New York locals are accusing Greenidge Generation’s gas-fired Bitcoin mining plant of heating Seneca Lake in upstate New York. On a daily basis, the Greenidge plant is permitted to withdraw 139 million gallons of water from the lake and discharge 134 million gallons of water. The plant is also allowed to discharge water with a temperature of up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in the winter, and up to 86F in the summer. The residents of Dresden have expressed concern over the rising temperatures of the lake. The sustainability of trout species that populate the lake is a key concern …

The global Bitcoin mining sector has reached a 56% sustainable power mix in Q2, according to estimates from a Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) report. “Bitcoin mining uses a negligible amount of energy, is rapidly becoming more efficient, and is powered by a higher mix of sustainable energy than any major country or industry,” a July 1 press release from the council stated. The estimate was based on a three question survey of just 32% of the miners on the network. It found respondents “are currently utilizing electricity with a 67% sustainable power mix” which it used as the basis for …

In a little more than 40,000 days — or over a hundred years — we have gone from the first terrestrial flight to the first flight on another planet. Within that short time, the amount of fuel burned and, unfortunately, even lives lost have been immense. In exchange, flight has completely transformed everything from commerce to warfare and has led to the birth of completely new industries. As aviation progressed, fuel efficiency improved and mortality rates also dropped immensely. In the digital realm, blockchain technology could be equally as transformative, with applications in everything from trade, exchange, cooperation, identity, and …

Two payments firms have partnered to roll out crypto payments across 50,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Europe. The partnership is between Irish e-commerce and mobile payment solutions firm HIPS Payment Group Ltd and Vourity, a Swedish firm that specializes in unattended payment facilities such as EV charging stations. The integration of crypto payments with charging stations will occur over the next three years starting from November 2021. The firms haven’t revealed which cryptocurrencies will be supported yet, but Vourity has dropped a pretty strong hint that Ethereum is likely to be among the first after it released an …

Gemini, a major cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is responding to Bitcoin’s (BTC) environmental issue by purchasing carbon credits. On Thursday, the company announced its long-term initiative to incorporate climate-conscious measures into its business, launching a collaboration with Climate Vault, a nonprofit founded at the University of Chicago. Through the initiative, Gemini plans to purchase carbon credits for nearly 350,000 metric tons of carbon to offset non-renewable energy consumed by Bitcoin miners and help decarbonize Bitcoin on the Bitcoin network. According to the announcement, the partnership will have Gemini purchase carbon permits directly from government-related cap-and-trade markets …

Generating momentum and attracting investor attention can be a challenge during the best of times in the cryptocurrency market and it is an even bigger challenge when the markets are choppy like the entire crypto ecosystem has been the past couple of months. Despite the recent downturn, Perlin (PERL), which has managed to rally 140% from a low of $0.052 on June 8 to a high of $0.134 on June 18 as its average 24-hour trading volume surged from $3 million to $122 million. Three reasons for the increase in price and demand for PERL include the release of the …

Environmental concerns regarding the energy-intensive, proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism that Bitcoin (BTC) uses to produce new coins and verify transactions have been front and center lately. Debates regarding Bitcoin’s energy use particularly surged following a tweet sent out by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in May saying that his company would no longer accept Bitcoin payments due to the network’s “increasingly rapid use of fossil fuels.” Since then, a number of ways Bitcoin mining companies could go green have been discussed, many of which include using 100% renewable energy sources. For example, El Salvador president Nayib Bukele recently disclosed plans for a …

A proposed crypto mining ban calling for a forced three-year hiatus on all mining operations in New York has been watered down — and will now allow green projects. The bill passed in the senate on June 8, and has now been referred to the state assembly. If the bill is passed in the assembly, it will be delivered to Governor Andrew Cuomo to either approve or veto the proposed legislation. The initial New York Senate Bill 6486A sought to halt all crypto mining for three years in order to conduct environmental impact reviews on mining operations in the tri-state …

Is it possible to mine Bitcoin (BTC) using only 100% renewable energy sources and deliver the same economic returns as those using carbon-based sources? The answer is yes, according to Square’s recent analysis on the cost of renewables and their impact on Bitcoin mining. Unfortunately for our industry, the number of headlines and headline-making tweets about Bitcoin’s energy use and potential environmental impact has followed its rise in value in recent months. The increased media scrutiny has led to increased calls for regulatory action and even a proposed bill in the New York State Senate that would place a three-year …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been a hot topic of discussion lately even for those outside the core crypto community, but unfortunately, it’s not for the best of reasons. In particular, the amount of energy required to mine Bitcoin has created concerns for investors who were considering BTC as an option to diversify. According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, Bitcoin currently consumes around 110 terawatt-hours per year. A Harvard Business Review article further noted that this equates to 0.55% of global electricity production, which is roughly equivalent to that of a small county. Although this is the case, it’s important …

MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor has explained the details and thinking behind the formation of the Bitcoin Mining Council. The council was formed on May 25 after Saylor brokered a successful meeting between Elon Musk and several top North American Bitcoin mining firms. The miners involved will provide current and planned renewable usage transparency, and will lobby other mining operations across the globe to do so as well Michael Saylor describing the formation of the Bitcoin Mining Council and @ElonMusk's shared interest in seeing #Bitcoin succeed: pic.twitter.com/7MfODadi8p — Documenting Bitcoin (@DocumentingBTC) May 25, 2021 Speaking at the virtual Consensus 2021 conference, …

Blockchain startup “Chia Network” has raised $61 million in a funding round which included investment from top venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Richmond Global Ventures. The decentralized smart contract platform was valued at around $500 million in the funding round, according to an anonymous source cited by Bloomberg. The funding round was also backed by the CEO and co-founder of AngelList Naval Ravikant, Breyer Capital, and True Ventures. Chia’s president and CFO, Gene Hoffman, told Bloomberg the firm hopes to go public through an initial public offering, or IPO, this year: Blockchain startup “Chia Network” has raised $61 million …