortable with allowing people to cherry-pick their access to the grid or allowing the grid to hollow out, as these systems are cheapest for everyone when everyone uses them. We’re already seeing issues like this affecting parts of the U.S. with very high solar panel penetration. While some trials are happening in mature markets, it is likely that the biggest demand will come from parts of the world without grids or reliable grids.”

Jongepier further shared that Stedin had to go through a learning cycle to understand blockchain, its operations and its use case in order for Energy Web’s solution to be implemented:

“The IoT team actually challenged the idea of using blockchain as opposed to progressing with more common, centralized solutions. With any new technology, it’s important to continually challenge it against the current solution and decide where it can most effectively be implemented.”

Yet, in terms of effectiveness, Jongepier explained that Stedin’s technology team found that decentralized solutions enabled by blockchain are the most suitable for prosumer interaction in the future. It’s important to note, though, that the joint Energy Web-Stedin solution is currently undergoing rigorous testing within a sandbox environment. “It is expected that this sandbox will run for the duration of Q1 before the solution goes live later this year,” said Morris.

In the future, Morris hopes that this specific project can be adapted for other energy grids in partnership with national DSOs to improve asset security and management. But, Morris is aware that this may take years to play out, given regulatory challenges, along with blockchain’s misunderstood reputation with enterprises.

“People often think that all blockchains inherently have very high energy consumption, when that’s not true, along with associations with crypto-price volatilities negatively affecting the image of blockchain and token stability,” mentioned Jongepier. Morris added that solutions such as this one only make sense if prosumer energy assets like EVs and photovoltaics are able to participate in energy markets. “In many geographies across the world, they are not, so until this regulatory challenge is solved, our technology stack will remain limited.”

Seven times Bitcoin miners made the world a better place

April 9, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Community

BTC mining and the miners, themselves, seem to be doing more than just securing the Bitcoin network.

What do a swimming pool, beef jerky, a caravan, timber, animal waste, a Guatemalan lake and a high school have in common?

They’ve all been saved by Bitcoin (BTC) mining. From reusing “waste” heat to getting the job done — to receiving a cool blast of air to dehydrate meat, to cleaning up pollutants, Bitcoin mining does more than just secure the network.

Here’s a round-up of seven times Bitcoin mining lent a hand or simply made the world a better place.

Free Bitcoin mining education in Washington

Sustainable Bitcoin mining company Merkle Standard has taken Bitcoin mining education into its own hands. In partnership with Bitmain, they recently gifted the latest in Bitcoin mining technology to Newport High School, a high school in Washington state.

Plus, they donated $10,000 and are promoting education about Bitcoin in the hope that it will, “plant a seed that encourages lifelong interest in blockchain and digital mining.”

Along with the check, Ruslan Zinurov, Merkle Standard's CEO, told Cointelegraph that they will also invite students to their “data center to check on their machine that is hashing to their school’s wallet.” Zinurov told Cointelegraph:

“It is our top priority to get the community excited about Bitcoin and we can't think of a better way to do this than to educate the local students.”

Adam Delderfield, business development manager at Bitmain — the holding company for the Antminer Bitcoin miners — told Cointelegraph, “Digital currency mining proceeds from this gift will go directly to education,” adding that “Bitcoin mining and proof-of-work represent an exciting new industry that opens up numerous new opportunities.”

*Adam Delderfield from Bitmain in the suit, and Monty Stahl from Merkle Standard with the students. Source: Bitmain*

Bitcoin miner beef jerky cooked up by the Business Cat chef

Bitcoiner Business Cat, who wishes to remain nameless, uses the heat vented by Bitcoin mining to dry out meat to be made into beef jerky. They told Cointelegraph, “Bitcoin miners have one hell of an excess of supply of dry, heated air,” so it makes sense to funnel that heat over strips of beef to make jerky.

Good temps for jerky so far #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/0WPnTuNwnF
— ₿usiness Cat (@_business_cat) April 4, 2022

Similar to Merkle Standard, for the Business Cat, the jerky cooking process is not about making money: “My normal food dehydrator uses much less energy than an S9, but hashpower dried jerky just tastes better.”

They told Cointelegraph that “the support of the plebs on Bitcoin Twitter” persuaded them to try out the idea. They joked that “most of us [Bitcoin plebs] are natural loners, so a few words of praise or support from others on the path goes a long way.”

The Bitcoin community is increasingly supportive of ideas that promote Bitcoin philosophy and Bitcoin-only ideas, from a Bitcoin hostel in Portugal to a Bitcoin lake project in Guatemala.

*The modified Bitcoin miner that cleans the air while funneling it for use on food. Source: Twitter*

Business Cat is delighted with their experience and suggests others take up home mining. They combined life advice with Bitcoin mining advice explaining to Cointelegraph:

“Should you mine Bitcoin at home? Yes. Should you learn to be a better chef? Also yes.”

Bitcoin heats my swimming pool

Bitcoin enthusiast Jonathan Yuan found a cheaper, faster and more stable way of heating his swimming pool in Minnesota, all thanks to Bitcoin mining.

Thanks to immersion heating, Bitcoin now powers up his pool. Even though Yuan doesn’t care for swimming, his kids are happy to swim in the pool while he secures the Bitcoin network.

*Yuan's Bitcoin miner heated pool. Source: Twitter*

Yuan told Cointelegraph that the whole experiment went so swimmingly that he’s now planning on heating “the whole house.”

Propane gas tank heater broke down? Bitcoin miner to the rescue!

Michael Schmid is a well-traveled, savvy Bitcoiner. When his caravan’s propane gas heater broke down, he refitted the vehicle to be warmed by the “waste” heat from an S9 Bitcoin miner.

Schmid told Cointelegraph that he saves “around 50% of the propane costs, which is around $2.7 per day.”

“Now the fun part, the miner produces around 0.00006259 BTC per day (with the current difficulty and 13 TH/s) on the current price of 38 thousand. This is $2.40 per day, so we technically heat the airstream for free.”

*Schmid's airstream kept warm with a Bitcoin miner, in a box just behind the wheel. Source: Schmid*

Plus, a kick in the teeth to the anti-Bitcoin environmentalists — heating the Schmid family airstream with Bitcoin rather than propane gas is better for the planet.

“Our Airstream has solar panels on top of it that can generate up to 400W of energy, so technically of the 1400W that the miner uses, 400W of them are self-generated and fully renewable.”

Bitcoin miner waste heat dries out timber

Kryptovault is a Norwegian Bitcoin mining company with arguably the greenest credentials among any industry. Powered by 100% hydropower, the energy it uses solves valid blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain and the heat generated by the miners blows over damp logs from a local timber mill.

*Timber waiting to be dried by Bitcoin miner's waste heat at Kryptovault's mining facility. Source: Kryptovault*

In a video made by the company, Sveni Bjerke, CEO of local firewood company Varma, which receives the miner-dried logs, says that they are “only using excess heat from the data center.”

The environmental success of the project has spurred further partnerships. Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO of KryptoVault, told Cointelegraph that drying out seaweed for local companies is coming soon, and they are “constantly looking for new ways of utilizing our waste heat.”

Pettersen explained, "Approximately 99% of our electric energy turns into thermal energy."

“ As we know, energy is never truly lost, it only changes form. So this is a way of us to utilize this energy twice and support other local industries in the process. I can’t think of any better industrial use-cases than what we are doing.”

Promoting financial and energy autonomy in Guatemala

In south Guatemala, a team of Bitcoin miners donated an S9 to the local mayor and the mining proceeds are being used to repair a wastewater treatment plant.

*Bill Whittaker and Patrick Melder, on the right, installing the Bitcoin miner. Source: Twitter*

Bitcoin mining in the economically disadvantaged region has boosted incomes while improving the air quality.

Plus, as Bill Whittaker, a co-founder of Bitcoin Lake, told Cointelegrpah, the team is “self-funding carbon-negative Bitcoin mining R&D.” Two high school students, Madaket and Kate, are planning a trip down to “LakeBitcoin in early May to deliver the S17s they have been working on.”

The Bitcoin miners they bring will join the first Bitcoin miner, and naturally will be powered by renewable energy — in this case, biogas. Biogas is growing in popularity as an energy source for Bitcoin mining.

*Madaket and Kate posing with their Bitmain miner under a solar panel. Source: Whittaker*

Bitcoin mining grows flowers and food

A greenhouse in the Netherlands is heated by Bitcoin miners rather than natural gas. That's according to Bert de Groot, founder of Bitcoin Bloem.

*The Bitcoin miner camouflaged among hydrangeas. Source: Twitter*

In partnership with a large greenhouse, they "placed a Bitcoin miner to reduce the use of natural gas, the prices of which have skyrocketed, and heat the greenhouse with miner heat instead." De Groot continued:

“The family that owns the greenhouse first put electric heaters because of the 6x cost of natural gas, they now get paid for their electricity, which is used for mining, and receive the heat for free.”

It's a win-win situation. After all, who can say no to flowers?

*One of the Bitcoin flowers. Source: Twitter*

Asked about the electronic waste issues that the mainstream media associates with Bitcoin mining, de Groot said, “A miner should last for at least five years. We don’t know of any ASIC (S9) that has been turned to e-waste yet.”

Plus, they're also fans of delivering flowers to their local community.

We just delivered the flowers to the elderly home. Suus of @BrabantZorg received them. By coincidence the garden was renewed and they will put them for the 50 elderly outside in the new garden. They didn’t have money for the plants so they were really happy with the donation. pic.twitter.com/7CivmZxyjo
— BitcoinBloem (@BloemBitcoin) April 6, 2022

Sustainable Bitcoin miner uses waste heat to dry wood

February 11, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

Not only does one Norwegian Bitcoin miner boast 99% renewable energy stats but it’s even using waste heat to dry out timber and soon seaweed.

Norway is a bastion for renewable energy management in Europe. As much as 99% of Norway’s energy derives from hydropower while the grid often enjoys a green energy surplus.

But for Norway’s largest data center and Bitcoin (BTC) miner, Kryptovault, using regenerative hydropower to attempt to solve valid Bitcoin blocks was not enough.

At the Hønefoss Bitcoin mining operation, which employees have aptly named “the Cathedral” due to its vast and cavernous expanse, the hot air generated by Bitcoin mining rigs is recycled and used to dry out chopped logs.

Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO of Kryptovault, told Cointelegraph that Norway is an “ideal location for mining” and that alongside the log-drying operation, seaweed drying operations will kick off in the first half of 2022.

According to Pettersen, Norway has a lot of "trapped" energy, pointing out to a much higher production compared to consumption as well as a limited capacity to transfer the excess energy:

“This translates to very low energy prices and we can ‘rescue’ that trapped energy rather than letting it go to waste.”

It would appear that the withdrawal of electricity subsidies from Bitcoin mining farms in 2018 has not affected the Scandinavian country’s status as a sought-after destination to mine cryptocurrency.

The Guardian newspaper, which typically asserts Bitcoin mining energy-FUD, flipped the narrative while reporting on Kryptovault’s operation. Their article considered “can Bitcoin be sustainable?”

Svein Bjerke, General Manager at the timber company that receives the dry logs, answers that question. In a video, Bjerke says that drying wood with waste heat from Bitcoin mining is the “most environmentally friendly way to do this.”

Moreover, the secondary benefits of Bitcoin mining branch out to more than the environment. Over time, Hønefoss grid customers are actually better off due to the presence of Kryptovault’s energy-hungry process.

Grid fees–like trees–are hacked down year after year because the local area’s total energy consumption increases. The more energy is used, the more prices come down over the long term. The company estimates that circa 2 million Euros is saved due to “Kryptovault’s existence in our grid.”

Nonetheless, the route to mining 100% green and renewable Bitcoin has not been easy. Numerous challenges face miners in Norway, including:

“Project and engineering perspectives to financial challenges, involving banks, tax and regulatory compliance. Just the step of setting up a bank account when working in this industry can be a large challenge today.”

Unphased, these hiccoughs are unlikely to hinder Kryptovault’s vision to transform clean energy into Satoshis. Pettersen says he “can’t think of any better industrial use-cases than what we are doing.”

When asked by Cointelegraph if Kryptovault would consider mining other cryptocurrencies in the future, Pettersen jokes, “for us, Bitcoin is the name of the game.”

Bitcoin miners believe global hash rate to grow ‘aggressively’

January 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Analysis

Despite the price of BTC, the Bitcoin network is the strongest it’s ever been, according to industry experts.

Bitcoin (BTC) seems to be on everyone’s mind lately as the world recently witnessed the price of BTC take a rather unexpected bearish turn this month. On January 21, 2022, Bitcoin reached six-month lows, sinking below $40,000 for the first time in months.

While some panicked, other industry experts pointed out that the Bitcoin network has become verifiably stronger than ever before. The growth of the Bitcoin network has become apparent, as hash rate figures for BTC continue to set new highs this month. For example, on Jan. 22, the BTC network recorded an all-time high of 26.643 trillion with an average hash rate of 190.71 exahash per second (EH/s).

The hash rate will continue to grow, which is a good thing

Samir Tabar, chief strategy officer at Bit Digital — a publicly listed Bitcoin miner — told Cointelegraph that the BTC hash rate refers to the amount of computing power being contributed to the network at any given time. Tabar explained that when it comes to Bitcoin mining, a higher hash rate equates to a good hash rate. “The more computing power going towards maintaining a network, the more secure it will be and the more transactions it will be able to handle,” said Tabar.

As such, the recent hash rate figures for Bitcoin are extremely notable, even with the price of BTC being down. Peter Wall, CEO of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain, told Cointelegraph that he wasn’t surprised to see the BTC hash rate hit close to 200 EH/s. Wall further stated that even with events that have recently disrupted BTC mining hash rate like the political upheaval in Kazakhstan, the hash rate will continue to grow higher each month:

“Argo Blockchain’s mining margin last year in 2021, which is our revenue minus our direct costs, was over 80%. It was a very good year for miners. In 2020, where BTC prices were much lower, our margin was 41%. So, this year I think we will still see strong margins in the space despite the recent drop in the price of Bitcoin and the increase in the hash rate.”

Darin Feinstein, co-founder and co-chairman of Core Scientific — a major publicly-traded blockchain infrastructure provider — told Cointelegraph that based on previous Bitcoin mining hash rate data, the BTC network grew by 200% following the mass exodus of miners from China:

“The Bitcoin network one year ago was approximately 143 EH/s. Following the mining ban in China, the network fell to 63 EH/s. Today, the hash rate has grown to approximately 198 EH/s. This recent increase represents three important metrics. One, it represents a 130 EH hash rate increase on the network. Two, it represents 130 EH of new hosting infrastructure and primarily new generation hardware deployment and three, this deployment has taken place in geographic regions that use far cleaner energy than the energy used in China.”

With this in mind, Feinstein noted that even though the BTC network has hit all-time highs in terms of EH/s, due to the massive improvements in miner chip technology and geographic distribution away from China, the network is now the most efficient and sustainable than it has ever been. Feinstein added that this data is important because it shows how much energy every terahash uses, which is generally represented by a metric called jules/terahash. He noted that this ratio has fallen greatly over the last several years, demonstrating a major increase in mining energy efficiency.

*Bitcoin mining efficiency chart. Source: Darin Feinstein*

Will infrastructure support network growth?

Michael Levitt, co-founder chairman and CEO of Core Scientific, told Cointelegraph that he fully anticipates for the BTC global hash rate to continue growing at an aggressive pace.

However, Levitt mentioned that this growth is dependent on the price of Bitcoin moving forward, along with the success of the infrastructure currently being built. “The amount of infrastructure expected will be challenged by global supply chain issues,” he remarked.

Feinstein added that infrastructure is the biggest challenge when it comes to mining Bitcoin. “The bottlenecks for Bitcoin mining are land, energy, equipment, and lastly, infrastructure. There is plenty of ASIC hardware to be purchased, energy and land are also readily available, but miners need a place to plug in power, and, historically, that is where miners run into issues,” he commented.

North America has become one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining hubs, as per data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, which shows that 35% of the average monthly BTC hash rate comes from the United States, while 10% comes from Canada. Wall explained that North America has taken the lead as a global Bitcoin mining hub for a number of reasons. “This is the case due to the region’s crypto-friendly jurisdiction, its stable regulatory environment, pro-innovation nature and, most importantly, access to the most important thing miners need — low-cost power, preferably renewable.”

Wall elaborated that the low costs of power in the U.S. have been significant for miners, especially when organizations tap into the right part of the power grid. “We’ve seen significant growth in Texas over the last 12 months,” he said.

Cointelegraph previously reported that the Bitcoin mining industry in Texas consumed around 500 to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power during Nov. 2021. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas reportedly anticipates that demand could increase as much as fivefold by 2023 and has planned an additional 3,000 to 5,000 MW.

Wall elaborated that many miners are moving to Texas due to the fact that the state operates its own power grid that consists of a high degree of power from sustainable generation sources, but needs more flexible demand, or load:

“Miners can provide a consistent load that is flexible. It’s also helpful that Texas has demand response programs in place, where miners will shut down and give power back to the grid when there is high demand. This makes the grid more resilient.”

Benefits such as these have prompted Argo Blockchain to build its next 200 MW facility in Dickens County, west Texas, directly next to a 5.5-gigawatt substation. “There is a lot of congestion at that substation and they need local load to relieve it. The power from west Texas needs to go a long way to reach major urban cities like Dallas and Houston. But, if we can use that energy much closer to where it’s being generated, that relieves the congestion,” remarked Wall.

By drawing power from a nearby substation, Argo Blockchain is demonstrating the use of sustainable energy. According to Wall, the mining company has been carbon negative since 2020. This is important, as Tabar stated that a massive environmental, social and governance movement is currently facing the crypto mining industry:

“Miners must draw from clean sources of power or else they will be regulated out of business. It can’t always be about the cheapest sources of power. Miners will eventually suffer valuation discounts if they use dirty power, even if that source is cheap.”

The perks of going public

A rush of mining firms to go public is another trend the Bitcoin mining industry is likely to witness this year. Most recently, Texas-based Bitcoin mining company Rhodium announced plans to offer 7.69 million shares at $12–$14 each in an initial public offering (IPO).

Core Scientific went public on Jan. 20 after merging with Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition in a SPAC transaction. Although shares of Core Scientific have fallen since then, Feinstein mentioned that every publicly listed crypto company — like Coinbase, Galaxy Digital and others — brings institutional investment opportunities to the U.S. market. “This is enhancing and bringing credibility to the entire industry,” he remarked.

Levitt added that Bitcoin miners going public brings about a number of benefits, including better access to capital while having publicly traded equity that can be used for acquiring and building other businesses. Moreover, Levitt added that having a public presence is useful for conversations in and around the financial services industry. “However, the principal benefit is much more ready access to capital for growing and developing our business,” said Levitt.

Enterprise blockchain to play a pivotal role in creating a sustainable future

December 11, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

Companies are turning to enterprise blockchain-based solutions to meet environmental sustainability goals as well as business demands.

Bitcoin (BTC) is often used to criticize all blockchain-based projects. This is understandable since Bitcoin was the first project to use a blockchain, is arguably the most recognizable and is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

In the first half of this article, I will use Bitcoin as a proxy for all blockchain-based projects because most people associate blockchain with Bitcoin. Anything environmentally positive that can be said about Bitcoin will be doubly true for the vast majority of newer blockchain-based projects since Bitcoin uses the oldest version of blockchain technology.

Blockchain energy consumption

Bitcoin has been attacked for high energy consumption. Headlines pointing out that Bitcoin’s electricity usage is comparable to a country's total consumption is a popular critique. Comparisons are useful, but they can have a deceptive framing effect. For example, the statistics most often cited in these attention-grabbing headlines are taken from the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF). The same organization also points out that transmission and distribution electricity losses in the United States could power the entire Bitcoin network 2.2 times. Always-on electrical devices in America consume 12.1x more energy than the Bitcoin network.

So, the Bitcoin network uses as much electricity as a small country or far less than one sliver of America’s energy budget. Is that a lot? It depends on how you look at it.

Another often used critique is that Bitcoin’s electricity consumption is growing so rapidly that Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above 2°C, or consume all of the world’s energy by 2020. The latter didn’t happen. Why? First, like most network-based technologies, Bitcoin is following an adoption curve defined by the theory of diffusion of innovations — an “S curve.”

The explosive, exponential-like growth in the first half of the curve slows down considerably in the latter half. Second, large and predictable improvements in computer efficiency will continue to lower the energy cost of computing even as Bitcoin’s growth slows. Third, such predictions don’t take into account the evolving energy mixture of Bitcoin.

Blockchain energy mixture

Almost all of the energy consumed by blockchain projects come from electricity used by computers that secure the network. Bitcoin calls these “miners,” but newer blockchain projects can use much more efficient “validators.” Electricity is produced from many different sources, such as coal, natural gas and renewables like solar and hydroelectric. Those sources can create very different levels of carbon emissions, which largely determines their environmental impact. The two most prominent estimates of Bitcoin’s energy from renewables range from 39% in this report to 74% in this report. Either of these estimates is “cleaner” than America’s energy mixture, which is just 12% from renewables.

There is evidence that the public scrutiny to which Bitcoin has been subjected has most likely ensured that energy from renewables will only increase in the future.

Blockchain is worth it

Bitcoin’s energy consumption and composition are not perfect, nor is it as terrible as is often reported. What is often lost in the conversation over Bitcoin’s energy usage is whether Bitcoin’s use of energy is worthwhile. Plenty of industries require energy or produce massive amounts of waste, but most people deem the environmental costs to be worthwhile. The agricultural industry requires massive outlays of fossil fuels for fertilizers and to power field equipment, not to mention producing harmful runoff. Yet, despite the environmental negatives, we recognize the overwhelming importance of growing food. Instead of discarding agriculture, we strive to improve the environmentals of agriculture.

Whether enabling the 1.7 billion unbanked to gain financial inclusion or offering an alternative to predatory international remittance services, it seems clear to me that Bitcoin is worth the energy usage. It’s even clearer that enterprise blockchain is an unmitigated public good.

Newer, alternative blockchain technology uses at least 99.95% less energy than older ones. Enterprise blockchain can use even less energy since it can be tailored for specific use cases. In addition to using significantly less energy, Enterprise blockchain is helping organizations achieve sustainability goals.

Blockchain as a key driver for renewable energy

Solar and wind are now cheaper than fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Solar and wind are now comparable to geothermal and hydroelectric. Despite solving the cost problem, renewables have several problems preventing mass adoption. Geothermal and hydroelectric are geography bound. Solar, wind and to a lesser extent, hydroelectric suffer intermittency and grid congestion. Intermittency means they are currently too unreliable. There’s no sun at night, the wind sometimes stops, and there are rainy and dry seasons. Grid congestion is similar to car traffic. Due to geographic constraints, renewables are usually built in rural areas. However, most energy is needed in dense towns and cities. Like a car in a traffic jam, the electricity is delayed getting to its destination.

There are solutions, such as building battery storage and increasing transmission capacity, but these are expensive infrastructure projects. This is where Bitcoin, and blockchain, in general, can help. Unlike Bitcoin miners and other blockchain projects can be built anywhere. They’re profitable businesses so they can essentially subsidize the building of renewable infrastructure by always using excess energy produced.

Another promising energy technology well suited to blockchain is person-to-person (P2P) electricity trading. These energy sharing schemes provide electricity suppliers and consumers with the opportunity to trade energy without the need for existing third-party intermediaries while increasing the level of renewable energy. Similar to renewable infrastructure, blockchain-based projects will incentivize the development of P2P energy grids.

Blockchain enables material procurement and provenance

Consumer demand for more ethically sourced products is steadily increasing. Companies have to prove that their product is produced in such a way that protects the environment and public health, and is made ethically. Consumers wary of greenwashing, have had to rely on information provided by companies. Blockchain-based projects are already changing this dynamic.

Everledger has created tools to increase consumer and enterprise insight into the provenance of a given object. By combining blockchain, AI and IoT, Everledger digitally streamlines compliance processes and allows companies to demonstrate the true origin of their products.

Transparency and traceability will be crucial to fostering consumer trust in food supply chains. Supermarket giant Carrefour and the world’s largest brewer AB InBev partnered with enterprise blockchain developer SettleMint to deliver a digital traceability solution that utilizes dynamic QR codes attached to a product during the packaging process.

Green financing

Green financing is the use of loans to support sustainable companies and fund the projects and investments they make. It will be crucial to close the $2.5 trillion annual SDG funding gap, which is estimated to grow bigger. A good example of green financing is the green bond (GB) market. According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, $269.5 billion in GBs were issued in 2020.

Unfortunately, GBs are not without problems, such as confirming that sustainability metrics are authentic, or that funds were used to support sustainability. Blockchain can immutably store this data, thus, projects can be verified to satisfy sustainability requirements. Blockchain can help in other ways too, like tokenization.

Oi Yee Choo, chief commercial officer at iSTOX, a Singapore-based digital securities exchange, said in this interview: “Even in markets where the demand for green bonds is high because investors are motivated by ESG considerations, tokenization helps investors diversify their portfolio across different bonds because of smaller subscription sizes.”

The blockchain industry is currently far from ideal in terms of environmental sustainability. However, if it maintains its current trajectory, the blockchain industry will not only be an exemplar but an enabler of environmental sustainability.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Matthew Van Niekerk is a co-founder and the CEO of SettleMint — a low-code platform for enterprise blockchain development — and Databroker — a decentralized marketplace for data. He holds a BA with honors from the University of Western Ontario in Canada and also has an international MBA from Vlerick Business School in Belgium. Matthew has been working in fintech innovation since 2006.

The focus of the blockchain climate discussion is missing the point

October 2, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin’s energy consumption and its dependency on climate-damaging fossil fuels has raised debates from both inside and outside the blockchain community.

As the nonfungible tokens craze took off at the start of the year, many climate-conscious artists vocalized their disapproval of Ethereum’s energy consumption. In May, Elon Musk then derailed Bitcoin (BTC), citing the energy consumed by Bitcoin as cause for Tesla to withdraw its plans to accept BTC as payment for its electric cars.

Both of these events have provoked a surge of debate from inside and outside the blockchain community. In particular, the arguments tend to focus on two areas: Bitcoin’s energy consumption and its dependency on climate-damaging fossil fuels versus renewables and, secondly, the benefits of one blockchain platform over another — generally focusing on consensus models and promoting proof-of-stake as the greener option.

Each debate is overflowing with arguments for both sides. If the IPCC is right, then the need for drastic action to help reverse some of the damage cannot be overstated. To do that, the focus ought to be on the positive applications of blockchain.

Leveraging blockchain’s strengths

One significant way that blockchain’s impact is already substantial is in its ability to crowdsource large amounts of otherwise wasted energy — which is aggregated and reignited for further utility. Crowdsourcing wasted energy is in keeping with the principles of a circular economy, which eliminates the throwaway culture, for recirculating available resources as much as possible. And computing power is one example.

Whether it be on a personal laptop or a commercial server out of office hours, there’s a vast amount of wasted idle computing power lying around on hardware, particularly when not in use. At the same time, there’s a vast demand for computing power that’s being met by companies like Amazon Web Services, which is continually building new data centers to accommodate this need.

Blockchain networks, like Cudos’ decentralized cloud computing platform, redirect spare computing power from idle computers and put it to better use, reducing waste in the process. Other networks like Filecoin or Bluzelle focus on storage services, but the principle remains the same.

Decentralizing the energy grid

Other projects are using this concept to decentralize energy networks. Brooklyn Microgrid is a hyper-local initiative allowing “prosumers” (producers and consumers) of solar energy to sell their surplus by funneling it into a microgrid where other participants can buy it. It’s the kind of “act local, think global” project that proves anything is possible if you’re willing to start from scratch.

In Vienna, the government had previously funded an initiative allowing citizens to earn token-based rewards for identifying sources of heat waste that can be recycled back into the energy grid. A slightly different variation on the same decentralised theme, but uses the same principles of leveraging blockchain technology for the greater good.

Trustless green credentials

Blockchain technology also has a fundamental role in bringing transparency and accountability to governments and corporations for their role in fighting climate change. Transparency in ESG (environmental, social and governance) matters is currently high on the agenda for chief financial officers following the introduction of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation earlier this year. In its broadest terms, the regulation obliges banks and financial institutions to categorize their investment products according to their green credentials.

Using blockchain to store and verify this information would increase visibility and vastly increase the level of trust that investors can place in products brandishing ESG credentials. It’s quickly becoming easy to envisage a future where consumers and enterprises can make choices based on the algorithmic ESG ranking of any type of organization on the blockchain.

Being the “least bad” blockchain platform will no longer suffice, and the community is far from helpless when it comes to the climate emergency. It has a powerful technology at its disposal, along with some of the best, brightest and most innovative thought leaders in the world.

Clearly, blockchain technology can be applied to a myriad of positive use cases that give more to the green cause than they take away. And in doing so, blockchain technology makes a stronger argument for its applications in environmentalism than against them.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Matt Hawkins is founder and CEO of Cudo Ventures, a provider of global cloud computing and monetization software, and Cudos, a decentralized cloud computing network bridging the gap between the cloud and blockchain by recycling the world’s idle computing power. He previously founded C4L in 2000, which was acquired in 2016 and was one of the U.K.’s fastest data center ISPs, supporting around 1% of the U.K.’s internet infrastructure, and was winner of many fast-growth awards, including: The Sunday Times Tech Track 100, Deloitte’s U.K. Technology Fast 50 and Technology Fast 500 EMEA, and many more.

How will blockchain technology help fight climate change? Experts answer

September 5, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

Here’s what experts on emerging tech think about the role of blockchain in achieving more sustainability and lessening the climate crisis.

Tom Baumann of the Climate Chain Coalition:

Tom is the founder and co-chair of the Climate Chain Coalition, an open global initiative to advance collaboration on blockchain/DLT and digital solutions to enhance climate actions.

“In general, digital solutions can be helpful tools to support a low-carbon economy. The World Economic Forum estimates that digital solutions can help achieve 15% of the Paris Agreement goals. These solutions can be used throughout the entire economy, creating smart grids and buildings, smart transportation, integrating with digital services and more.

Digital tools could link sustainable production to sustainable consumption in a more efficient, equitable manner, for a fair transition. Beyond the described carbon trading market, distributed ledger technologies, including blockchain, can enhance international and intersectoral collaboration.

DLTs can be combined with other technologies, like the Internet of Things, to support digital MRV-based climate action tracking and accounting. They can also facilitate innovative natural resource management. This can lessen market failures by recognizing and preserving the real value of natural resources, all while considering the rights and interests of present and future generations.

In terms of multi-stakeholder empowerment, blockchain has game-changing potential. It enables digital identities and asset management to be linked to people, organizations and businesses in a way that ensures rules are enforced, and it can make governance a community effort. By employing governance tokens and decentralized autonomous organizations, more stakeholders can be brought into decision-making roles.”

These quotes have been edited and condensed.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Marco Schletz of Data-Driven EnviroLab and Søren Salomo of TU Berlin:

Marco is a research associate at Data-Driven EnviroLab, an interdisciplinary and international group of researchers, scientists, programmers and visual designers with a goal of strengthening environmental policy at all levels. He is also an innovation fellow at the Open Earth Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fosters sustainable development and solidarity through art and education.

Søren is a professor of technology and innovation management at the Technical University of Berlin.

“Launched in 2009, Bitcoin was the first application of blockchain or distributed ledger technologies more broadly. Despite both Bitcoin and blockchain maturing tremendously, Bitcoin is still frequently perceived and used as a blanket term synonymous with blockchain. Accordingly, problems explicitly related to Bitcoin, such as its energy consumption, create a halo effect that overshadows the potential positive effects of blockchain technology as a powerful means to accelerate climate action.

Blockchain technology creates a distributed network design that enhances transparency and reduces information asymmetries among heterogeneous climate actors. This design is based on bottom-up data contributions from all actors to allow for the triangulation of independent data sources. These new designs are desperately needed to overcome current legacy system thinking and path dependence in order to incentivize collaboration for major change and enable digital democracy for the Paris Agreement.

The reason we need alternative data governance structures to ensure the validity and accuracy of critical emissions data could be seen very recently when Greta Thunberg called out the U.K. for lying about cutting its emissions. Examples of how blockchain can support and accelerate climate action include Yale Openlab’s Open Climate, the World Bank Climate Warehouse, the Blockchain for Climate Foundation, the Climate Ledger Initiative and the Climate Chain Coalition, among others.”

Linda Kristoffersen of KPMG:

Linda is a manager, advisory, at KPMG — a Big Four auditing firm. She also supports blockchain.

“Companies are making bold commitments to deliver on promises for a net zero carbon future and will need to embrace the use of emerging technologies, including blockchain, to be successful in achieving their goals. Stakeholders, investors and the public are looking for accountability and will increase pressure on companies to disclose real measurements while ensuring trust and auditability in reported carbon emissions data — and to provide the associated proof.

In this transition from reporting emissions estimates to real measurements, blockchain is an excellent auditable system of record that can track emissions data provenance, provide data security, prevent the double-counting of emissions and introduce transparency in data processing steps to prove environmental performance and prevent fraudulent claims. Blockchain can provide the same benefits to carbon offsets and credits where a lack of transparency and the double-counting of credits is of great concern.

In addition, by leveraging smart contracts, you can automate and incentivize participation in sustainable practices that require tight coordination between individuals, governments and companies.”

Francisco Benedito of ClimateTrade:

Francisco is the CEO of ClimateTrade, a fintech company helping organizations achieve sustainability by offsetting CO2 emissions.

“Blockchain as a technology is helping to fight the climate crisis on two main levels.

On one hand, we can see how carbon markets have been opaque and prone to fraud. Even though carbon credits have been the first expression of a digital certificate, they have been implemented in different isolated registries and have involved multiple parties that do not trust each other. Sound familiar?

It seems logical in the current context to utilize a single distributed ledger to record the generation of carbon credits and their movement in the market as true digital assets.

This is the first level in which blockchain can help us improve existing processes — by making them more efficient, transparent, secure, faster, cheaper, etc. But the true disruption comes when blockchain enables new models that were not possible before blockchain technology, not just improving existing mechanisms but designing completely new ones.

Blockchain is a very powerful technology, but the biggest advantage that it poses in this context is the ability to shape human behavior. The rise and general adoption of blockchain applications enable us to design financial incentive schemes that will foster the achievement of the decarbonization goals, allowing Earth to continue being a comfortable place to live — and that is precisely what we are doing.”

Emin Gün Sirer of Ava Labs:

Emin is a computer science professor at Cornell University, the founder and CEO of the Avalanche blockchain protocol, and the co-director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts (IC3).

“We must ensure that new technologies minimize or eliminate actions that negatively impact our planet — this outlook does not limit itself just to blockchain. Without concerted, intentional efforts to mitigate climate change, our planet cannot sustainably exist.

With the initial introduction of proof-of-work-based blockchain systems, many creators like Satoshi didn’t focus on climate impact. Instead, they simply wanted their technologies to work.

We’re now in a place where we can reference past innovations to ensure we’re developing sustainable technologies and protocols. Proof-of-stake is a prime example of people collaborating to improve blockchain’s capabilities in a way that helps fight the climate crisis. This is just the tip of the iceberg for what's possible with blockchain-powered technology for climate change.

Many teams are looking to push the boundaries. Minimizing hardware requirements for blockchain nodes, integrating with eco-friendly hardware and collaborating with leading climate change researchers are a few ways blockchain companies can accelerate progress toward a sustainable economy.”

Catherine Sear of World Bank:

Catherine is the external affairs officer of the World Bank Group Trade Practice, with a specialization in climate change and sustainable development.

“There is significant scope to apply innovations, including technologies like blockchain, as international carbon markets under the Paris Agreement take shape. In particular, these technologies can increase transparency and improve the overall functioning of future carbon markets in two ways.

Technologies like artificial intelligence, drones and smart sensors could help digitize project-level monitoring, verification and reporting systems. Blockchain encryption can be used alongside these technologies to ensure the immutability and integrity of data collected under a digital MRV system. A major benefit would be a significant reduction in the time and effort needed to generate carbon credits, which would reduce barriers to participation in carbon markets. The World Bank is developing protocols for digital MRV systems in collaboration with partners.

At the global level, blockchain technology could track carbon credit transactions, tokenize carbon credits and link transactions to smart contracts. It could also securely store the information required to track a carbon credit. This is being tested under the World Bank’s Climate Warehouse, a meta-registry that demonstrates how national registries can be connected and uses blockchain technology to track transactions between parties. Eventually, we anticipate this will link with the digital MRV system and create a connected digital ecosystem for credible, transparent and liquid carbon markets.”

Candice Teo of the Blockchain & Climate Institute:

Candice is the director of communications at the Blockchain & Climate Institute, a not-for-profit think tank comprising an international network of experts working at the intersection of blockchain technology, climate change and sustainability.

“We are currently in a situation where the time for climate action is now. As Mark Carney highlighted to the United Kingdom Treasury Select Committee, ‘We have left it exceptionally late’ to act effectively on climate change. It is thus integral for us to make ‘good bets’ for the future that scale and not worsen things.

Currently, there is a great deal of mistrust among various stakeholders, including donors and recipients of climate finance. Measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) issues have been major impediments to countries fulfilling their climate finance pledges. With blockchain’s consensus mechanism and crucial immutability feature, especially when paired with other emerging technologies such as AI and IoT, it can significantly enhance MRV, driving trust in climate funding that goes to carbon assets management/trading, biodiversity conservation (REDD ), community renewable energy projects, etc.

According to the International Energy Agency, there is a strong need to reduce peak energy demand. Therein lies a challenge in achieving this while renewables catch up. Local energy trading schemes have proved the value of using blockchain. Paired with AI, peak energy demand could be predicted and managed.

The use of blockchain is also crucial to progress in facilitating circular economies, biodiversity, smart cities, blue economy and oceans, and emissions management and trading.”

Adelyn Zhou of Chainlink Labs:

Adelyn is the chief marketing officer of Chainlink Labs, a decentralized oracle network.

"While many people are voluntarily altering their consumption habits to combat climate change, a global shift in consumption will likely require significant incentive changes to drive sustainable behavior. Self-executing contracts enabled by a combination of blockchains and oracle networks that pull data from the real world can automate incentive systems to directly reward practices that help our environment.

For instance, the Green World Campaign and Cornell University are building smart contracts that use satellite data to automatically reward people who successfully regenerate tracts of land by increasing tree cover, improving soil and implementing other restorative agricultural practices. When Chainlink oracles pull proof of land improvement (via satellite imagery) onto the blockchain, it triggers the smart contract to release a payout. With this system, land stewards can quickly and efficiently receive their rewards. At the same time, only those making a real impact can earn rewards, as payment only happens when a real-world condition is met and verified on-chain. This entire process is automated, scalable and fraud-proof, and can be replicated across hundreds of use cases across sectors.”

Introduction

For some time, the global climate crisis was a hot topic to debate. But the discourse has changed and a consensus has been reached, moving the conversation toward how to stop — or at least to lessen — the ongoing issue of climate change. Two pivotal moments in reaching this point were the adoption of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose mission is to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all,” and the Paris Agreement, an international accord adopted by nearly every nation six years ago in 2015.

The discussion around how to fight against the global climate crisis has turned to emerging technologies and their role in the process. Back in 2017, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) highlighted the importance of blockchain technology in helping to combat climate change globally. The secretariat of the UNFCCC detailed some specific use cases:

“In particular, transparency, cost-effectiveness and efficiency advantages, which in turn may lead to greater stakeholder integration and enhanced creation of global public goods are currently viewed as the main potential benefits.”

Decentralized technologies indeed have the potential to help achieve the SDGs by recasting conventional approaches to sustainable development via the benefits of blockchain technology, such as transparency and immutability. As 2020 showed us, many countries around the globe are already turning to emerging technologies in their fight against the climate crisis and in their efforts to lessen carbon-intensive practices. Some examples include Russia, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, countries in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and certainly the G7 nations — which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Meanwhile, earlier in 2021, concerns about Bitcoin’s (BTC) carbon footprint became a highly discussed topic both within and outside of the crypto community, forcing some major global media outlets to speak up about Bitcoin’s energy consumption and carbon emissions. However, the topic wasn’t a new one, as experts had already been discussing the pros and cons of Bitcoin mining for a while. Bitcoin’s supporters argued that its energy consumption is irrelevant “when compared with global energy production and waste” and that compared with BTC mining, “Processing gold and steel is wasting money, energy and resources.”

It’s best to set aside the problem of who is right and who is wrong in this debate and instead focus on the impact of it. There is a saying that every cloud has a silver lining, and the most important one that came out of this debate is that the crypto industry has accepted that it must prioritize focusing on green technology, offsetting Bitcoin carbon emissions and leveraging renewable energy.

To find out the impact these technologies can have in the fight against the climate crisis, Cointelegraph reached out to a number of experts in emerging technologies whose goals are directly related to sustainable development and technological innovation. The experts gave their opinions on the following question: How can emerging technologies help achieve the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and lessen the impacts of climate change?

Greenergy