Bitcoin is a payment option that for its advantages is becoming increasingly popular but it doesn’t come for free. In order for the Bitcoin network to work, there is an underneath work done by computers called miners; which perform this work by solving algorithms and then communicates to the decentralized nodes (all Bitcoin miners) to obtain confirmations of all operations. This type of operation is called Proof of Work (PoW) and it leads to consumption of large amounts of energy, therefore many have considered that this technology is unfriendly to the environment. Many people and companies have invested in adapted computers (called ASIC) that are dedicated only to cryptocurrency mining. Although, the consequence of having more ASICs connected and working to solve algorithms of transactions of Bitcoins is that it intensifies the difficulty for mining and the electricity consumption of the network increases daily.
In digiconomist there’s a graphic of how Bitcoin network increases daily its electricity consumption, reaching today a consumption of 22.70 TWh. If we compare it with the world consumption, the Bitcoin network represents 0.1% of it, which means that for 1,000 watts consumed in the world, 1 watt is dedicated to the Bitcoin network. The Dutch Bank ING has said on one of its reports that Bitcoin network causes a high electric cost on each transaction and that in some countries is not viable due to the high electrical cost. As if the electric issue was not enough, miners also generate heat that is usually expelled to the environment.
This topic has generated debates within the community of Bitcoin and Blockchain to work in favor of the electrical efficiency and preservation of the environment. The Austrian company Hydrominer has worked developing innovative ideas that could solve this issue. Hydrominer has mining farms that work with hydraulic energy making it environmentally friendly. In addition, they also have a technology for cooling which comes from the cold water of the rivers that optimizes the temperature of the mining farms avoiding the emissions of heat to the environment. Hydrominer is a company that developed a business project which is currently very interesting for the Blockchain industry, where it even has it’s own ICO called H2O (legal in Austria). Hydrominer has a powerful and innovative vision of ecological mining that has also called the attention of many investors in its token sale.
