The crypto sector is growing leaps and bounds. Over the years, authorities and regulators have been targeting the nascent sector aiming to tame it since many in the traditional financial world felt that it would soon make central banks obsolete.
However, that has not been the case with even some of the banks investing in the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) aiming to compete with decentralized cryptos.
After the May 2021 halving event, bitcoin has got its mojo back and it is currently entering a bull market that might push it above $20,000. Institutional investors are also joining in which makes the current rally quite different from that of 2017. In that context, Jack Dorsey’s payments giant Square announced a major commitment to go carbon neutral by 2030.
The company has set up a new Bitcoin Clean Energy Investment Initiative that aims to make mining more eco-friendly. As part of this initiative, Square is dedicating $10 million to support firms that assist in driving the adoption and efficiency of renewables within the bitcoin network.
Square is the company behind CashApp, a major force that brings crypto to regular users. In their December 8 announcement, Square singled out bitcoin as “a unique part of Square’s footprint.” The CEO of both Square and Twitter, Jack Dorsey, stated:
“We believe that cryptocurrency will eventually be powered completely by clean power, eliminating its carbon footprint and driving adoption of renewables globally.”
Bitcoin’s Carbon Footprint
For several years now, the carbon footprint of the BTC network has raised a lot of controversies, with many environmentalists stating that it is detrimental. According to 2019 research, bitcoin’s cumulative carbon output can be compared to that of some of the small countries around the world.
Notably, research from a few days ago calls these numbers into question. What seems to complicate the controversy that already exists are the power sources that power the bitcoin mining process. Since the network’s mining sector has become quite competitive, the big miners shift to regions that are already generating surplus energy aiming to maximize their profit margins.
Nuclear and hydro plants are some of the popular destinations. Estimates from recent studies reveal that most of the miners rely on renewable sources of energy as a part of their mix.
Among the other previous initiatives, Square is reportedly assembling a patent group for cryptocurrency, and Coinbase joined it a few days ago.
