• The Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance (CCAF) study on Bitcoin’s environmental impact underestimates the amount of sustainable Bitcoin mining going on.
• Bitcoin user adoption is stalled because ESG funds require evidence that Bitcoin is a net positive to the environment before investing in it.
• We can be very confident that the actual sustainable energy usage for Bitcoin mining is at least 52.6% of its total energy use.
Bitcoin Mining and ESG Investment
The use of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment is soaring, with projections of reaching $10.5 trillion in the U.S. alone by 2022. In order for ESG funds to invest in Bitcoin projects, they need three things: independent, empirical data demonstrating unambiguously how much sustainable energy usage there is for Bitcoin mining; that the macro trend of Bitcoin mining is quantifiably moving towards sustainability; and that it is possible to quantify this progress. Unfortunately, current research estimates only 37.6% sustainable energy use for Bitcoin mining, meaning ESG funds have been hesitant to invest in it and user adoption has been stalled as a result.
Inaccurate Research
The Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance’s (CCAF) study on Bitcoin’s environmental impact reported only 37.6% sustainable energy usage for Bitcoin mining, which has caused hesitance amongst ESG investors who are usually quick to dismiss research from critics such as Alex de Vries but more likely to trust CCAF due to its reputation for reputable independent research compared to industry body studies such as the one conducted by the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC). This BMC study found 58.9% sustainable energy usage while environmental groups such as Earth Justice assume CCAF numbers must be correct without considering other sources of evidence or data accuracy issues with CCAF’s methodology.
What’s Really Going On?
We can be very confident that the actual sustainable energy usage for Bitcoin mining is at least 52.6% of its total energy use due to an analysis of blockchain data from various sources combined with additional evidence from external sources such as power plant emissions data and electricity infrastructure maps around major bitcoin mines worldwide — all which paint a different picture than what was initially estimated in CCAF’s study .
Moving Forward
It’s important to acknowledge these new findings so we can move forward with confidence in terms of achieving user adoption among ESG investors and avoiding punitive regulation from governments who may feel empowered if their constituents don’t know any better about what’s really happening when it comes down to sustainability efforts within bitcoin mining operations . It also sets a precedent where more accurate methods should be used when assessing other types of cryptocurrency-related activities like trading or development teams’ carbon footprints instead relying solely on outdated estimates and assumptions .
Conclusion
This article reveals how my latest research shows that we can be very confident that at least 52.6% of total energy used by bitcoin miners comes from renewable resources – significantly higher than previously thought – thus providing much needed clarity on this issue amongst both esg investors and government officials alike so they may come together and make informed decisions regarding their investments into cryptocurrency projects while also promoting responsible stewardship over our planet’s resources .
