In his May 11 blog post, Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, writes that cryptocurrency mining is posing a threat to global suitability efforts because of its huge CO2 consumption:
The enormous energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions of crypto-asset mining could undermine global sustainability efforts.
The famed Italian economist adds that Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, now requires more energy than the Netherlands.
Panetta believes that mitigating the environmental impact of crypto mining should be a global conversation:
Controlling and limiting the environmental impact of crypto assets, including through regulation and taxation, should be part of the global discussion.
A growing issue
With Bitcoin’s hashrate rebounding to new all-time highs, the amount of energy required for confirming transactions continues to grow, which attracts mounting criticism from environmental activists and politicians alike.
As reported by U.Today, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren described Bitcoin's carbon footprint as “a real issue.”
Earlier this month, New York State Senator Kevin Parker introduced a bill that would temporality suspend crypto mining in the state.