Are most cryptocurrency operations powered by electricity from non-renewable sources?
Non-renewable energy powers most of the computer processing that supports the circulation of cryptocurrencies, digital money using encrypted transaction data.
Cambridge’s Center for Alternative Finance estimates that in 2020, 39% of the “cryptoasset industry” was fueled by renewable energy, most of which is hydroelectric.
Electricity to power computers is the main cost of cryptocurrency “mining” operations that support the systems. Miners of Bitcoin, for instance, verify groups of Bitcoin transactions called “blocks” on a digital ledger called the “blockchain.” To encrypt a block, miners must convert the data into a code called a “hash.” Generating a suitable hash involves trial and error by powerful, energy-intensive computers; the first miner to generate a suitable hash for each block is rewarded with Bitcoin. The network attempts to produce one block every 10 minutes.