Over the past year, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have garnered lots of attention, due to their meteoric rise in value. Even Dogecoin, which began as a spoof, had a market cap larger than that of Ford Motor Company this spring. But there’s a growing awareness of the massive computing power these currencies require; how can something as intangible as cryptocurrency have such an enormous environmental footprint?
On today’s Brainstorm, Michal Lev-Ram and Brian O’Keefe examine why Bitcoin mining, specifically, is so energy intensive, and what makes some of the alternatives "greener." Fortune’s Robert Hackett explains the relationship between cryptocurrency mining and blockchain technology, and why the worldwide quest to solve a complex mathematical puzzle consumes more energy than entire countries like Argentina, or Ukraine.
Alex de Vries, a financial economist and author of the Digiconomist blog, which tracks Bitcoin's energy consumption, says the more valuable Bitcoin becomes, the more incentive there is to mine it.
And Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, explains why his cryptocurrency - ADA - is more environmentally friendly than the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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Is Cryptocurrency Bad for the Environment? | Brainstorm podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
